If you've ever seen the movie Serial Mom (1994) by John Waters, the memorable scene of Kathleen Turner killing an innocent woman for her poor fashion sense will probably remind you to never wear white shoes after Labor Day.
Some people say that this etiquette is old-fashion and have unleashed their "daring" sense of style by breaking this so-called rule. Others stick steadfast to the rule, although many allow for "winter white" as long as it's congruent with cold weather (think white winter boots).
Now, frankly, as a guy, I knew nothing about this until seeing Serial Mom years ago, and even then I had to ask around to find out what was wrong with white shoes (not to mention I had to look on a calender to remember when Labor Day is). So I may have been aloof to this sort of thing, or even excused from it (since a guy wearing white tennis shoes is pretty excusable any time of the year, and a man wearing white dress shoes is just asking for the fashion police to scuff his shine at any time of year!), but this morning I experience my first Serial Mom moment.
Part of my morning routine is to admire the working women in Tokyo on the way to work. Basically, I consider this as natural as a morning cup of coffee, not to mention that I just can't help it. Usually I am quite pleased by the ladies of Tokyo, as they are rather refined and charming, if not debonair. However, this morning, as I was walking up the steps to exit the subway station, I noticed a woman in front of me wearing a dark blouse and dark skirt with low-heeled shoes...which were, of course, white.
Instinctively, I conjured up a calender in my head (past Labor Day) and then considered that I was wearing a sports jacket with my suit since it is getting cooler. I also noted that in the fall, people in Tokyo change to darker colors en masse (and in Spring change to lighter colors. This is socially coordinated almost to the day!), much the same way that traditional foods are served according to the seasonal changes. I hopped up the steps a little faster to get a look at the woman a little better. She was probably in her late 20s and Asian, although I couldn't tell if she was Japanese for sure. Granted, although the "Labor Day rule" is generally observed in Japan (possibly for different reasons, such as simply to coordinate with the clothes color change), people still have a pretty "daring" fashion sense in Japan. But at second glance, I decided that the shoes looked awful and then just felt bad for her. She didn't look like the type who was trying to break any rules, she just had a poor sense of style.
I suspect my coffee this morning was a little bitter, so you'll have to excuse this undeniably snooty posting. If you still don't understand, watch this (YouTube), and you'll know what I mean.
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