Wearing White Only After Memorial Day--
Is it a light hearted style rule or confinement?
via white pin
traditional summer cottage with slipcovers by designer William Neff featured in Hooked On Houses
photo credit, Philip Clayton-Thompson
I like to take that fascination with white and apply it to decorating as well. In our beach house, I pull out the white slipcovers for my sofa and chairs every summer. It feels fresh and light to adorn my home with a bit more white in the summer months. Some think the reason for all this white obsession is because here in the northeast we are only gifted three months a year with blaring sun and hot temperatures, and we collectively celebrate summer big because of it. This "white rule" seems to relish in the special-ness of summer. The interior design industry has had a fascination with "white slipcovers" in summer which is the same ideology in many mays. In a 1983 New York Times article interior designer Keith Irvine was quoted...
"in large European houses of the 16th century, the good upholstered furniture was protected with ''loose covers,'' actually nothing more than bed linens draped over the furniture. ''There were so many servants in those grand houses that anyone who happened to be handy with a needle would often take the loose covers and sew them to fit the furniture more exactly. That's how the first proper slipcovers were created. By the 18th century fitted summer slipcovers had become a common household item.''
Of course I consulted with the arbiter of great style and over at the Emily Post website, I think this quote can be taken that if you do wear white in the Fall maybe choose a heavier weight rather then white linen pants.
"The true interpretation for wearing white is
'wear what’s appropriate'—
for the weather, the season, or the occasion.”
- The Emily Post website
Happy Nesting
XO Tamara