Wearing White After Labor Day: Faux Pas (Mistake) or Fashion Forward?

Wearing white after Labor Day used to be considered a fashion faux pas (mistake), at least in the mid-1900s in North America. Only someone who was truly gauche or didn't care to secure a place in society, however lowly, would consider trying to ignore the style mavens who dictated what was and was not appropriate.

Even those woman not looking to secure their place in society were driven to abide by the "no white after Labor Day" edict. Fashion magazines proclaimed the change of seasons, and colors, with ruthless authority, and style-conscious women fell into line behind their fashionista despots. When and where did this tradition start? Was it trend that went crazy, or someone's idea that became carved in stone?

Actually, the original "no white" dictum originally applied only to the wearing of white shoes after Labor Day.

Labor Day once signified the end of the summer season. Soon cottages would be closed up for the winter, and resorts, now thronging with summer visitors, would soon revert to their normal, off-season sleepy state.

White shoes, so fresh and, doggone it, so perfectly summery, seem to perfectly personify the ephemeral nature of the season. White shoes celebrate all that is fresh, clean, and fleeting - just like the summer season.

White shoes are no less easy to clean after the Labor Day long weekend. After all, mud is mud, whatever the month. Most of us though, buy white summer shoes, particularly white summer sandals, with an eye to them looking fresh for one season, and needing to be replaced the following summer.

Over time the "no white shoes after Labor day" dictum spread to include clothing. At first, the rule was applied to pants and jackets. Gradually though, the "no white" rule came to be applied to suits, skirts, and dresses.

Eventually, the wearing of white shoes or clothing after Labor Day became the accepted practice, and was just simply not done.

It is interesting to note that this rule only applied to pure white shoes and clothing, and never to bone, winter-white, or off-white shades, or to fall or winter bridal gowns. The rule was first applied in the northeastern, Continental U.S., but eventually spread, though with less complete acceptance, to the rest of North America.

It is also interesting to note that the rule applied equally to both women's and men's shoes and clothing.

Another interesting fashion faux pas, a superstition that still lingers in debutante launching circles, is that it is unlucky fro a young woman to wear green for her debut.

No-one can say with certainty when the superstition began, or exactly why, but it is one of those apocryphal tales that persists to this day.

I am sure any number of young women have made brilliant debuts, and gone on to have rewarding careers, happy marriages, wonderful families, and fulfilling lives. The few spectacular "unfortunates" whose lives fell apart, or to whom some misfortune happened, had their circumstances been blamed on their "unfortunate" choice of a green debutante gown.

We attach great cultural significance, and ascribe certain powers to colors. In North America, red is traditionally the color of passion. White stands for purity, hence its choice as the color favored by brides. Yellow is sunny and cheerful. Most shades of blue are considered calming and serene.

Green is the color of new grass, jade, and envy. The subliminal messages in a green gown are that the wearer is inexperienced or callow, or, conversely, provoking envy in all who see her. Neither perception would make for a happy debut.

Fortunately for lovers of white shoes and clothing, or for those of us who just want to extend our summery dressing a few weeks longer, it is no longer de rigeur to shed our white togs immediately after Labor Day.

According to top, New York fashionistas Clinton Kelly, Stacy London, it's quite alright to wear white after Labor Day. Their top-rated national show "What Not To Wear" clearly demonstrates the principals of dressing age- and job-appropriately, and nowhere do they promote the age-old edict against wearing white according to a proscribed season.

© 2011, Text by Elle Fredine, All rights reserved