The Ultimate Old Money Fashion Rule

The "no white after Labor Day" rule stands as perhaps the ultimate old money fashion edict. While its gatekeeping function is well-known, there are deeper themes at play that are less frequently discussed.

The rule emerged as a social signal to tell old money from the rising middle class in the Gilded Age. The middle class worked in the grimy city, where darker clothes make more sense.

Unlike those who had to work, the wealthy could summer in resorts and country homes. They could maintain a staff for laundry.

But what people don’t talk about is that the rule is also about discretion.