Yes, You Can Wear White After Labor Day, And Other Fashion Myths Debunked

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0:07Hi guys, welcome back to another episode of Let's Get Dressed. It's your host, Liv Perez. Hope you're all having a great start to your week. There has been a DM that I have been getting so frequently, and I get it every year around this time of year, and that is, hey Liv, can I wear white after Labor Day? And getting this question really got me thinking about how many fashion myths I feel like I was taught growing up or are accustomed in our society that actually make no sense and that I like love to wear in my everyday style. So I thought today would be the perfect opportunity, we're right after Labor Day-ish, to sit down and talk about a few fashion myths that I love to break and wear in my everyday life.

0:56So let's debunk them. Let's get into not wearing white after Labor Day first, since I just mentioned it. In case you guys don't know a little bit of the history of not wearing white after Labor Day, it actually spans all the way back to the Gilded Age. So let's go back to that era. In New York, in the summers, the wealthy upper class elite would leave New York City and go to their summer homes, usually in Newport, Southampton. If you've watched the Gilded Age on HBO, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you haven't watched it, I highly recommend it. It's such a great fun history show. And especially if you live in New York, it's a really great history lesson.

1:31But two, the fashion on there is incredible. I watch it, one, because I love the plotline. But two, I am always like enthralled by what every character is wearing. So definitely check out that show. I think they're filming the third season right now. So you have lots of time to catch up before it comes out. But so they would leave New York, go to their summer homes, and pack only their whites for their summer homes for a few reasons. One, white obviously reflects light so it keeps everybody cooler. Two, white doesn't show any sweat marks. And during that time, obviously showing a sweat mark was quite unsightly, so no sweat marks.

2:06Linen was also becoming a big fabric during that time, so it was kind of the fabric of choice for elites during the summer. And lastly, it was the only time that they could wear white where they wouldn't get dirty from the New York City streets. If you were someone wearing white and the bottoms of your dress or garments were soiled, it basically implied that you were someone who worked in manual labor, landscaping, cooking, cleaning, anything along those lines. So white really became a way to kind of distinguish between classes. And especially when the upper class returned back to New York in the fall, they would pack all their whites away.

2:39One, of course, because the dirty New York City streets, all the horses, no cars. There was no like sanitation department at that time. They were probably filthy with trash and all of the things. Wearing white was just not an option if you were in the upper class. Also, of course, as fall comes, you don't need to wear that light color. To reflect the light, you can wear things that are a bit cooler. And those darker colors would hide anything that would actually be on the floor of New York City. So again, an indicator of class, but also just something that was practical for the times of the Gilded Age, which, while I do think the streets of New York City are still quite dirty, actually has nothing to do with our current lifestyle today.

3:20So white, I just feel in general, is synonymous with summer. But for us, it really has nothing to do with the way that we dress today. And I wear white year round. So let's just set the record straight here for anybody DMing or answering that question. I'm a big believer in wearing white year round. It's not just a summer shade, especially because of the fact that that saying kind of feels like an old wives tale at this point. It has nothing to do with our current society. You can still follow it if you want, but I feel like I remember like my grandma and my mom growing up saying it to me. And I think we can usher in the next generation not believing the no white after Labor Day lore.

3:59I actually prefer to wear white in the winter. I love a winter white moment. an outfit that I'm currently packing for one of my trips is a white pair of slacks with this white cashmere tee that I have from J.Crew and my suede brown jacket. It feels really cozy. It feels really elevated. And it's something I really recommend you guys carrying into the winter. Another thing I love, and this might just be a California thing, so disclaimer, I love white jeans in the winter, especially with like a big leather jacket and like a chunky knit sweater underneath. I think it's a really great elevated look.

4:32So don't write your whites off. Keep them in the closet. Keep them in the fold because I think it works forever. Moving on to the next one, mixing black and navy. My one tip I would say when it comes to mixing black and navy is make sure that your navy is a bit more blue and not a dark, almost black navy. To me, that's where an outfit can get a little confusing on the eye because the eye wants to go to distinctive colors within an outfit. So if you're wearing two things that are close in shade, it won't work. It's like when you have a color shoe and a bag and say, for example, they're both burgundy, but one's a little bit more of a red burgundy and one's a little bit more of a purple burgundy.

