Like all great philosophers across the ages, I tend to struggle with the important dilemmas of my time. Just as Socrates said “an unexamined life is not worth living” and Lao Tzu uttered “anticipate the difficult by managing the easy”, I can often be found dropping absolute bombshells like “brown and blue are the perfect colour combination” or “when wearing patterns, make sure they are different proportions to pull them off”. Yeah, David Hume has got nothing on me.

However, there are occasions when a question comes along that is just so big and so daunting that even a deep and talented philosopher like me can’t provide an answer. One such question was posed to me the other day, and it went a little something like this:

“Hey, you in the fancy shirt and shiny shoes, how do you wear white trousers during the summer without looking like an idiot?”

It caught me a bit off guard to be honest. I’m not sure if it was because I was halfway through an awesome turkey sandwich or that I didn’t consider my shoes to be all that shiny, but either way the question struck a chord with me – mainly because I can see where the conundrum lies.

The White Trousers/Shorts Conundrum

First of all, I’d like to go on record saying that I wear white trousers all year round. They make a more regular appearance in the summer, certainly, but I don’t see any reason why they can’t be autumn/winter appropriate too.

I believe the main problem that most people have with wearing white on their lower half is that it takes a lot of confidence to do so, and there are too many outside factors to be considered to make it worthwhile.

Whilst the above is true, it’s not entirely accurate. Because once you master three simple steps, there’s no reason you can’t wear white chinos, jeans or shorts this summer – all day, every day – and not be self-conscious in the slightest.