White Shoes After Labor Day: Are They In-Style?

One of my personal benefits of working from home is how I start each day. After I've poured myself a cup of coffee, I get comfortable in my chair and browse the articles on MSN.com. Today, I saw an article I just had to click on; The Fall Fashion Preview of the hottest trends and fashions we'll start seeing this upcoming season. And of course, being a jewelry artist as well as a girl who has a natural love for shopping, I clicked the link and read on.

One of the first sections I browsed through in this article was the shoe section. As you may already know, a girl can never have too many pairs of shoes! And to my surprise, I find nothing less than a white pair of leather boots brought to you by Isaac Mizrahi himself, a fashion designer for Target that always seems to push the envelope. As much as I liked the boots, I thought, wait a minute... Isn't it a fashion faux pau to wear white shoes after Labor Day? And so the research began...

When I first searched Google for the keywords "faux pau white shoes labor day" I found many blogs and articles of people discussing this issue all over the web. What people thought, who was actually breaking the rule, and who was traditional enough to stick with it. But, I found no hard evidence of where this fashion rule actually got started. So I dug a little deeper, I changed my search words again using the words "history no white after labor day" and still surprisingly I found no real answers as to how this tradition got started. I did however read several of the articles I found, and thought it was kind of interesting that nobody seems to know how this whole thing began!

One of the first things I learned is that there is such a thing as 'Winter White' and as much as I didn't think anything of it when I saw the 'Winter White' boots by Isaac Mizrahi on MSN's Fall Fashion Review, I've since learned that you can get away with wearing white shoes in the colder months of the year... of course, respectfully, they are called 'Winter White'. This particular shade of white is not quite as stark as traditional white, and has a more complimenting golden hue.

So the question now is, does the rule still apply? Do people still follow the 'No White Shoes after Labor Day' rule? Some say yes, and some say no. Many people were brought up being taught that not wearing white after Labor Day was just a common fashion rule; But there are so many depending on the climate of where you live, that truly believe in this rule and it's much more than just a superstition. In the south, this rule seems to still apply to many. It's a tradition there, and should you break it, you'll be sure to hear about it. However in warmer climates such as Florida and California, white is considered a fresh color and if the weather is right, white is in! This new rule has stretched far beyond a simple pair of shoes; Pants, skirts, jackets, dresses and so many other fashionable accessories are growing popular year round in the classic color of white.

Many of the supporting reasons I could find about the white rule were specific fashion suggestions, and none of them surprised me. Some say that we shouldn't wear white shoes outside of the summer months because our skin is fair and it doesn't show well against white when it is gray and cold outside. Others consider it a cleanliness trend. It's kind of hard to keep white shoes white in the middle of winter, so the no white shoes rule is a measure of practicality. Some say it's just a tradition. Wearing white is a summer style, and a classic one that should stay that way.

But the rule of wearing white has changed so much over time... White is in!! Fashion experts, celebrities, and everyday women across the country are wearing more white all year long. It's considered a fresh color for summer, crisp and clean, but what about early spring, late fall or even winter? The no white rule seems to have been unwritten. While we all still have our traditions, and some of us are willing to stick with what we've been told, I think this is a rule that we should all take the challenge and enjoy breaking! Step out of the box, and try something new! Fashion itself has taken a new turn over the last few years, having your own individual style is in style, so strap on some Winter White boots this fall and have some fashion fun!