Put down the white shoes and nobody gets hurt

In honor of Labor Day, I wore white pants yesterday. And last night, I threw them in the laundry basket to be washed and put away until Memorial Day. Because all Southern girls were taught not to wear white after Labor Day.

some ecards

Now I realize this is a fashion decision that has decidedly fallen out of style. Everywhere people are saying this old fashioned idea should be put to rest. I can’t count the number of fashion bloggers who are declaring this tradition dead. The fabulous Stacy London suggests wearing winter white. Even the writers for the imitable Emily Post have chimed in to say the tradition is past its time. 

Stacy and Emily’s desire to end the tradition did give me pause. But it wasn’t until Tim Gunn chimed in that I had real heart palpitations. When asked if wearing white after Labor Day should be allowed, he said:

“Oh absolutely! All those rules need to go away. All of them, absolutely. In fact, winter white is stunning, it really is.”

Now y’all, I love Tim Gunn. I absolutely adore him. I got to know him on Project Runway and fell in love with the way he tells it like it is when needed but also loves on the contestants when he senses a breakdown in process. Plus, his fashion advice is classic and classy. So to hear him say this rule I’ve known, loved and lived by since I was a mere babe should be tossed into the garbage heap of fashion history is disarming to say the least.

Hmm...

As much as I love Tim Gunn, even his words of recommendation aren’t enough to get me to pull out my white pants from the summer storage bin. The tradition is too ingrained in me to toss completely. I spent the first 35 years of my life in the South where I was trained not to wear white pants or shoes after Labor Day; not sure a few blog posts or words from a fashion mentor can drive that training from my brain or heart.

That Southern training goes deep.

So no matter what my fashion and etiquette gurus say, my white shoes and pants will be safely stored until next May. At which point, I’ll pull them out, dust them off and say, “Summer already? Man, time flies.”

Rotten eCards

Thank you, Mood!

Aside from the major tourist sites in NYC, I really wanted to see Mood, the fabric store made famous by the TV show Project Runway. I started watching it when Sean got transferred to Lansing and my nights became very lonely. Pretty sure I watched way too much TV in the five months we were apart…

Anyway, PR is a show about fashion designers – I like it because it’s a reality show that requires skill. Each week the designers receive a challenge to make a particular outfit, and each week they visit Mood. They race through the store, collecting whatever fabrics and notions needed to create a look for that week’s challenge. I am amazed that they designers can buy a bunch of fabric, then send a dress down the runway 24 hours later. Totally crazy.

We checked the address, went to the spot, and the store was not there. I hadn’t thought we’d have to enter an office building and ride an elevator to the store – an elevator with an actual elevator operator! It was very 1960’s and very, very cool. As we stood around looking confused, the elevator man said, "Mood?" I wish I'd gotten his name because without him, we wouldn't have found the store. Thanks so much. Mr. Elevator Man!

He took us up to the third floor and we walked right into Mood. And I know this sound crazy, but it looks exactly like it does on the show. Exactly. The stairs, the fabrics, the signs – exactly. The only thing that would have made it more like the show is if Tim Gunn would have been there!

And the staff was as kind to us as they seem on TV. I figured they were sick of tourists just trying to get a peek at the store. But each employee we talked to was so friendly and helpful. David, especially, was so friendly as he helped Rebecca with her button purchase. We could have spent hours just looking at buttons!

As we checked out, the cashier gave us a fabric Mood bag for our purchase – hello, Christy’s souvenir! I look like one of the PR designers, carrying my Mood bag over my shoulder.

Just don’t tell the Mood people I have no idea how to sew.

I was trying to not look like a complete tourist, so I don't have any pictures. Note to self: don't do that again! Thankfully, there are lots of other pictures of Mood online and I'm thankful to be able to
borrow one.