Like a lot of stuff in classic men's dress, the rule of "no white after Labor Day" is rooted in class dynamics during the early 20th century. Many questions can be answered by "what is the aesthetic?" and "who set the rules?" π§΅
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Maybe we should do a survey⦠Ask parents of every 8 year old. Would you like to change the sex of your child? Pretty sure 100% of them would say no. No parent wants to go through the emotional hell of a child whose brain is male and whose genitals are female. Leave them alone.
So interesting. Thanks for all of it! This Midwest-for-life gal lived by the old no white after Labor Day or before Easter forever, until I dressed for comfort, not convention.
During the early 20th century, men's dress was governed by TPO (time, place, and occasion). In England, where we get many of our rules, men did business in London while wearing navy suits and black oxfords. But when in the country, they wore brown tweeds and grained derbies.
This is where we get the rule "no brown in town." The idea was that you were not supposed to wear brown tweeds and brown grained derbies while doing business in London (a rule that held pretty firmly until relatively recently, at least for sectors like finance).
There was a similar idea in the United States. You have to remember that, at the turn of the 20th century, the United States and Western Europe were going through the Second Industrial Revolution. Cities were quite dirty from all the pollution.
London was covered in a sooty fog; the Thames River ran thick with sewage. Supposedly, you could tell how long the sheep had been grazing in Regent Park because their white fleece would turn black in a matter of days. (The sheep were there to "mow" grass.)
The same was true of the US. American elites mostly lived in cities, such as Boston and NYC. And it was they who set fashion trends. But during the sweltering summers, they'd escape crowded cities and decamp in communities closer to the ocean, such as Newport and The Hamptons.
Of course, you're not going to wear your *business clothes* in Newport while vacationing, just as an English gentleman wouldn't wear his navy worsted suits and black oxfords while hunting grouse out in the countryside. So what did American elites wear?
The holidays seem to cause an uptick in people wearing there pjs in public and that's what they look like. It grosses me out. Dragging and stepping on oversized dirt covered holey pants. I'd say a fashion no friends.
Thank you for sharing historical context. It's interesting to see how different regions faced similar challenges during periods of rapid industrialization.
They were really serious about the hats too, on a particular date it was custom to knock your friends straw hat off and destroy it. Heard a whole podcast episode about the Straw Hat Riot when a bunch of kids started doing it to strangers
My 101yo late mom said no white after Labor Day in St Louis bc thatβs when the coal fires started so coal dust everywhere and no patent leather bc it cracked in the cold.
Great thread, as always! Before coming upon you at the other place, I had no idea how interesting and complex the language of clothing is. Thank you! And Happy New Year!
This rule only makes practical sense if you live in a temperate climate zone with distinct seasons. If you live in a tropical or desert climate, it makes no sense at all.
The "no white after labor day" rule isn't actually a rule, but a principle. And the principle is to dress for the season.
Principles are flexible, and fashion, best viewed as a plastic art (not unlike, say, sculpture or writing), is itself highly flexible. Which is why restricting it to ironclad rules is completely silly. Context and situation matter. (No serious writer obeys hardbound grammatical rules.)
I live in a region that feels like Spring for 10 months out of the year, and Summer for the other 2. If I listened to the online frag influencers and their stupid rules, I couldn't include Green Irish Tweed and Platinum Egoiste in my all-year rotation.
In Feb 1978 my mom in MD was dying, so I flew home from CA to be with her. When I went into her bedroom to see her, she laughed & said, "Only you would wear a white jumpsuit in Feb!" I hadn't thought about it until she mentioned it because white was appropriate in sunny CA.
She wasn't really, that's part of why I was so surprised. The cancer had metastasized to her liver by then and she wasn't thinking too clearly. I think she was back to an earlier level of guidelines for life, if that makes sense.
That makes a good deal of sense. When a human being is losing control, physically or intellectually, rules and other kinds of mental framework help keep life in order.
A bit belated, predating my birth even, but: sorry you had to experience that. And at a young age, no doubt.
My mother had me a week before her 21st birthday. I turn 45 on February 12 (celebrating alongside Lincoln and Darwin lol), and mom turns 66 on the 18th. I'm grateful she's still around.
So you can tell yourself you're above fashion and you wear whatever you want, but no matter what you end up wearing it'll still say something about who you are and who you think you are.
Personally think dressing is a kind of cultural language, and just as you put letters and spaces in a certain order to communicate an idea, clothes achieve the same thing. You can, of course, dress haphazardly like Jordan Peterson, but the outfit will also confuse people. Similar to bad writing.
Thank you, for this. I have only heard this reference in movies and TV shows from the USA, and never understood it, but I figured it had something to do with a "summer" season.
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And as a NB trans woman living in a tropical rainy country, the field is open to dress how I want.
There is no precedent!!
I personally find the combination jarring, but to each his own I guess.
Englishman. Old. Earl or duke. Bad feet. Standing, walking: agony.
London podiatrist recommends trainers. Buys a pair (black, of course).
Bliss.
Tells friends at club. Praises high-tech sporting footwear...
"If only they made brown ones that I could wear in the country."
https://yelvi.net/ πΉπ·
The "no white after labor day" rule isn't actually a rule, but a principle. And the principle is to dress for the season.
Today it's 55Β° and drizzly. I'm wearing GIT.
My mother had me a week before her 21st birthday. I turn 45 on February 12 (celebrating alongside Lincoln and Darwin lol), and mom turns 66 on the 18th. I'm grateful she's still around.