5:13That drives me crazy. And it's one of those things that I hate when you get a few things in your wardrobe and you're like, oh, those shoes in that bag are going to match perfectly. And then you get there in person and you're like, oh, they're just one shade off and they don't work. Same thing goes for navy. Make sure that it's a blue navy and not a black navy because then I think the tones don't work. I just had that with a burgundy set that I absolutely love. I got a pair of burgundy Jimmy Choo's and I thought they were going to go perfectly with this burgundy bag that I have in my closet. But they were literally like one shade off and it broke my heart.

5:45Don't you guys hate when that happens? Hate when that happens. But it's a good reminder to really pay attention to your shades as you're getting dressed. Okay, next one. On the note of shades. Let's talk about mismatched shoes and bags. So this is something that I myself am working on right now because I have always been a believer in matching your shoes to your bags. Always. I can't do it. I feel crazy when I don't. But I will say that I've seen a lot of inspiration lately that is making me believe otherwise. So we're on this journey together. Speaking of colors, I have a three color rule. I believe that every outfit should have three colors and three colors only.

6:25And as long as you're letting those three colors speak to each other, I do think that you can mismatch your shoes to your bag. A really good example was Nara Smith recently at the Gucci show in Milan. She was there with her husband, Lucky. She was wearing a beige Gucci playsuit that was short and mean it was so cute, paired with a matching coat on top, a black pair of pumps, and a brown Gucci bag. And looking at the outfit, it worked. She looked so good. And I think it's again because of the three color rule. If she was wearing anything other than those two matching colors in the play suit and the coat, I think it would look off.

7:02If you're someone who's a little bit shy to mix your bag and shoes, I say go for a black shoe, start there, and then mix whatever color you want with the bag. Again, this is something I'm still working on myself, but seeing that Nara example was a really good reference point for a mismatched shoe and bag and making a case for it. The other show that I saw recently in person that I was very inspired by in terms of mismatched accessories, but ones that fully worked in an outfit, was at the Tory Burch show. I think she is the queen of accessories. I'm sure you guys have noticed in the last two years, she's had a major bump in the fashion industry.

7:40And I think it's because she's really leaned into great accessories. The entire collection of pierced shoes, the mule, the flats, I've seen them everywhere. And I actually wear my pierced mules once a week. I'm obsessed with them. I love the way they look. They are so cool and edgy, but also chic at the same time. And so I think she's doing a great job with accessories. And then a level up of that, she's doing a great job at merchandising her accessories. So if you saw the last show, she had multiple looks where the shoes were one color and then the belt matched the bag. And also back to my three color rule, she does a really good job of following that as well.

8:18For example, the opening look of the show was a beige crop top with a black high-waisted skirt with beige shoes and a maroon bag. This look feels incredibly wearable and very easily accessible to any of us. And the shoes and the bags were mismatched. But because there's three colors there, the look completely works. And she has way more detailed and challenging examples throughout the collection. You can see that there are some moments where the belt is matching a color in the bag and then the shoes are matching the top. But again, all of these looks have three colors. And I think that's a really important tip in dressing.

8:58So go check it out. It's on Vogue Runway right now. The Tory Burch Spring 2025 show. Amazing accessory inspiration. And just to make it clear in case I didn't, I used to not be pro the mismatched shoes and bags, but here I am. Let's go to our next one. And that is prints. I have always been told not to mix prints. If I'm wearing like a striped bottom, not to wear polka dots or in general, finding any incredible fabric that's printed to not mix it with something else. Let's refute that because I love seeing a mixed print look. If you guys watch Emily in Paris, which I do, I get a lot of inspiration from what Emily's wearing.

9:35While I'm someone who is not mixing prints in my everyday life, I definitely respect the eye and level at which Emily in Paris is doing it right. My belief when it comes to mixing prints is let one print be the loud, interesting print, and the rest be something that's a bit more typical. A great example, and we can bring up Emily in Paris again, is this one look that she was recently wearing in season four. She was in a cafe. She was wearing a long sleeve striped blouse with a geometric print vest over the blouse. To a lot of people, this might feel overwhelming. I like it and think it's really fun.

