midweSTYLE: Whiteout

Few pieces in a man's arsenal are more divisive than white denim. 

There are two sides of the fence—and few people are actually on the fence itself. Dudes either love white denim, or they hate it. I fall on the former side, obviously. That said, I've had conversations with guys who tend to stay away from the white for fear of a painful amount of upkeep. But, perhaps there's a mental shift that needs to be had. Listen...

You guys remember when you got your new kicks at the beginning of the school year, right? As boys, we all feared that if those snow-white Converse All-Stars got a speck of playground dust on or around their perfectly pure uppers, that cute girl who sat at the desk next to you would not shoot you a second glance and all of third grade would be an ultimate failure. But, if you remember correctly, you ended up wearing those pristine kicks to a muddy kickball game a few weeks later and still managed to get playground-married to Elizabeth during recess. 

Point being: White stuff was never really meant to stay white.

I tend to treat white denim as a kind of blank canvas that's supposed to be painted. The more specks they get, the better. In fact, I want them to be pretty disgusting when it's all said and done. Am I going to try to remove stains? No. Am I even going to try to prevent them in the first place? Probably not. The dingier they get, the more character they've got. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going rub myself down with sod or intentionally dump a cup of coffee on them. But life happens.

Yes, if they start to smell bad, I'll wash them, relax.

Yes, you can wear them after Labor Day. The guy who said you couldn't was a Communist, and he didn't even own anything white.

Also, Indys in the summertime is okay, too. Maybe I should be wearing Vans or Tretorns, but I can't take these things off. 

On Cameron: "The Paulie" chambray shirt by Baldwin Denim; tri-blend tank top by American Apparel; double O-ring belt by Narragansett Leathers; "The Henley" in white by Baldwin Denim; Indy boots by Alden; "Preston" eyeglasses by Warby Parker; submariner watch by Military Watch Co.

Photography by Jarred Donalson