NOT SO LONG AGO every woman’s summer arsenal included white jeans. In the ’90s, they epitomized effortless chic, with poster child Jennifer Aniston teaming hers with a tan tank or black cashmere poncho. Of course, the look’s fashion cred was established well before that: See chanteuse Françoise Hardy, très chic in white jeans in the mid-60s (left), Faye Dunaway, topping snowy denim with a camel turtleneck in 1968’s “The Thomas Crown Affair,” and Jacqueline Onassis, dodging paparazzi, in a pristine pair and Henley in 1971.  White jeans attained icon status in 1992 on the 100th-anniversary cover of Vogue, which featured supermodels clad in white jeans and white shirts, underlining the notion that you needn’t be poured into skintight Alaïa to be drop-dead gorgeous.  But somewhere along the way, white jeans themselves became skintight, off-puttingly associated with air-kissing women with spray-on tans who summered in the Hamptons and threw hissy fits on “Housewives” reunions. On “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” the host vamped the look in a skit, dorkily dancing to a braggy tune about how good his “Tight Pants” looked.  Just like that, a summer classic went from carefree (vulnerability to rosé stains aside) to forced and in-your-face.  Happily a stylistic shift has brought white jeans back, albeit in slightly different form. Gone is the blinding optic white, with designers favoring “dirty white” or creamy ivory instead. “It’s just not pristine, so getting a mark on them isn’t the end of the world,” said Catherine Ryu, women’s creative director at Citizens of Humanity. Rachel Comey, designer of an eponymous line, agrees: “These jeans are suited for your busy wear-them-everywhere life.”  They’re also looser, encouraging actual relaxation that’s more in sync with hammock season. “Silhouettes have definitely eased out,” said Ms. Ryu, who has introduced a classic high-rise fit, reminiscent of the 1990s Levi’s 501s. “We pushed stretch as far as we could; now there’s a retro feeling” that translates into a less imprisoning silhouette.  Other brands have also launched kinder takes. Ms. Comey offers a straight-legged mid-rise with cropped legs and a raw hem. Levi’s went retro with its “wedgie” jeans that have a snug but not skintight high-in-the-back fit.  These pairs definitely share DNA with the white denim of decades ago. The granddaddy of them all, White Levi's, found its way into wardrobes in the early ’60s—thanks to resourceful teens determined to outfox high school dress codes. “In the ’50s and ’60s, many schools prohibited bluejeans, deeming them too casual for the classroom,” said Levi Strauss & Co. historian Tracey Panek. “Students found a way around the ban by bleaching their jeans white.” Taking note, the company introduced White Levi's.  How to put your own spin on the look? Introduce texture with a tweedy pullover and basket-weave loafers. Or throw on a classic shirt and add Boho-chic sandals.  Just skip the spray tan.
White jeans are making a comeback for summer with a less ‘Housewives’ vibe in suitably subtle creamy shades. Not only is the blindingly-bright optic white gone, but the skintight fit has loosened up in pairs from Citizens of Humanity, Levi’s, Brunello Cucinelli and Rachel Comey