10:15It's unexpected, but again, if you're someone who's wearing prints, you're leaning in anyways. So the fact that she was wearing this bold geometric print on the vest, but then had something that felt a little bit more expected and uniform, I think is the key to mixing a print. Have one thing that feels unexpected and one thing that feels uniform to the eye. Another brand that I think that does mixing prints really well is Carolina Herrera. Wes Gordon is currently the designer there. They are the master of mixing prints, in my opinion, and do what I was just saying very well. You'll see an incredible floral print skirt mixed with a spotted top.

10:51And it works because, again, your eye is used to seeing the spots and the stripes, in my opinion. That's something that feels uniform. And then the flower or geometric print is what draws your eye somewhere else. He also is amazing at using inverse prints, which I really love. So a black top with white spots and then a white skirt with black spots. And I always think that is really fun. I think it's really formal and something that you can do in like evening wear or occasion wear. I think for dressing up, that's always really fun. If you are someone who loves to wear prints, I always say mix a print, go for it.

11:25And I would say, don't be afraid to do it. Before we continue with our conversation today, a quick thank you to our sponsor of today's episode, Cotton. Cotton's The Fabric of Now campaign is challenging everyone to make the natural choice to give yourself enough room to breathe so that you can be more intentional in your everyday life and in what you wear. To me, cotton as a fabric, it just feels like a giant hug. It's the thing that I go towards every single morning when I'm getting ready to tackle my day because it's the thing that makes me feel most like myself. It feels like a second skin.

12:00Plus, it goes really well with everything in my closet and just makes dressing a breeze. It's breathable and soft and comfortable. And honestly, it feels like doing that thing that you need to do for yourself to get grounded after maybe say a really hectic month. For me, that's going out in nature. And whatever it is for you, it's that feeling of getting back to yourself. I love to go out in nature, put my phone away, leave my laptop at home, be with my loved ones and totally unwind. I feel completely recharged after I do those weekends. And it feels so natural for me. It feels so good to leave those things behind and just get to the center of myself.

12:38Maybe read a good book, play a couple board games. That's really when I feel like my most self. And it's the same way that I feel when I'm wearing cotton. So cotton is asking all of us to recharge in your own way. Maybe that means putting your phone down for a few hours a day or just going out with your friends for the night and being really present. Whatever it is, you do you. Find that thing that feels natural and makes you feel good. Cotton is the natural choice. Discover the fabric of now

13:04Okay, let's move on. Let's talk about mixing gold and silver. I feel like this has been something that I have heard about so much in fashion lately. I've been seeing more and more and more people mixing metals. I prefer mixed metals in a very dainty way, especially with cuffs trending right now. I don't recommend mixing the metals of loud, bold jewelry. Do it in a very dainty, refined way. For example, huggies and drop earrings in your ear. Totally fine to mix metals, in my opinion. Same thing goes for tennis bracelets, dainty jewelry on the arm. I think that works too. I don't like a big ring mixed metal moment.

13:42I think if you can do it in a very refined, small way, I think that it works. I don't think we have to be as strict as we used to be. I remember growing up, it was like a, oh my God, do not mix that. Like that doesn't work. That's silver. That's gold. One thing I will say about silver and gold and the reason why I think it's been so polarizing in the past is because those two tones to me have everything to do with your skin tone and the color that it radiates from your skin tone. So obviously silver being a bit more of a blue tone, gold being a bit more of an orange warm tone. I think that has everything to do with your skin tone.

14:15For me, I'm tanner in the summer, so I like to wear gold. And then I'm a bit paler in the winter, so I can wear silver and get away with it. But that's something you should pay attention to as you are matching any kind of jewelry and looking at how the tones work with your skin. Okay, the next one that my mom still tells me is that stripes are unflattering. I totally disagree, but I think that there's one key to nailing stripes that is so important. It has to be a thin stripe. It cannot be a thick stripe. Thick stripes to me just don't work. And you know what? I actually don't think thick stripes are flattering.

14:48I have a knit that has thin stripes, and I love it. I wear it all the time, especially in the summer. It feels like a beach sweater. You know what I mean? Like it feels like the quintessential beach sweater. I wear it over my shoulders. I wear it with cargo pants. I wear it with jeans, but it's a thin stripe and that's why I think it works. Also, I always believe horizontal stripes are better than vertical stripes. I think vertical stripes are a little bit hard on the eye. So I always say make it a horizontal stripe. It's so funny thinking about all of these. They're so minuscule. They're like tiny moments like black and navy, mismatched shoes and bags, gold and silver.

