Wear White (Yes, even after Labor Day!)

Blazer // Sunglasses // Sweater // Nail Polish // Shoes // Dress //Jeans // Headphones

Even though all of your whites, even down to your favorite tees, are probably stowed away for another season by now, I have some news: you may not have to (necessarily) ban all your perfectly pale outfits to the back of your closet just yet. I know, I know, somewhere in the background you can hear Miss Manners or your Great Aunt Susan gasping in utter disbelief. It’s a cardinal fashion sin, they’d exclaim!

Maybe.

But did you know that the initial no-white-after-Labor-Day rule was born out of functionality? In a time with no air-conditioning or other easy ways of staying cool, white was merely considered a more suitable option for the summer months, and one that was therefore easily done away with once autumn began. (Not to worry, though; we still have a couple more weeks of summer yet!) Other historians speculate it was a separation of the well-to-do from what was then seen as a more drab, working lifestyle. In other words, wearing white meant dollar signs, and lots of them.

After such a need for cooler clothing went passé (heck, I see tons of people toting out of their NYC work spaces wearing scarves and jackets in July because of the arctic indoor temps!), and the separation of classes less distinct, or necessary for that matter, the no-white rule simply became that of tradition, and one we are surely allowed to break away from in the present day. With all the fashion options before us, from white structured blazers for the workplace (pair with dark skinny pants) to chunky cable knits, from the super on-trend wedge sneakers (DROOL) to other accessories such as winter white nails, you can’t really go wrong.

That is, unless of course, you’re going to visit Aunt Susan.

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