White never goes out of fashion

In the gospel according to Coco Chanel, the absence of colours conferred presence: 'Black had everything. White too. They have an absolute beauty. It is perfect harmony. Dress women in white or black at a ball: they are the only ones you see.'

If black is the colour both of mourning and liberation (a concept suggested by Chanel's clothes, throughout her lifetime), then white is as powerfully symbolic, from christening robes to confirmation dress to wedding gown to funeral shroud. Wearing white, therefore, is always emblematic; of the rites of passage and the turning of the seasons. While winter whites seem somehow redolent of luxury - the creamy fur worn over an ivory silk dress - and summer whites speak of sunshine and games, perhaps spring whites are suggestive of hopefulness, and a disregard for the constant threat of rain.

White never goes out of fashion, although fashion often claims its revival as if it were something new. According to the latest Vogue catwalk report, 'This summer's whites have a crisp, clinical elegance that is pure perfection… these are not soft, girly whites. Clean lines and a lack of fussy details give these pieces a functional, utilitarian flavour.' But however seductive the tailored white suits and slim sheath dresses by Stella McCartney and MaxMara (among others), they are surely impractical, unless you travel everywhere by taxi; and, even then, white is unrivalled as a magnet to smudges.

Not that I've given up on the search for the perfect pair of white trousers ; in fact, I feel I might have just found them, in the Gap spring collection (not too tight, gently flared, high-waisted, and - very important - machine-washable cotton). At this moment, there are still too many muddy puddles to risk wearing them; so they remain pristine in my wardrobe, and therefore the stuff of fantasy. In my dreams, I'd slip them on with a white cashmere top, simple beige belt and unfussy sandals, as demonstrated in the Michael Kors collection; a fantasy look best exemplified by Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give , accessorised with her perfect Hamptons beach house and clean ocean view. True, Keaton's sexual epiphany is reached when Jack Nicholson cuts away her turtle-neck sweater, but hopefully the rest of her immaculate white wardrobe remains intact.