The Labor Day Rule

Every year, they almost get me.

Fashion blogs and women's magazines try to convince me.  They create dualities like "modern vs. old-fashioned" or "fresh and new vs. stifling and fussy."  And, they almost suck me in.   

via Neiman Marcus.

White jeans are, effectively, jeans, I tell myself.  It was the hottest July on record and a miserably muggy August. Most days, I couldn't have worn capris, let alone long pants. Maybe September and October would be a good time to wear lighter, more flattering jeans.  Maybe even ... white ones.

It all seems so logical and harmless.  And then, I realize what I've just talked myself into.  And I hear my mother's voice, giving me strict instructions about linen, seersucker, and whites.  And I shudder to think of the horrible faux pas to which I've tacitly agreed.

I guess I'm an-old fashioned girl when it comes to hard-and-fast rules.  Maybe I'm willing to accept the labels "fussy" and "old-fashioned."  Maybe I'm okay with being traditional and Southern, magazines be damned.  Or, maybe, like Megan, I'm just sick of wearing summer clothes.  

Things I wore this summer.

Summer 2012 included some absolutely amazing moments.  My cousin got married.  I got back into running, and entered my favorite 5K for the first time in years.  HerKentucky started to reach a wider audience -- we were featured on a Lexington news show, and we learned that a whole lot of y'all wanted a little bourbon in your popsicles.  It was really a fantastic three months.

But, it's time for this awesome summer to draw to a close.  Sometime in the next week or so, I'll put away my sandals and sundresses.  The Lilly Pulitzer prints and seersucker skirts will quietly sit on the shelf until next year.  My unworn white jeans will give way to seasonally appropriate, on-trend jeans in vibrant colors and eye-catching patterns.  I just couldn't live with myself any other way.