The One Piece of Advice I Wish I Ignored as a Fashion Stylist

When she’s not working with big names like Lupita Nyong’o, Jennifer Hudson, and Hilary Swank, celebrity stylist Micaela Erlanger also divulges her fashion expertise in our Ask a Stylist column. Erlanger is also the official Armi Captain at the luxury rental and styling platform Armarium. From the best places to source vintage to the secret to finding your most flattering jeans, come back each week for a professional’s perspective.

Anyone who’s interested in fashion has probably heard something about how wearing white after Labor Day is not acceptable in the world of fashion. As a stylist, I constantly heard this throughout my career and followed this piece of advice for a long time and avoided white for myself, as well as my clients, after Labor Day. This advice constantly limited choices for myself and my clients, however, I continued to follow it for fear of breaking the “rules” of fashion.

However, as I’ve matured in my career, I honestly wish I’d ignored this common piece of advice a long time ago. Now that I’ve gained enough confidence to ignore this advice for myself, I’ve also been able to give my clients the confidence to ignore it too. I find that following vague pieces of advice like this one simply limits wardrobe options and doesn’t allow full creativity when it comes to personal style. I also find that white is a staple wardrobe color that can complement my clients any time of year. I want my clients to feel confident in any color any time of the year, which is why I’ve now chosen to ignore this advice and focus on giving my clients the most flattering and beautiful looks because that’s what truly matters to me as a stylist.

Scroll down to check out some of my favorite white pieces that are perfect for before and well after Labor Day.