Thank heavens fashion has changed over the last decade.

Even those pioneer women who crossed the plains broke the rules. Oh…they wore long

dresses and corsets….but they didn’t tighten them. Walk 20 miles cinched up in whale bone staves?? No Way. These women knew how to survive and it wasn’t in a corset.

That brought up a hot discussion among the Lutheran Ladies

What should Women Wear to Special Occasions Now Days?

(Weddings, Funerals, etc)

Dresses? Yes, everyone agreed.

Slacks? Okay. As long as they’re elegant. A few ladies admitted they don’t wear dresses anymore…only slacks.

Jeans? HA.Ha. Get out of here.

Zara Phillips, Daughter of Princess Anne at the Royal Wedding

Hats? Wear ’em if you got ’em.

But there was one powerful rule most women were afraid to break. They’d heard it since they were born. Everyone agreed it had changed, but rarely did anyone break it.

What was this powerful magic forcing its domain over a woman’s closet????

The No White After Labor Day Rule

The why of the rule has been lost, but like a ghost story, it still haunts fashion.

The myth is that in the 1880s, there were complex social rules for those in the know. Show up to a gala in a puffy-sleeved gown when the “cool” ladies wore straight sleeve and you and your vulgar new money could expect to be snubbed (just like at a Jr. High Dance.)

Not wearing white after Labor Day seems to be one of these rules. By the 50s, the No-Summer-No-White had become a commandment for everyone.