As Labor Day approaches is it still acceptable to wear white?
Rooted in both high society exclusivity and seasonal practicality, the old adage banning white after Labor Day has become a lasting piece of American fashion folklore.
Where did the 'No White After Labor Day' rule originate?
Exact origins of the rule are murky, but one popular theory is rooted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when New York’s nouveau riche (the new rich) were jockeying to join the long-established social elite. To guard their status, old-money circles imposed arbitrary fashion rules, including banning white after Labor Day, Marie Claire reports.
It [was] insiders trying to keep other people out," Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, told Time. "And outsiders trying to climb in by proving they [knew] the rules."
At the time, clothing was associated with summer leisure. The Gilded Age elite summered in areas like Newport, Rhode Island and Southampton, New York, donning seasonal white wardrobes. The wealthy often wore linen suits, breezy dresses and tennis outfits during their coastal vacations.
Labor Day, celebrated on the first Monday of September since Congress made the holiday official in 1894, marked the symbolic end of summer and the time for a wardrobe shift.
By the mid-20th century, fashion magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar reinforced the seasonal shift by featuring fall wardrobes with darker colors. Etiquette experts also chimed in, echoing the idea that white was for summer and darker colors were for fall and winter.
“One theory is that fashion magazines, which were mostly based in northeastern cities, reflected what fashion editors were wearing at the time,” notes Time.
While many followed the rule, style icons such as designer Coco Chanel, actress Audrey Hepburn and author Tom Wolfe notably defied the rule and wore white in all seasons.
