Mailbag - Wearing White?
Kate writes: After seeing a big debate on the Today Show this week about when it's ok to start wearing white (Easter? first day of spring? Memorial Day?)... I wanted to get your take (as well as Madras & Lilly Pulitzer.)
This is a perpetually hot topic with a wide range of opinions, so for what it's worth here's my two cents...
I say no white until Memorial Day. Call me old-fashioned, but I adhere to the traditional Memorial-Labor Day white wearing schedule. Particularly here in the Northeast where we have four distinct seasons, white is a summer only color for me.
My fashionista pal Liz swears white is now a year round color complete with its own seasonal variations (like winter white). I think lots of women agree with Liz, but I just wouldn't feel comfortable wearing white in the middle of February so I skip it.
Now those of you who live in warmer areas could probably stretch that Memorial-Labor Day season a bit by wearing your whites from Easter onward. (I'd love to hear what you Southern ladies think about when the white season ends/begins.) Or if you're vacationing in the Caribbean colors like white or fabrics like linen don't ever go out of style so it's fairly safe to sport them year round.
As for madras and Lilly... I wait even further into the summer season to break out these preppy staples. It's often way too cold to wear those pretty Lilly sundresses here in NY in May or June, so they're usually my party outfit of choice during the dog days of summer in July and August. The same is true for madras, which is great for casual day wear out at the beach in late summer.
And as an urban dweller I'd also point out that I rarely wear any of these items (white, Lilly, madras) when I'm in the city. Sometimes I'll carry an off white handbag or don a bright Lilly shirt when I'm in town, but typically the summer wardrobe pieces (like madras) are country-only wear.
And after all, the deconstructed, laid back look of a madras capri is so much better suited to an Adirondack chair in Nantucket than to a sidewalk in midtown.
So kids, when do you wear white (...and madras and Lilly)?
This is a perpetually hot topic with a wide range of opinions, so for what it's worth here's my two cents...
I say no white until Memorial Day. Call me old-fashioned, but I adhere to the traditional Memorial-Labor Day white wearing schedule. Particularly here in the Northeast where we have four distinct seasons, white is a summer only color for me.
My fashionista pal Liz swears white is now a year round color complete with its own seasonal variations (like winter white). I think lots of women agree with Liz, but I just wouldn't feel comfortable wearing white in the middle of February so I skip it.
Now those of you who live in warmer areas could probably stretch that Memorial-Labor Day season a bit by wearing your whites from Easter onward. (I'd love to hear what you Southern ladies think about when the white season ends/begins.) Or if you're vacationing in the Caribbean colors like white or fabrics like linen don't ever go out of style so it's fairly safe to sport them year round.
As for madras and Lilly... I wait even further into the summer season to break out these preppy staples. It's often way too cold to wear those pretty Lilly sundresses here in NY in May or June, so they're usually my party outfit of choice during the dog days of summer in July and August. The same is true for madras, which is great for casual day wear out at the beach in late summer.
And as an urban dweller I'd also point out that I rarely wear any of these items (white, Lilly, madras) when I'm in the city. Sometimes I'll carry an off white handbag or don a bright Lilly shirt when I'm in town, but typically the summer wardrobe pieces (like madras) are country-only wear.
And after all, the deconstructed, laid back look of a madras capri is so much better suited to an Adirondack chair in Nantucket than to a sidewalk in midtown.
So kids, when do you wear white (...and madras and Lilly)?
posted by Mel at 00:55
<< Home