Gatsby inspired fashion back at long last

March, they say, comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. And April showers bring May flowers. But what has April really brought? The much-needed return of bright colors, pastels and seersucker has finally pulled through the snow and storms.

That’s right, the familiar puckered stripes have returned. Say goodbye to the dreary darks of winter and hello to everything bright, especially whites. Not that I practice the rule of “no white before Easter and after Labor Day” because when you live in Dallas, it’s summer nine months out of the year. But now your grandmother won’t yell at you for wearing white before you’re “officially” supposed to.

Seersucker has always been popular, especially at a preppy school like SMU. We love basking in the era of “The Great Gatsby,” parading around campus in our spring finest. But seersucker is making an even bigger entrance than usual this year, appearing on the runways, at Target and everywhere in between.

Dating back to the 1930s, seersucker was created for a lightweight men’s suit, along with cotton and linen. It became heavily popular in the summer, as it suited par excellence and was seen all over Wall Street to keep men cool on the hot summer days. It exuded elegance and wealth, although the fabric was relatively cheap; unique was the puckering of the fabric, and soon the blue and white stripes were exchanged for a variety of colors. Seersucker can now be found in just about every color, from yellow to black, with deep purples and white-on-white.

And even greater news about seersucker is that it can be worn with just about anything. Wear a seersucker jacket over a simple white tank with jeans; pants can be paired with heels or just some Rainbow sandals. You can even match different colors of seersucker stripes if you’re really daring.

Speaking of daring, now that it is officially spring, you can whip out those white pants and shoes and wear them with pride! Actually, that’s not daring at all. But it can be if you still wear a corset and are carried around by a horse and buggy.

My mom always told me that I wasn’t allowed to wear white on your bottom (like pants, skirts, shorts and shoes…not bottom like underwear) if it was after Labor Day and before Easter. Until I was about 13 years old, I had to listen to her. But once I became a teenager, I was really able to let loose and go crazy by wearing white on whichever holiday I wanted. OK, not really, but that’s when we got this babysitter that I thought was the coolest thing since pink stirrups. She told me I could wear white whenever I wanted; hence grew my loathing of the “fashion rules” that prevented me from wearing my whole closet the whole year.

Obviously, I’m not going to pull my white linen pants out from the closet in December because I’m feeling a little rebellious; it’s just too cold outside for those linen and seersucker pants.

Just about every pant brand is coming out with a rendition of white bottoms. Seven has a pair of white jeans, although the white denim tends to be a bit see-through (be cautious which underoos you pick for the day and how close you get to a black light). Kasil, which has been seen on Lindsay Lohan, just released a new style of pants, which are made from a denim material in raspberry, green grass, and white, all putting a “spring” in your step.

You’ll be sure to exude that je ne sais quoi this season with a little dab o’ white and the one everyone’s a “sucker” for when you make your entrance into Home Bar with Mr. Gatsby’s favorite suit on.