Ever heard of it?

“No white after Labor Day” was the motto for all those who preferred to spend their Ferragosto by the sea rather than in hot, humid cities such as New York.

There, white clothing was ideal for sailing, walking or sundowners by the pool. The color white signals summer, nonchalance and the luxury of a good clean, because the pleasures of summer such as raspberries, blackberries, Negroni or pasta with tomato sauce can leave unpleasant stains on white.

When summer was over, people returned to the city, whose dirt they had to fear in earlier centuries. White dress was then back in fashion as a ball gown in the fall, as a sign that you could drive up to the red carpet in a horse-drawn carriage or limousine without getting dirty.

Strawberries with cream

Hardly anyone seems to appreciate rules these days and etiquette is often underestimated. We, on the other hand, like the idea of reserving the bright white for hot days. Strawberries and cream only taste really good in summer and are best enjoyed at Wimbledon, whose main sponsor is Pol Roger, Winston Churchill ‘s favorite champagne brand.

Wimbledon Championships 1928, Men’s Singles Final, Henri Cochet v Rene Lacoste © Alamy Stock Photo

The rules for the players on the tennis courts at Wimbledon still stipulate 90 percent white, but the back of the tennis shirt must be 100 percent white.

This follows the historical model, because at the royal court in France, when tennis was still called Jeu de Paume, the players’ clothing was of course white. Monasteries were popular places for tennis courts back then.

Cardinal Wolsey had a tennis court built at Hampton Court in the 16th century. Parts of Charles I’s successor court, which was built at Hampton Court near London in 1625, can still be seen there. Henry VIII, another prominent resident ofHampton Court, also flew over the tennis court in a white silk shirt.

The group of tennis players who still prefer indoor tennis in summer and winter to clay courts or grass and the old, stricter rules call their sport The Real Tennis. It is played on 50 courts worldwide with its own world championship.

Reserved for the bride

To this day, the color white is reserved for the bride. For all other guests: all colors except white.

Glistening white is both luxurious and practical, as light-colored clothing is ideal in high temperatures. One of the most famous paintings by John Singer Sargent, the famous American portrait painter, shows Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Fels Stokes “in sporting attire”. In sportswear, that is, with a long white skirt.

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The painting was a wedding present for the couple and can now be seen in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, when it is not on loan to another important museum in the world for a Sargent exhibition.

John Singer Sargent, Portrait Painting, Mr and Mrs I N Phelps Stokes, 1897 © Alamy Stock Photo

Carpe Diem

So we use the last few days of summer to do everything we had planned for the summer: spread out picnic blankets, drink rosé wines, go swimming, wear fancy sun hats, smoke cigars on the veranda and wear casual white pants.

For the rest of the year there are cream, beige, stone white and winter white.

Cover picture: Jackie Kennedy Onassis © Alamy Stock Photo

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