By By LISA TINDELL, Managing editor
Labor Day is fast approaching and the time to pack up the white shoes and other white garments is at hand.
I realize we live in the south where the temperatures are 80 or above through January, but wearing white after Labor Day in any climate is a no-no.
I'm not alone in my feelings of this age-old rule. In a debate Tuesday at the offices of The Brewton Standard, I discovered that the majority of women feel the same way I do. However, by viewing the habits of those around the area not everyone adheres to the "no white" policy.
There are very few exceptions to the rule of not wearing white after Labor Day. The concensus is that the only folks who can wear white whenever they want is nurses and other healthcare professionals. Maybe the lunchroom lady can get away with it, but they usually just wear white aprons so it kinda doesn't count.
Athletes can wear white shoes if it is necessary to play a sport well. Even the common man can wear white athletic shoes after Labor Day, but the canvas shoes must give way to leather or leather-like ones.
In other fashion areas, white pants and shirts must also be put into the basket for safe keeping until next spring as well. You will not find any white pants, dresses or skirts in my closet. One co-worker and I share this fact. We've decided since we are klutzes we choose not to go around with spots of coffee, soda or lunch visible to the naked eye so we don't wear white anything. (Maybe the occasional t-shirt if we're painting or something.)
There are other fashion rules concerning the color of hose as related to color of shoes, the wearing of non-split slips with split skirts and such. I will save that information to pass along to you at a later time when a fashion deadline is not approaching so quickly.
I am not the kind of person that would tackle a lady in the grocery store parking lot is she were wearing white shoes after Labor Day. But you can rest assured that I'll be shaking my head and making that tsk-tsk sound.
These feelings have been instilled in us by our mothers. Any southern girl raised by a semi-proper southern lady will tell you that their mother taught them to put away the white clothing and shoes after Labor Day.
These are the same mothers who taught us to say thank you, please, yes ma'am and no ma'am. Those mothers can't be wrong, so I'll be listening to their advice. I won't be wearing white shoes, pants, skirts, dresses after next Monday. I may keep my tenny-shoes handy to wear to the ball games, but that's all you'll see white on me.
So I'm passing on the ideas that so many mothers before me have passed on.
Here's the rule -- Do not wear white after Labor Day. You should follow this guideline until Easter.
Happy Fall, Y'all!