15:23I think these are such easy, effortless things that are kind of antiquated ways of being. And I actually think a lot of the times when I see someone mixing gold and silver or I see someone mixing black and navy, I'm like, oh, that's so interesting. And I'm more attracted to it, I think, than being like, wow. I think right now I'm more interested and drawn to people that are doing it different and mixing it up. The last one that I want to touch on is the most important one for me, hands down, and one that we're all going to experience. And that's that as you get older, you need to start dressing your quote unquote age.

15:59That like, you know, once you're 30, 40, whatever, that you need to dress in a more refined way. And you can't wear things that feel young or too fashion forward. I have to quote my producer, Christiana, because we were talking about this. And she said a line that I have to give a shout out to. We all love a good trench coat, a cashmere sweater, and a ring that won't turn your finger green. But I will be wearing fun little outfits and funky earrings until I'm in the ground. And I loved that. Fashion is all about self-expression. And it shouldn't be this thing that as you get older, we have to evolve and change our physical appearance because what society thinks we need to wear.

16:35And I have so many women in my life who I will often hear or see, you know, love something on a hanger and be like, I love that. But like, it's too young for me. And I always look at them and I'm like, are you saying that because it is maybe too revealing or too sexy and you're not comfortable wearing that? Or are you not allowing yourself to like have fun with the outfit because you think society would frown upon it? That is the biggest fashion myth to debunk. There are a few women on Instagram who I am so deeply inspired by and have built their communities around dressing for 50 and up. My first is Raina Jazz, R-E-N-I-A-J-A-Z.

17:11Her Instagram is VensWifeStyle. It's at V-E-N-S-W-I-F-E-S-T-Y-L-E. And I'm obsessed with her Instagram. I think she's so incredible. She will take looks from celebrities or other people on the red carpet and do a get ready with me. And it will say, I'm 59 and this is how I wear Kendall Jenner's Bottega Veneta dress. Or I'm 59 and this is how I get ready to go to game day or something like that. And I, her fashion and style is incredible. You guys have to shoot her a follow. She gives me so much inspiration and makes me feel excited about getting dressed over the next few decades of my life. She's such a great follow.

17:49My other favorite who has like over a million followers, everybody loves her is Grace Ghanem. I think that's how you say her name. G-R-E-C-E. She's 60 years old and she has the most incredible style. I am so obsessed with her. She's so fab and knows how to serve a look and an incredible closet of clothes and accessories. And I get so much inspiration from her style. So go follow both of those women. I'm obsessed with both of them. And again, I think they really defy and debunk this myth that as we get older, our style needs to change because that's what society says. Every single year, my style has been different.

18:25And that's because I'm different. I'm evolving as a person. I'm growing. I'm getting inspired by things I'm seeing out there in the world. And I often get asked how I would describe my personal style. And I really never know how to answer that. I always am evolving. I'm always trying new things. One day I'm really preppy. One day I'm really edgy. And I think for me, that's been a very important way of discovering myself and how I show up as my best self and how I can express that to the world. So I never want to lose that. And I never want to feel like I have to change or morph just because I'm getting older.

18:58I hope that over the next 20, 30, 40 years, I'm still going to be exploring my sense of style the same way that Grace and Raina are as well. Love them. Obsessed. Overall, I don't think there should be a lot of rules in fashion. Again, fashion is all about self-expression and self-discovery. And I think anybody could pull off anything if they're wearing it confidently. I hope you guys loved today's episode and I hope that it inspired you to try something new and break out of the molds a little bit of the things that maybe we've been told throughout our lives. If you haven't subscribed to the show yet, please shoot us a follow on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

19:30And if you have a second before you leave today's show, go leave us a review. It really helps the show grow and expands this community. I hope you guys have a great week. Next week, we are doing one of my favorite episodes of the year, which is going to be a debrief of all the incredible style hacks and tips that I learned while I was in Paris last week. So I can't wait for you guys to hear that one too. Have a great week, guys. See you next week.

20:00Thank you.

20:25episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.