Rooted in both high society exclusivity and seasonal practicality, the old adage banning white after Labor Day has become a lasting piece of American fashion folklore.
Where did the 'No White After Labor Day' rule originate?
Exact origins of the rule are murky, but one popular theory is rooted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when New York’s nouveau riche (the new rich) were jockeying to join the long-established social elite. To guard their status, old-money circles imposed arbitrary fashion rules, including banning white after Labor Day, Marie Claire reports.
"It [was] insiders trying to keep other people out," Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, told Time. "And outsiders trying to climb in by proving they [knew] the rules."
At the time, clothing was associated with summer leisure. The Gilded Age elite summered in areas like Newport, Rhode Island and Southampton, New York, donning seasonal white wardrobes. The wealthy often wore linen suits, breezy dresses and tennis outfits during their coastal vacations.
Labor Day, celebrated on the first Monday of September since Congress made the holiday official in 1894, marked the symbolic end of summer and the time for a wardrobe shift.
How Newport’s ‘Gold Coast’ Became a Hot Spot for Gilded Age Elites
Elite Gilded Age families competed for status by building extravagant summer 'cottages' in Newport and throwing lavish parties.
Elite Gilded Age families competed for status by building extravagant summer 'cottages' in Newport and throwing lavish parties.
Practicality also likely influenced the rule. Before air conditioning, white clothes—often made of lightweight fabrics—kept people cooler in summer. However, wealthier individuals packed their whites away until Memorial Day to avoid staining them on dirty and grimy urban streets, notes the Farmers’ Almanac.
“They didn’t need to wear them: the temperatures had cooled, the tennis tournaments had finished,” writes Elise Taylor in Vogue. “But they also couldn’t wear them. Back then, the New York City streets were made of dirt, covered in horse excrement, as well as rotting garbage. If you walked out in the color, it would soon be covered in grime of mysterious origins.”
Who enforced or popularized the rule?
By the mid-20th century, fashion magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar reinforced the seasonal shift by featuring fall wardrobes with darker colors. Etiquette experts also chimed in, echoing the idea that white was for summer and darker colors were for fall and winter.
“One theory is that fashion magazines, which were mostly based in northeastern cities, reflected what fashion editors were wearing at the time,” notes Time.
While many followed the rule, style icons such as designer Coco Chanel, actress Audrey Hepburn and author Tom Wolfe notably defied the rule and wore white in all seasons.
Today, “No White After Labor Day” is considered outdated, as modern fashion is less about following rigid standards and more about self-expression. Staples like winter whites are widely embraced, and both runways and red carpets feature white options year-round. Even the etiquette mavens at the Emily Post Institute say the rule no longer applies: “Today, seasonal fashion guidelines are based on the weight of the fabric, not the color.”
