Ever since I was a little girl, I was told that I was to not wear white after labor day. That made no sense to me as I really could not differentiate between memorial day, labor day, veterans and so forth.  Eventually, I came to understand the different holidays and what they meant as a national body. I also came to understand wearing white was for the summertime. In New York it makes some sense, as the humidity in New York during the summer  is at times inhumane. As such, you need light colored clothes to be able to walk the 3-4 miles one tends to do daily in New York City.  White is a practical choice. And it is particularly funny to see New Yorkers wearing white, as we love wearing black at all times.

Then when winter comes, the streets become a tad bit dirty. I love the smell of the first snowfall in New York.  It is magical and it is serene. That one moment of zen New Yorkers allow themselves.  Then the cars start plowing through and dirtying up the beautiful mounds of snow.  You need to wear knee high boots so that you keep yourself dry and clean as you walk and slide through the snow and ice.  As such not wearing white after labor day seemed to make some sense. Then I went away to boarding school where everyone seemed to follow that fashion rule. Who was I to disturb that time-honored ritual?

As I grew older, however, I came to realize that not wearing white after labor day was silly. While many others would lose their summer tans, I keep mine year round I look good in white.  Why should I deny myself the pleasure of wearing a color that contrasts nicely with my cheekbones? Wearing white became a great source of pride to me. I loved being able to pull it off and to flaunt these rules that no longer seemed to make sense.  Of course, one has to be very careful with the soot and dirt of New York and considering that I am an extremely clumsy person wearing white is daring in other ways as well. I am the type of person that you can tell what I have eaten during the day by the stains on my shirt. Thus when I wear white and it stays white throughout the day, I feel that I have accomplished much.

Overall, I wear white because it boosts my mood. Now that I am in Los Angeles and I get to go to the beach on the weekends, wearing white is even more fun. I don’t abuse it though, Wearing white every once in a while has a more striking effect than wearing it everyday.