The post-Labor Day fashion moratorium has its roots in the Gilded Age.
WASHINGTON — Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer as most Americans bask in the final three-day weekend of the season.
The federal holiday, which is celebrated the first Monday in September, honors the U.S. labor movement and the achievement of American workers. Millions of Americans celebrate with beach getaways or barbecues while others take advantage of the plethora of sales available.
The holiday’s origins date back to the gilded age as activists sought to establish a day to honor workers in the late 1800s. Each year, the holiday also brings about a popular adage: One should not wear white after Labor Day.
Here’s what to know about the “fashion rule” that is tied to the holiday.
Why are you not supposed to wear white after Labor Day? Where did the rule come from?
Fashion experts say it likely goes back to the Gilded Age — the same period that spawned Labor Day. The cool, white frocks worn by wealthy New Yorkers summering in places such as Newport, Rhode Island, would be packed away upon their return to the city with its dirt-packed streets.
Christy Crutsinger, a professor in merchandising and digital retailing at University of North Texas, heard the adage from generations of women in her family. But “the fashion world’s not working that way anymore,” she added.
“People think it, say it, but don’t abide by it,” she said.
Still, fashion is on the mind of many around Labor Day, thanks to back-to-school shopping and a switch by many business people from a more relaxed summer dress code, said Daniel James Cole, adjunct assistant professor in fashion history at the Fashion Institute of Technology and co-author of “The History of Modern Fashion.”
The holiday, he said, “is kind of this hinge” between summertime dress and fun to going “back to more serious pursuits.”
Even fashion icons like Coco Chanel defied the rule, implementing white as a permanent stable in her wardrobe.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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