A Rebuttal from a Southern Girl

Stirring up fashion controversy is fun! The fashion topics which usually result in heated discussions are pleats in men's pants and whether or not you can wear black and navy together. I think we have found a new one! For those of you who did not yet read yesterday's blog post about what I perceive to be an inability to dress appropriately for the seasons in DC, click here or scroll down before you read the reaction of a true southern girl below. Maybe next week I'll talk about black and navy!

Jack Rogers Sandals 

Just had this conversation at lunch today. Clearly you did not think about what my response would be as a Southerner before reaching your conclusion. OF COURSE wearing summer white is not okay in March in the South. Where in the country is the no white before Memorial Day or after Labor Day rule most strictly adhered to? Where do sororities and the junior league still school the majority of college girls and young women on the importance of such rules? That would be in the South. Never in my hometown would someone ask the question I was asked today: "Why do we even have that rule about not wearing white in winter? Were there a bunch of old ladies sitting around with nothing better to do who wanted to be in control?" I mean really. My response was that I could only think of impolite responses and thus I really could not answer her. (Because anyone with any sense of style or propriety would not be caught dead wearing summer clothes in the winter! Because it just looks completely wrong and tasteless! Because you do not live in Miami! Because the fashion gods know better than you!)

The only concession I will make is that in the Deep South we do tend to use Easter as the marker for the day you can begin to wear white for the season instead of Memorial Day (traditionally that's the date by which you buy your white- ie, summer -church shoes for the year, to be worn with your new pastel Easter dress), and sometimes Easter can come in March. But rarely does it come on March 1st, and it certainly doesn't this year. Easter 2012 is April 8th. And in any event, no, DC is NOT the South. If it were we would not be having this discussion. The memorial Day rule clearly applies in this town. Thanks for letting me rant! I feel much better now. :)
 -Anna from Mississippi

Do you have Seasonal Confusion Disorder (SCD)?

What is Seasonal Confusion Disorder you ask? Allow me to explain... Growing up in Chicago and then living my adult life in New York City, two cities with very clear weather seasons, I never thought much about not wearing summer clothes in November or February. Then I started spending time in Washington, DC...Now I know that it can be 60 degrees here in February, or 70 degrees in March, as it is today. This is no excuse for what I saw a girl wearing on March 1st, light cotton white pants and gold Jack Rogers sandals. We may not all subscribe to the "No White Before Memorial Day" rule anymore, but seriously, Jack Rogers sandals? This is what you wear in Palm Beach in the winter, not DC on the first day of March.

Which brings me to the question I have been asking since I arrived in DC, why does this city have so much more SCD than others? I have a theory. DC is a city of "visitors," people who come from other places. A lot of those other places are south and west of here where seasons are not as defined as they are up north and in the midwest. If you've grown up in California, you might only own summer shoes, work pumps and a pair of Uggs. When the weekend rolls around and it is warm out, you grab the summer shoes like you are still in Orange County. Conversely, you could be from a city with a colder climate, think winter in DC is a joke (Snowmaggedon not included), and so you pull out your linen pants when it is 65 degrees in February. This is where we find out if my husband reads my blog. Yes, Michael, I am throwing you under the bus here!

Another theory is that I'm wrong, this IS the south and one CAN wear Jack Rogers sandals on March 1st.

Thoughts, dear reader?

I'm here to offer a compromise. Chic, transitional outfits that are perfectly appropriate year round, which is the type of wardrobe I design for my DC clients. Add a scarf or a jacket when it is a little cooler and you're good to go.

Transitional Outfit 1

Transitional Outfit 2

Transitional Outfit 3

Transitional Outfit 4

Transitional Outfit 5

Transitional Outfit 6