The duo were noted for their mysterious public image, their fashion and design aesthetic which featured a simple color scheme of red, white, and black—which was used on every album and single cover they released—and their fascination with the number three.

In high school, Jack Gillis (as he was then known)[1] met Meg White at the Memphis Smoke—the restaurant where she worked and where he would read his poetry at open mic nights.

[18][29] The track "Cannon" from The White Stripes contains part of an a cappella version, as performed by House, of the traditional American gospel blues song "John the Revelator".

[34] Considered a cult classic[35] and self-recorded on an 8-track analog tape in Jack's living room,[36][37] De Stijl displays the simplicity of the band's blues and "scuzzy garage rock" fusion prior to their breakthrough success.

[18] The album was dedicated to furniture designer and architect Gerrit Rietveld of the De Stijl movement, as well as to the influential Georgia bluesman Blind Willie McTell.

[39] De Stijl eventually reached number 38 on Billboard Magazine's Independent Albums chart in 2002, around the time the White Stripes' popularity began establishing itself.

It reached number 55 in the United Kingdom,[50] being bolstered in both countries by the single "Fell in Love with a Girl" and its accompanying Lego-animation music video directed by Michel Gondry.

With its reliance on piano-driven melodies and experimentation with marimba on "The Nurse" and "Forever For Her (Is Over For Me)", Get Behind Me Satan did not feature the explicit blues and punk styles that dominated earlier White Stripes albums.

[94] In October 2006, it was announced on the official White Stripes website that there would be an album of avant-garde orchestral recordings consisting of past music written by Jack called Aluminium.

NME described the tracks as "an experimental, heavy sounding 70s riff", "a strong, melodic love song" and "an unexpected mix of big guitars and a bold horn section", respectively.

[107] On June 24, 2007, just a few hours before their concert at Deer Lake Park, the White Stripes began their cross-Canada tour by playing a 40-minute set for a group of 30 kids at the Creekside Youth Centre in Burnaby.

The Canadian tour was also marked by concerts in small markets,[13] such as Glace Bay, Whitehorse and Iqaluit, as well as by frequent "secret shows" publicized mainly by posts on The Little Room, a White Stripes fan messageboard.

They also played a historic one-note show on George Street in St. John's, Newfoundland, in an attempt to break a Guinness World Record for the shortest concert.

[113] In his review of Under Great White Northern Lights for Vanity Fair, Bill Bradley commented on the tour cancellations, saying that it was "impossible" not to see Meg as "road-weary and worn-out" at the end of the film.

[129] Jack conceived the idea of touring Canada after learning that Scottish relatives on his father's side had lived for a few generations in Nova Scotia before relocating to Detroit to work in the car factories.

[130] Additionally, their 10th anniversary occurred during the tour on the day of their show at the Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia,[129] and in this shot, Jack and Meg are dancing at the conclusion of the concert.

"[134] In November 2010, the White Stripes contributed a previously released cover version of the song "Rated X" to the compilation album Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute To Loretta Lynn.

[146] It was additionally featured on Jack's compilation album Acoustic Recordings 1998–2016 and received a nomination for Best American Roots Song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.

Jack and Meg reunited to make a joint post on the White Stripes Facebook page, stating that they were "disgusted by this association, and by the illegal use of their song" and that they had "nothing whatsoever to do with this video".

[159][160] AllMusic's Heather Phares wrote: "The White Stripes Greatest Hits is filled with the same detail, wit, and willingness to subvert expectations that made the band so dynamic when they were active… the collection's hand-curated feel is much more personal than the average best-of or streaming play list.

[166][167] The Trump campaign again used "Seven Nation Army" during the 2024 United States presidential election,[168][169] which resulted in Jack and Meg reuniting to file a copyright infringement lawsuit in September 2024.

[183] When performing live, Jack used a Randy Parsons custom guitar, a 1964 JB Hutto Montgomery Airline, a Harmony Rocket, a 1970s Crestwood Astral II, and a 1950s Kay Hollowbody.

[187][190] On the Icky Thump tour, the bass drum head design was switched to a button inspired by the Pearlies clothing Jack and Meg wore for the album cover.

They made exclusive use of a red, white and black color scheme when conducting virtually all professional duties, from album art to the clothes worn during live performances.

"[12] In a 2002 Spin magazine article, Chuck Klosterman wondered, "how can two media-savvy kids posing as brother and sister, wearing Dr. Seuss clothes, represent blood-and-bones Detroit, a city whose greatest resource is asphalt?

"[12] However, in 2001, Benjamin Nugent with Time magazine commented that "it's hard to begrudge [Jack] his right to nudge the spotlight toward his band, and away from his private life, by any means available.

[213] In a 2005 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Jack claimed that this open secret was intended to keep the focus on the music rather than the couple's relationship: "When you see a band that is two pieces, husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend, you think, 'Oh, I see...' When they're brother and sister, you go, 'Oh, that's interesting.'

[6][223] Following the release of White Blood Cells, Daily Mirror dubbed them "the greatest band since The Sex Pistols"[224][225] and Rolling Stone magazine declared "Rock is Back!"

[242][243] Several artists and bands have covered the White Stripes' songs, including Grohl, Ryan Adams, Bob Dylan, of Montreal, Tracey Thorn, the Flaming Lips, the Golden Filter, Bright Eyes, First Aid Kit, and Bigga Haitian.

[261][262] The orchestral arrangements for Chroma were commissioned by Richard Russell, head of XL Recordings, as a gift to the White Stripes and were produced by the British classical composer Joby Talbot.