Emily Post Says We Can Wear White After Labor Day — You Can Pack It Year-Round

Thank goodness that Emily Post’s Etiquette finally gives the thumbs up for wearing white after Labor Day.

Banning white is absurd for people in warm weather climates like La Jolla, where the year-round temperature averages 70 degrees, and the sun shines well into the fall. I want people to know that if you are packing for San Diego, feel free to pack your white T-shirts and flip-flops 365 days per year.

But if you’re interested, a few theories surround the rule’s origin.

History of White After Labor Day

Labor Day started marking the end of summer when it was declared a federal holiday in 1894.

Before air conditioning and other modern cooling conveniences, wearing white was merely a way to stay cool in the hot summer months. People back then wore heavier, formal clothing year-round. A big, long-sleeved dress in a New York City August is not ideal. If I had to wear one, you bet it would be white.

In the early to mid-20th century, most of the high-fashion magazines and socialites were located in New York, where the weather is seasonal, requiring a complete wardrobe change from summer to winter months. Here, white was associated with resort wear and worn by those fortunate enough to summer near the beach (translation: the wealthy). White transitioned out around Labor Day as darker colors rotated back into cold-weather wardrobes.

Wealthy people tried to distinguish themselves by adhering to etiquette rules like this. People could tell who was in the know or not by what they wore, as well as things like whether their place settings involved multiple forks, spoons, and knives created explicitly for various dishes. Around the 1950s, fashion magazines carried rules like this into print and influenced the middle class to conform.

The no-wearing-white-after-Labor Day rule initially applied to all clothing and shoes, not just pants and shoes, as you hear it retold now. Seersucker for men was also on the post-Labor Day no-no list.

Along Came Winter White

This warmer color of white later became an acceptable color to wear between Labor Day and Memorial Day. A pretty winter white dress at a holiday party is undoubtedly stunning when everyone else is probably wearing black.

Modern-Day Application of White After Labor Day

Even now, quick searches on department store websites yield plenty of white and winter white options in clothing and shoes. Heck, Coco Chanel wore white year-round. In a nutshell, practicality is why there’s no need to pack away white clothes come September.

And these days it depends on the weight of the material, not the color. In winter in San Diego, you’ll see me and plenty of other people in plenty of bright white long-sleeved T-shirts and jeans (my staple). That’s what I’m wearing as I type this.