According to old-school etiquette, now that we're past Memorial Day, it's all right to wear white.

But New York women are always ahead of the game — led, perhaps, by some of the town's most beautiful ladies in white, Elie Nadelman's "Circus Women" marble sculptures on the promenade of the New York State Theater.

White has been popular by day and night recently, making dramatic statements at social events, against not only the perennial black, but also the bright colors being worn this season.

"It's new and fresh," the couture designer Kim Hicks said yesterday by telephone. She'd just cut some white eyelet fabric she bought from a mill in Como, Italy, to make a "cute summer dress."

Eyelet is prominent in stores right now, but white linen and chiffon are also getting a lot of wear. Some women choose long-sleeved jackets and blouses to keep warm in powerful air conditioning. Others go sleeveless to show off great arms and tans.

Ms. Hicks cautioned that to look right, whites must be "pristine, clean, and crisp."

The look, as shown by the photographs here, ushers in the summer.

agordon@nysun.com