White might have lots of symbolism, but is it even a color? It depends on who you ask. A scientist, looking at physics, will say “yes.” An artist may disagree. It is a difficult question and opinions vary widely.

White is also difficult to define. Just look at some of the names for white: pearl, smoke, ghost white, milk white, snow, chalk, ivory, seashell, lily, cornsilk, old lace, cream, beige, linen, antique white, champagne, eggshell, bone, vanilla, navajo white, paper, whitewash, alabaster, and so on. Some variations of white seem to drift so far that many may argue that it’s not really white anymore.

Aside from all this confusion, we think that there is simply no color that can make you look so effortlessly flawless as white. In spite of the Asian connection to death and mourning, white expresses carefreeness and optimism.

White is surprisingly powerful. It creates a great neutral background to make your other colors stand out, or you can use it to soften an overly dark look. White makes pastel tones more lively, and dark colors look brighter.

Here are some of the white styles we discovered on the streets of Harajuku this summer. We think that our favorite street style icons look both inspiringly sophisticated and contagiously bright when dressed in white.

Click on a picture to see the full look.

What do you think?
Do you use white in your fashion styles?
How?