No white, no floral patterns, and definitely no sandals after labour day.

We’ve all heard these “fashion rules”, but have you ever stopped to think about where they originate? What’s the deal with no white after labour day anyway?

You can blame high society snobbery for this one. Basically a bunch of women from old-money families were upset that their exclusive richie-club was being run over by new-money. So they came up this fashion rule and a few others to ostracize the new-money wives who were not in-the-know. (High school flashback to the year of the must-have Club Monaco sweatshirt!)

Even though the rule was originally enforced by only a few hundred women, over time it trickled down to everyone else. By the 1950s, fashion magazines made it clear that white clothing came out after the May long weekend in Canada and Memorial Day in the US, and put away after Labor Day.

These days, fashion is more relaxed and there is no longer a hard and fast rule about what colors to wear and when – think winter white! For example, even through we’re well into September I wore a pair of floral pants to the office this week. Why? Because it was sunny and warm out. Weather should play a more important role in our fashion choices rather than a date on the calendar. And while I’m sure most of you would agree, we still hear people make comments about ‘no white after Labor Day’ – all thanks to some snobby millionaires from 100 years ago.