Wearing white before Easter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, with this incredible weather, I am ready to wear my spring/summer clothes. Growing up in Ohio, the old fashion rule was "no white (shoes) after labor day and before easter". I have a great pair of white dressy work sandals I would love to wear with my dressy business capri slacks, but I'm unsure whether that fashion rule still exists.

Oh please. Only totally uptight people follow this no white except in the summer rule. It's total bullshit. Where whatever you want, whenever your want. Just make sure your panties don't show through.

[Anonymous]

First, anyone who says white shoes are always ugly is obviously unfamiliar with Christian Louboutin. Anyway.

To the OP, I say: do it! Growing up, my grandma (go figure) was the one to drill this into my head. The rule was (we were from PA) that one must not wear white shoes nor purses, nor all white pants or skirts (with the exception of "winter white," which was always scary to me, because since I had such a hard time discerning winter white from regular ole' white, what if I got it right but nobody else realized I was wearing winter white? (Good ole' Gram told me that if they sell it at Macy's in January in a thicker fabric, that's how you know it's winter white, and it turns out that's basically the truth - it's not the color so much as the fabric and weight). But I digress. In our family / town the exception was that white shoes could be worn at Easter. And then I would wear my little white patent leather mary jane t straps and a dress that showed my undies at church. Cuz, you know, that didn't break any rules or anything.

Moving on. While I disagree with others blanket rejection of white shoes, OP, I worry that if you are the type to need reassurance about wearing white before Eastern / memorial day, you may lack the fashion nuts necessary to pull off white shoes, and may not recognize which white shoes are okay and which are not. I will join others in asking you to post a picture of the shoes and we will tell you if they fall into the offensive or pleasing category. Anyway, I'm not trying to be mean. I worry about wearing white out of season, and I like to think I'm fashion forward, so I'm proving my own generalization wrong (or maybe I'm just also unfashionable! One might be the last to know...).

Anyway, even my dear ole' granny now says that she believes, with respect to these fashion police laws, that "those days are over." This may be because of the fact that, as a snowbird, she has taken up with some rebelious Southerners and a handful of errant Californians who say things like "hogwash" and "I just wear whatever the damn hell I want!"

As for me, I wear white jeans in winter, and I am pretty sure they are not "winter white," since I have to be careful with the type of underpants worn beneath. I typically try to avoid pastels or anything light colored with the pants, to avoid looking summery. In autumn I pair them with a thin black sweater, in winter something thicker. Brights (the evolving colorblocking trend) would look great with white, too. I'd also probably wear them rolled up in winter, with booties, to avoid getting the hems dirty. I just wore some today, rolled up with a pair of pointy toed heels, a superthin grey sweater, and a light, "shrunken" jean jacket with the arms rolled up. The key, I think, is you simply have to look like there is absolutely no question that you're doing it on purpose. You are aware of the rule, but have CHOSEN to disregard it. It must never look like an accident.

Here is some reading material for you, the first is a cool blog piece with some history and humor:

http://blog.bridgetteraes.com/2011/08/26/no-white-after-labor-day-where-did-the-rule-come-from/

The second says: the first lady does it; so can you!

http://blog.chron.com/shopgirl/2010/04/michelle-o-wears-white-before-memorial-day-will-you/

Finally, I am going to provide the doubters with a few examples of the exceptions to the "white shoes are fug" rule.

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=white+pumps&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rlz=1G1SNNTCENUS360&biw=1138&bih=466&tbm=isch&tbnid=Qg1JLHii-NaKVM:&imgrefurl=http://jeanaarter.com/2009/09/that-time-of-year/&docid=v5EOiVmV5GsN5M&imgurl=http://jeanaarter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/christian-louboutin-white-pumps-pic28977.jpg&w=280&h=346&ei=aZxiT96kEcLX0QHnp4SBCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=186&vpy=106&dur=1615&hovh=250&hovw=202&tx=107&ty=208&sig=110517000673400958832&page=1&tbnh=110&tbnw=90&start=0&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=white+pumps&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rlz=1G1SNNTCENUS360&biw=1138&bih=466&tbm=isch&tbnid=5NuRp0fdzSP-gM:&imgrefurl=http://blog.al.com/if-the-shoe-fits/2009/03/wow_rocawear_heels_very_surpri.html&docid=8j_6-b8FtIUCRM&imgurl=http://blog.al.com/if-the-shoe-fits/2009/03/medium_nicolai_pump_white.jpg&w=240&h=240&ei=NZ1iT9nyIajq0gHHqICCCA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=546&sig=110517000673400958832&page=3&tbnh=128&tbnw=126&start=37&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:37&tx=63&ty=98

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=white+pumps&start=117&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rlz=1G1SNNTCENUS360&biw=1138&bih=466&addh=36&tbm=isch&tbnid=vGP1uKuZTHWvNM:&imgrefurl=http://thetrendyheel.com/category/white-pumps&docid=ysxhjG2-Br_BQM&imgurl=http://thetrendyheel.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Latest-White-pumps.jpg&w=900&h=900&ei=YZ1iT6qtOeb50gHzr-XeDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=786&vpy=109&dur=151&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=138&ty=138&sig=110517000673400958832&page=7&tbnh=141&tbnw=141&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:18,s:117

