Can You Really Not Wear White After Labor Day?

Rick Smith/Columnist

Labor Day. An invigorating – some might say “intoxicating” – holiday because the kiddos are back in school. Aunt Cypsy argued for years that Labor Day would have been called Independence Day, but that name had already been snagged.

Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, but Southerners know that sweltering conditions can linger for several more weeks justifying shorts, t-shirts, and flip flops, once branded as thongs.

In my formative years, Grace E developed a deadly aim with a thong. She could hit a darting and dodging juvenile delinquent with this flying missile at twenty paces, leaving a red waffle print up ‘side the forehead. Of course, these days, telling someone you got hit in the head with a thong takes on a very different suggestion. It has folks peering over the top of their eyeglasses, eyebrows raised – except for those with newfangled Botox injections. For those, nary an eyebrow gets raised. 

Along with providing a long weekend to wrap up summer, Labor Day rewards the perseverance and hard work of employees by giving them an extra day to sign off and relax and empty the dishwasher. 

Some communities celebrate Labor Day with a parade. The first Labor Day “parade” was actually a strike on September 5, 1882, when tens of thousands of union laborers marched the 2½ miles from New York City Hall to Union Square in protest of the deplorable working conditions. 

There were no baton-twirling beauties, no high-energy marching bands, and no pageant queens waving from red convertibles. There were no dignitaries tossing free candy to the kids that lined the streets as the cavalcade meandered through downtown. 

There were workers, including children as young as five years old, who labored in unsafe factories, farms, mills, and mines for 12 hours or more per day, seven days a week, often without breaks, fresh air or even clean water.

Perhaps the workers that need red-letter recognition on Labor Day are those that work during this holiday. Lower-wage workers – many retail, restaurant, factory, and farm employees. Public safety employees – police and firefighters. Emergency personnel – nurses, doctors, and EMTs. Travel personnel – pilots, flight attendants, and railroad conductors. Media – news networks. Technical and security workers. Those that keep the plates spinning.

Should you be an employee privileged to have off this Labor Day, go the extra mile to engage in random acts of kindness. Acknowledge those that are laboring by telling them how much you appreciate their services. Buy them breakfast or lunch or invite them to drop by for a grilled burger. As Ms. Ellie says, “It takes so little to make a difference.” 

When it comes to wearing white after Labor Day, there are no rules. Ladies are no longer bound by the lofty (Cousin Val Lou would say “bougie”) expectations of the Gilded Age. Trust me, the fashion police will not be pounding the pavement in this heat looking for a fashion faux pas. You can wear all the white in the world you want. But, please, no socks with crocs.

Rick Smith is a Jeffersonian and can be reached at theriquemeister@gmail.com.