Why Aren’t You Supposed to Wear White After Labor Day?

Wearing white in the summer makes sense. Desert dwellers have known for thousands of years that white clothing reflects sunlight and seems to keep you a little bit cooler than other colors. But wearing white only during the summer? While no one is completely sure when or why this fashion rule came into effect, the best guess is that it had something to do with snobbery in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The History

After the Civil War, the wives of the super-rich ruled high society. As more and more people became millionaires, though, it was difficult to differentiate between respectable old money families and the vulgar nouveau riche. By the 1880s, to tell who was acceptable and who was not, the women who were already “in” felt it necessary to create dozens of fashion rules that everyone in the know had to follow. That way, if a woman showed up at the opera in a dress that cost more than most Americans made in a whole year, but had the wrong sleeve length, other women would know not to give her the time of day.

Not wearing white outside the summer months was reportedly another one of these silly rules. White was for weddings and resort wear, not dinner parties in the fall. Of course, it could get pretty hot in September, and wearing white might make sense. But if you wanted to be appropriately attired you just did not do it. Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894, and society eventually adopted it as the natural endpoint for summer fashion.

Not everyone followed this rule. Even some socialites continued to buck the trend—most famously Coco Chanel, who regularly wore white year-round. Though the rule was originally enforced by only a few hundred women, over the decades it trickled down to everyone else. By the 1950s, women’s magazines made it clear to middle class America: White clothing was dug out on Memorial Day and went back into storage after Labor Day.

The Current Standing

Fast forward to 2026, however, and it’s no longer the norm. Those who follow fashion would likely scoff at the idea of ditching white after Labor Day, with Vogue even citing a Ladies Home Journal advice column from back in the 1970s, in which etiquette author Amy Vanderbilt declared, “I don’t know where the rule began, but it no longer holds.” The fashion publication makes it clear that everyone is free to sport the color after the September holiday, no strings attached.

The Pioneer Woman’s Ree Drummond recently weighed in on the subject for the 2026 summer-fall season, agreeing that the rule is a thing of the past. “‘No white jeans after Labor Day’ is sort of an outdated rule, and so is ‘No casseroles before Labor Day!’” she stated.

It’s undeniable that the fashion world is much more relaxed about what colors to wear and when nowadays, although every year you will still probably a person or two say that white after Labor Day is unacceptable. This is all thanks to some snobby millionaires who decided that was a fashion no-no more than 100 years ago.

So while you may not see women wearing white attire after Labor Day in shows like The Gilded Age, you are absolutely free to wear it this weekend—and beyond—without fear of judgment.

A version of this story ran in 2019; it has been updated for 2026.