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=white+pumps&start=355&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rlz=1G1SNNTCENUS360&biw=1138&bih=466&addh=36&tbm=isch&tbnid=tcgTDqw_Ib0qRM:&imgrefurl=http://myauctionpics.com/Sexy-Delicious-High-Heel-Stiletto-Mesh-White-Pumps/photo/634541363665080943&docid=epAFoFBFZWFLFM&imgurl=http://myauctionpics.com/galleries/Sexy-Delicious-High-Heel-Stiletto-Mesh-White-Pumps_634541343927112187/large/Sexy-Delicious-High-Heel-Stiletto-Mesh-White-Pumps_634541363665080943.jpg&w=900&h=600&ei=xJ1iT6OKHOHu0gGBqrmrCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=394&vpy=141&dur=1068&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=137&ty=111&sig=110517000673400958832&page=19&tbnh=118&tbnw=148&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:15,s:355

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=white+sandals&um=1&hl=en&rlz=1G1SNNTCENUS360&biw=1138&bih=466&tbm=isch&tbnid=nd1Bq3G9B--rJM:&imgrefurl=http://forum.urduworld.com/f85/white-sandals-285907/&docid=6GCCcSEDu47xnM&imgurl=http://z.about.com/d/shoes/1/0/6/f/white_sandals_.jpg&w=350&h=262&ei=HJ5iT8A86unRAbr1iLgI&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=419&vpy=153&dur=172&hovh=194&hovw=260&tx=189&ty=91&sig=110517000673400958832&page=3&tbnh=133&tbnw=192&start=25&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:25

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=white+sandals&um=1&hl=en&rlz=1G1SNNTCENUS360&biw=1138&bih=466&tbm=isch&tbnid=sHDgb3uvsEya_M:&imgrefurl=http://www.flickriver.com/groups/14654371%40N00/pool/interesting/&docid=4lhHhtLXWVMvWM&imgurl=http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3140/2973476561_ce019a18b5.jpg&w=456&h=342&ei=HJ5iT8A86unRAbr1iLgI&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=98&vpy=179&dur=3440&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=165&ty=120&sig=110517000673400958832&page=4&tbnh=131&tbnw=175&start=43&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:43

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=white+sandals&start=116&um=1&hl=en&rlz=1G1SNNTCENUS360&biw=1138&bih=466&addh=36&tbm=isch&tbnid=QXeAhZDDdaAlkM:&imgrefurl=http://www.christianlouboutinoutletshoessale.com/christian-louboutin-parisienne-chiffion-peeptoes-white-p-273.html&docid=UkiosTNu2VARxM&imgurl=http://www.christianlouboutinoutletshoessale.com/images/climg6/222.jpg&w=500&h=500&ei=UZ5iT8mNPOnw0gGY-py9CA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=273&vpy=131&dur=2166&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=114&ty=164&sig=110517000673400958832&page=8&tbnh=128&tbnw=128&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:116

Anyway, hope you enjoyed those pictures. And now my husband thinks I'm secretly buying more Louboutins. (I wish).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
fashion does not actually equal etiquette. The rule exists to mostly to anyone born before 1980 but now can be considered trendy of fashion forward to break it (if done correctly). Upon doing some research the rule is lax for certain warmer climates in the south as well. The rule should be considered (especially depending on occasion) but not followed stringently. It is in no way rude, but you do risk not looking right if you don't pull it off.

Yes, this is exactly the point! Fashion does NOT equal etiquette. And the reason is because fashion is dictated by whim. Etiquette is timeless. Fashion changes over time, from one season to the next, based on social trends, or even politics of the day (the 60's flower children influence, the 80's ladiies' blazers and ties). The etiquette of what to wear is a constant, something stable from one year to the next, one generation to the next. There is no "born after XXXX year" exemption, or allowance for breaking etiquette based on a current fashion trend. A trend is a trend. A fad. You can't hang your hat on that.

[Anonymous]

Why is this a rule anyway? I can see when you didn't have weather forcasts to tell you if it was safe to wear white or not but we live n the 21st century now. Sounds like a bunch of hens gathered around and figured how they could control other people and how they dress. I'll wear my white d'orsay pumps with my white jeans when I want and dare anyone to tell me I can't. For crying out loud if this rule still applies, then, shouldn't women still be wearing ankle length dresses and bloomers too? People need to get over it. Sorry for the rant, this arcane "rule" irks me and no one has ever given a reasonable explanation why it exists to this day.

[Anonymous]

It is before Memorial Day not Easter.

[Anonymous]

Another foreigner absolutely baffled by this....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No white Shoes, Skirts, pants, or linen. In the South it's Easter and in the north it's memorial day.

Or seersucker!

The congregation at a southern church on Easter Sunday is a sea of seersucker.

[Anonymous]

The Rule. The ONLY Rule.

Wear what you want when you want. Lat pathetic judgey people be pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Rule. The ONLY Rule.

Wear what you want when you want. Lat pathetic judgey people be pathetic.

x1000. Not giving a f*** is a way of life.

[Anonymous]

If it looks good on you, wear it.

The only rule I will absolutely insist on is STAND RIGHT, WALK LEFT!