I will probably throw all caution to the winds and wear white pants tomorrow.
*collective gasp*
It’s not really true that you can’t wear white after Labor Day, chickens. What you want to do is make sure you mix your white pieces with more seasonally-appropriate ones, like I’ll probably wear a black jacket with my white pants.
The Labor Day rule is really about putting away the flowy fabrics of summer, the seersucker, the white eyelet sundresses, the linen and the beachwear.
Speaking of which, Oh Lord, I remember attending a worship service given by a seminarian some years ago where the presider was dressed in what can only be described as Mexican resort wear: a hippie/goddess skirt and matching fringed top in an enormous sunflower pattern.
Leave the pareos and anything at all like them at home, or save them for vacation. It may look beautifully ethnic to you, but trust me: it just looks batty.
Shoot, there goes my dashiki/luau/tie-die theme service. I’ve been working on it for months. Hope I can stop the newsletter…
Where I live, this summer has been seasonable for sweaters and just now we’ve hit the linen and seersucker hot weather 🙂 I am a big fan of wool, however, so I will be waiting for Nov. 1st when I start wearing it regardless of the temps!
At 67 I still can’t do white after Labor Day. I understood that the Memorial Day to Labor Day rule originated at our Military Acadamies where they made that change from summer to winter uniforms. I can go with pale beige and some short sleeved fall colors but NO white. I put my white skirts and shorts away yesterday.
My mother drilled that into me as a child, forcing me to put away my much-loved sandals.
Now, I proudly break that rule. I will be pulling from my summer wardrobe for the rest of the week, because it’s supposed to be in the mid-to-upper 90s with 60-70% humidity here in Indiana. That’s no time for fall fabrics!
in div school there was a huge debate about this because in the south, one can wear white from Easter to labor day (shoes at least–and this was a while back when white shoes were more in style). Not for the presider of course. . . .in the North the labor day-memorial day rule is more kept.
I can hardly bear to wear white pants in July, much less September, but that’s just me.
I put away the white sandals this morning and a light, light linen skirt; I have enough light weight greys and navys to keep me cool and well covered until the frost is on the pumpkin.
White just gets too dirty in my life of public transportation. It always looks so appealing, but then I think about what my trouser leg may drag in, or what my skirt might sit in, on the bus or train. I know other colours will pick up the same stuff, it just won’t be as visible…
oh my, I really did gasp!
I grew up in the south, and I heard my grandmothers tell me too many times, no white after Labor Day. I think it might feel naughty if I were to do it.
And – I do the world a service when I do NOT wear white pants. 🙂
Here’s what my mother used to say:
“It’s after Labor Day, honey. No white shoes unless they have wheels on them. No white belts unless you’re with the band.”
It’s such a great quote that I automatically obey the voice in my head. Happy to wear white SHIRTS all the time though!
I’d just like to do a momentary PSA that if you decide to wear white pants, be mindful of your undies! Remember, white under white only draws attention to your beautiful bottom…definitely do nude or your-own-skin-tone-ish colored undergarments 🙂
Sorry, couldn’t help thinking of that when I read this post!