02/09/2025
🧦 While the tradition of not wearing after is often seen as a strict rule, it actually has its roots in class distinctions from the Gilded Age. During this time, wealthy Americans would spend their summers vacationing at coastal resorts, where white linen and cotton clothing was a practical and elegant choice for the hot weather. When they returned to the city in the fall, they would pack away their light-colored clothes and switch to darker, more practical attire for the dirty, unpaved streets. This seasonal change became a subtle way for "old money" socialites to distinguish themselves from the working class and those who were "new money" and not in the know about the rules of high society. Read more: https://www.vogue.com/article/wearing-white-after-labor-day #:~:text=The%20emergence%20of%20sportswear%20also,also%20couldn't%20wear%20them.
