No White Before Memorial Day?

Did you grow up being told not to wear white before Memorial Day or after Labor Day? I always thought this an unbendable rule. From whence does it spring, and does it still apply?

There are practical reasons for wearing white in the summer. Before air-conditioning for home use became available in 1932, it was hard to escape the heat. White reflects light and heat. Think of the images you have seen of the Bedouin on their beautiful horses wearing thobes, long white robes as they travel across the desert. Linen is a cool fabric and often came in light and neutral colors. When you think of a white linen dress, it evokes cool, classic, polished.

The Wimbledon Club mandated the wearing of white for playing tennis in 1870. White masks sweat stains – something you never wanted the opposite sex to see. Many clubs still require white or partial white for players.

Wearing white in the summer also became a status symbol. Those engaged in manual labor would have dirty clothes before lunch. If you didn’t have the means to leave the city for the cooler cleaner air of the shore or the mountains, you also didn’t want to wear white. Cities were muddy, polluted and generally dirty. People took out their white linen and cotton when they left on holiday for the summer and packed it away when they returned to the city after Labor Day.

“White, while perfect for the country, it is, because it soils so easily, impossible for town wear.” - Vogue 1925

Does this dictum still apply? Absolutely not! Even back in the Gilded Age, women would wear white or light-colored evening gowns. Coco Chanel began wearing white all year in the 1920s.

I also love the story of Theodore Roosevelt’s mother, Martha, who was so grief-stricken when her husband died that she defied the convention of wearing black morning and wore white until the end of her days as her husband loved to see her wearing white.

What should be considered is whether the fabric and style of garment is appropriate for the season and the occasion. A quality white wool or flannel trouser or skirt are just lovely in the winter. White jeans with a neutral sweater and boots are great in the spring and fall.

I do wear tend to wear white more frequently in the summer. A white pleated skirt or a white linen dress speak to me of summer. Sadly, they also speak to me of ironing and a fear of muddy paw prints from my enthusiastic four-legged friends!

This is one “etiquette” rule we can happily disregard.

There are other fashion rules which no longer apply. It is no longer requisite to wear black and a hat to a funeral. In fact, some families request those coming to celebrate the life of their loved one wear cheerful colors. Black used to never be worn to a wedding but now it is totally acceptable.

In my grandmother’s day, women would never leave the house without a girdle, (This is the precursor of Spanx for those too young to know.) a hat, and gloves. When I graduated from college, we wore suits and stockings to work, and the men always wore suits and ties. It used to be expected that people would dress up to fly.

We are in an almost rule free era of fashion. Have the strictures swing too far in the direction of lenience?