We are all familiar with the term, “no white after Labor Day” but who made this fashion statement and why?
I decided to look into the history of Labor and what district of fashion police instilled such strict laws on “what to wear”.
With a google here and a wikipedia there, I found out the origin of the first Labor Day in the United States, which was on September 5, 1882 in New York City. According to wikipedia, the Central Labor Union of New York was the nation’s first integrated major trade union. Labor did not become a federal holiday until 1894 as a result of the untimely deaths of several workers during the Pullman Strike.
Unfortunately, both the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals were responsible for those deaths. As a result, President Grover Cleveland enforced the immediate establishment of a labor movement and made it his top political priority. In an effort to avoid further clashes and irreversible circumstances, the legal powers established Labor Day a national holiday and signed into law a just six days after the end of the Pullman Strike. I still don’t understand what this has to do with not wearing white after Labor Day, do you?
It is no surprise that Labor Day, a holiday that coincides with the beginning of the academic school year and the kick-off of NFL Football, is also referred to as the last “hara” of summer. As much as I don’t want to put away my beach towels and bathing suits, the pools and beaches are going to be closed from this evening until May 31, 2011.
While many people are eager to get on with the next season mentally, and dispose of all of their summer white, I am not one to consult on fashion trends and rules.
As a mom of three children with their hands in and on everything, including my white clothing in summer, winter weather conditions and slushy snow does not make this a bigger issue for me. I can get just as much apple juice and chocolate on my clothes in the summer and winter. Yet, the issue of wearing white may not just be about the weather at all.
In a Times magazine article, “If You Must Know Why We Can’t Wear White After Labor Day”, by Laura Fitzpatrick, the rules of not wearing white after Labor Day is a result of ‘early 20th century social and economic class divisions’. In this article, Ms. Fitzpatrick included a quote from Charlie Scheips. Mr. Scehips that took this idea a step further in his statement “if you look at any photograph of any city in America in the 1930′s, you’ll see people in dark clothes. Many of those people in those pictures were heading to work. The contrast between that dark clothing and the white linen suits and Panama hats that were so fashionable then, especially at “snooty” resorts represented a “look of leisure.” This was known as a uniform of leisure. When these well to do Americans came back from their summer vacation homes, they also returned to wearing their dark drab suits and spent time at work rather than by the sea.
While this is very exclusive behavior screams of the lifestyles of the “social elite”, some of the worlds best known fashion designers did not let these rotten ideas spoil their dinner party.
Coco Chanel made white cool for winter back in the 1920′s. I’ll never forget how First Lady Michelle Obama danced the inaugural night away in a princess white gown in January of 2009.
According to designer Michael Kors, wearing white jeans is acceptable all year long. He also advised that “winter” whites of wool, wool blends, cords or cashmere jackets, pants and sweaters, are totally okay.
Also in favor of wearing white in winter as part of a winter wardrobe are consultant Carla Nemiroff and image consultant Rachel Fauman from sheknows.com. “In order to wear white in winter well remember that the fabric matters as much as the color,” explains Fauman. “You would never wear white wool pants in the summer but of course you would wear them in the winter.” Nemiroff suggests wool, cotton, satin and silk.
Do you have a favorite white item in your wardrobe that you wear all year long? Have you been approached by the fashion police while wearing white in the winter?
