Cream jeans are the new white jeans. Everywhere I look, I'm seeing the most stylish women wearing cream – or is it ecru? – jeans. And I'm especially seeing women wearing the slightly more curved barrel style, with their gentle taper to the ankle.
Whatever you call it, this warmer, soft neutral has stealthily become the denim neutral of choice for summer 2026.
The white-versus-ecru debate - because we love to dissect these tiny details - has been raging in the Good Housekeeping Style department for a while, and we're unanimous: cream wins.
Less dazzling than optic white, more like clotted cream than a freshly whitened Hollywood smile, cream denim has a richness to it that looks soft and luxurious, it's far easier to wear as jeans than bright white.
Why? It works beautifully with the items many of us are already wearing this summer, such as tan leather sandals, chocolate brown accessories, raffia bags and gold and silver jewellery.
Better still, cream doesn't stop working once your summer glow has faded. Instead, it carries effortlessly into autumn, pairing just as well with camel, navy and pastel-hued knits and loafers as it does with linen shirts and sandals.
The main newsflash here though, is that M&S has just added an ecru shade to hands down its bestselling jeans of the past year, their mid-rise barrel-leg jean. It costs £30, and as befits its popularity, comes in eight further colours including grey, white, pink and a few shades of blue, sizes from 6-24 and on five different leg lengths from extra short to extra long.
These jeans are adored because they have a relaxed, sculptural silhouette with flattering volume through the leg before they taper to create the impression of slimness at the ankle.
It's also a style that is comfortable without looking sloppy and totally modern without trying too hard; in other words, the perfect combination for laid-back chic.
Personally, I'm sold. This style may come in nine colours, but if you're looking to update your jeans now, the new ecru version is the one that will both feel fresh and have longevity. Fully stocked at the time of writing, if you have a genuine gap for a new pair of jeans, wouldn't wait too long if your size is available.
