White shoes, white clothing, even white accessories are all the rage this summer. White -- like its opposite, black -- is widely considered a color that "goes with everything," but that doesn't mean you can pair it with any color or pattern and call it good.

Wearing white well takes a bit of thought.

Because it can be stark and cold, white can suck the life out of other colors. It's also bright and bold, which means it can look out of place with a more subdued mix of colors.

You'll look more sophisticated this summer if you learn to wear white, not as a fallback, but as an active color.

Here's how:

Sally McGraw is the Minneapolis-based author of Already Pretty (www.alreadypretty.com), a daily blog about the intersection of style and body image.