It’s time to get the grill up and running, the pool toys out and to wear white for the last weekend. But why is that? Have you ever wondered why you’re not supposed to wear white after Labor Day? If you’re curious how this pop-culture fashion rule came to be, stay tuned. Thanks to Mental Floss, we have the history behind this fashion faux pas.
Post Civil War Era
After the end of the Civil War, the super-rich ruled high society. They were harsh too! As more and more people became billionaires high society found it was hard to differentiate between old money and “new money.” By the 1880s the women of high-society started making crazy fashion rules that everyone had to follow. This was to make sure that anyone who had “new money” would be easy to point out.
Want to know one of these crazy rules? You guessed it. Wearing white outside of the summer months. White was for weddings and resort wear. Wearing white after September was considered inappropriate. Labor Day became a federal holiday In 1894. Society decided it was a symbol as an endpoint for summer fashion.
Mainstream
Despite this new rule, not everyone followed — not even all socialites. Coco Chanel famously wore white all year long. This new fashion faux-pas gained so much traction that by the 1950s magazines made it clear that white clothing after Labor Day was out!
Today’s Fashion World
The fashion world seems to be way more relaxed and has fewer rules these days! There are no rules anymore! While trends still come and go, white is no longer a color only worn in the summer months. Next time someone says, no white after Labor Day, you can tell them the history about it!
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