Wearing White After Labor Day – Okay or Fashion Faux Pas

Fewer people are following the rule, but for many years the "no wearing white after Labor Day" rule was something a lot of people lived by. What's the origin though? How did this rule become fashion law?

According to Time, there are a couple of different theories. The first is that since it is hot in the summer and whiter clothes tend to be cooler, people would simply stop wearing white when fall began. The theory makes since, but according Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, this reasoning is unlikely.

This is all sound logic, to be sure — but that's exactly why it may be wrong. "Very rarely is there actually a functional reason for a fashion rule," notes Valerie Steele

The next theory for the rule is that it might simply be symbolic. The Time article says that in the early 20th century the wealthy Americans would travel from their home in the city to warmer climates for a lengthy stays, sometimes months.

They would trade their darker city clothes for lighter clothes for the warmer temperatures. Once Labor Day came around, they would put their summer clothes away for the fall and winter and start wearing their darker clothes for the cooler months. So the lighter clothes symbolized summer, vacationing, and "a look of leisure" while the change of clothes when they returned symbolized getting back into the routine of being home.

I've never been one to follow many fashion rules, but this definitely seems to be one that is fading away. I mean, Coco Chanel was wearing white year-round with her signature white suits in the 1920s. So, hey, if it's good for Coco Chanel then it's good for me.

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