after LABOR DAY would you still wear bright summer colors & whites?

[green papaya]

I just picked up a couple of nice summer shirts on clearance, but the weather is still nice and sunny and warm, Labor day is supposed to be the end of summer

would you still wear white or bright colorful shirts after Labor Day?

or should I put them away until next Spring / Summer

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Keep wearing them. The no white after labour day is only a guideline as far as I am concerned. As long as the weather is decent I would keep wearing them.

 

[ButteMT61]

Hell yeah. I could care less about what I'm "supposed to wear and when"
Do your thing, and enjoy!

 

[C-dot]

The most widely circulated explanation for this custom is that white clothing, particularly shoes, are not suitable for the winter months. It probably originated in the Southern United States, where fashion codes have been historically more strict. Wearing white after labour day used to be considered a breach of etiquette.

However, in our present day when one can wear Spongebob Squarepants pyjamas to the grocery store without attracting any attention, it is clear that most - if not all - fashion rules have been relaxed. Wear white after Labour Day if you please, you're not hurting anyone.

 

[green papaya]

thanks! the summer never ends until the weather changes , so as long as it's sunny & warm it's still summer to me

 

[Tatum]

However, in our present day when one can wear Spongebob Squarepants pyjamas to the grocery store without attracting any attention, it is clear that most - if not all - fashion rules have been relaxed. Wear white after Labour Day if you please, you're not hurting anyone.

C-dot, thanks for the LOL... And I agree. Spongebob Squarepants pajamas hurt my sensibilities much more than someone wearing white after Labor Day. Here in Florida, it's acceptable all year round. But then, so is a bikini at the grocery store... *cringes*

 

[Rathdown]

Nope. Sorry, but I'm not one of the self-absorbed who wear Spongebob Squarepants pajamas to the grocery store, or white shoes, or brightly coloured summer shirts after Labour Day, just because I can. Sartorial correctness, no matter how artificial it may be, really was one of the hall marks of the "golden age" (whose passing is oft bemoaned on this web site). It is also one of those little things that, in my opinion, separates the "guys" from the gentlemen in modern society.

 

[dhermann1]

I suppose I should put the white bucks away for the winter after this weekend, shouldn't I? Doesn't look like there will be any more 80 degree plus days left this year (thank God!).

 

[Miss Golightly]

Once the weather remains good why not?

C-Dot - you made me laugh with your Spongebob comment!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Summer clothes? We're already getting into sweater weather here.

 

[Miss Sis]

Summer was a non-entity in the British Isles this year. Again.

Apparently though, it's official - coldest Summer since 1998 or 1993, depending on where you live in the UK.

Would that I EVER get a chance to wear such Summery items!

 

[Undertow]

The common etiquette is to hang up "summer" clothes after Labor Day, including, but not limited to, seersucker, brightly colored rayon button downs, panama hats, white shoes, etc.

Rathdown has a good point: don't just be one of the guys - be a gentleman. For the same reason we don't exactly match pocket squares to ties, or why we dote over the polish on our shoes - a gentleman who takes pride in his style, should also take comfort in appropriate etiquette.

 

[ButteMT61]

Dunno. Seems more like a marketing/sales ploy than anything else. Common sense dictates my closet. If it's still "summer" in September - which is most certainly is here in Pasadena - then I keep the summer duds on.
The folks that sell clothes like to get people thinking they're uncool/out of fashion, etc. and guess what - they'll sell you the proper duds to fix that! Really, if it's still summer weather, I say go for it. It makes me no less of a gentleman. That is a much deeper quality I'm afraid, and a change in colors won't change an otherwise ungentlemanly person one ioda.
But, to each his/her own. Good taste isn't a marketing ploy, it just is.

 

[Undertow]

I think to say it's a marketing ploy is a bit cynical and probably inaccurate. I submit the following article from Time magazine for all to browse:

Why We Can't Wear White After Labor Day

Says Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, "It [was] insiders trying to keep other people out, and outsiders trying to climb in by proving they know the rules."

Says Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners, "There were many little rules that people did dream up in order to annoy those from whom they wished to disassociate themselves. But I do not believe this is one of them."

It would seem even the "professionals" can't agree. The long and short is that it started as a matter of habit, and bloomed through the 50's and 60's into a hard-rule.

Certainly, one may break the rules as often as one likes. Yet, if one views one's self as a sophisticated individual of high style, one should expect to be treated as a rube from time to time as a result of their choice in fashion etiquette. [huh] Just sayin'...

(Personally, I don't care what anyone wears. If I worried too much, my head would have exploded by now - but I won't wear white after LD.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

It used to be customary in some circles to snatch the straw hat from the head of any man caught wearing one after Labor Day and to smash it before his eyes. Think about that the next time you tradition-flouters venture out wearing a boater in September.

 

[Tomasso]

Tom Wolfe is famous for wearing white suits year round. I'll never forget the sight of him striding up Madison Avenue wearing a white suit, white overcoat and white homburg on a grey December day.

It started back in 1962, when Wolfe was living in New York, making $130 a week as a reporter for the New York Herald Tribune. A product of Richmond, Va., Wolfe had ordered a white silk twill suit that left him hot and bothered during the summer. So Wolfe wore it during the winter.

"It created such resentment," says Wolfe, now 68. "I loved it."

He's been sporting white suits ever since.

 

[Dennis Young]

It used to be customary in some circles to snatch the straw hat from the head of any man caught wearing one after Labor Day and to smash it before his eyes. Think about that the next time you tradition-flouters venture out wearing a boater in September.

Ooo...is that true? Thats a good way for someone to get hurt. Lol!

Its hot here. Hottest in years. I'm praying for an early fall, but it usually doesnt cool off until late October here. So its been the custom here to wear summer type clothing until we begin to feel the crisp autumn air finally, grudgingly, make its way to the Deep South.

 

[Edward]

Summer was a non-entity in the British Isles this year. Again.

Ha, well... it depends where you're from, I suppose. I found more days than enough to have been unbearably hot this year, as any. I was genuinely surprised to hear it is one of the coldest on record.

Rathdown has a good point: don't just be one of the guys - be a gentleman. For the same reason we don't exactly match pocket squares to ties, or why we dote over the polish on our shoes - a gentleman who takes pride in his style, should also take comfort in appropriate etiquette.

I'm all for etiquette, within reason.... "Just because" doesn't seem to be much reason to follow a rigid rule, though. "Labour Day" not being something we're familiar with in the UK, I tend to put away the co-respondents for the year when the weather gets cooler and wetter and white (or partially white) shoes aren't practical any longer. Usually this is about mid-September..... and they'll be back out come St Patrick's.

It used to be customary in some circles to snatch the straw hat from the head of any man caught wearing one after Labor Day and to smash it before his eyes. Think about that the next time you tradition-flouters venture out wearing a boater in September.

Given what a boater costs these days, anyone who did that with one of mine is likely to end up with a thick ear. At best. Actually, Sunday was probably the last day I'll wear a boater this year, unless I go somewhere much hotter anytime soon. Beijing will be much warmer than the UK in a couple of weeks, but I don't think I'll be taking the boater there.

 

[Undertow]

Tom Wolfe is famous for wearing white suits year round...

Ah, but then there are those accused of being eccentric...

(where many of us who enjoy bow ties fall )

 

[Rathdown]

In a recent radio interview Wolfe explained that he wore his trademark white suits to "mark him out" as an outsider when conducting interviews; as an outsider he felt he was granted more leeway in asking questions (and getting honest answers) than he would have if dressed in an ordinary suit and tie. In other words, his white suits are a mere prop-- intended to help him perform as a journalist.