Simply, the weather is flawless.
The season of autumn brings the superlative tiny time slot when the crisped tree leaves drop and the sun emerges just enough so that we don’t grow tired of it.
I won’t try to devise diverse descriptions of the weather that millions of people before me have already produced and overused. As Jane Austen wrote, “…admiration of landscape scenery is become a mere jargon. Everybody pretends to feel and tries to describe with the taste and elegance of him who first defined what picturesque beauty was. I detest jargon of every kind, and sometimes I have kept my feelings to myself, because I could find no language to describe them in but what was worn and hackneyed out of all sense and meaning.”
In short, I’m not sure I could create any nature narration that has not already been constructed.
The prime of the season, including all of the stereotypical fall elements, occurs—for me—in the quickly fleeting period between mid-September and the final week of October.
Of course, with the inevitable beginnings of a new school year, each August comes the excitement of new clothing. Though I have a recurrent tendency to purchase clothing all year round, the commencement of autumn serves as an incentive to acquire an expensive item or two that I wouldn’t splurge on otherwise.
Possibly due to the previous, curating new outfits and dressing up is one of my favorite undertakings at the beginning of fall.
Most of the new facets implemented into my closet are items that are designed for the crisp weather to come, so when the days finally arrive when the sun departs from its shining duty enough for its presence to be felt less, I take hold of the limited period to wear my autumn outfits.
The transition month, the one that bridges the gap between the sweltering humidity of the summertime and the frigid weather of Michigan winter, is my unrivaled favorite time of year.
A plethora of reasons make these 30-ish days treasured to me, but for the relevance of this column, the flexibility it gives in terms of fashion choices is most notable. As vain and insignificant as some may think focusing on what you wear in particular weather is, I adore my perfect weather period for that reason.
With the cooler weather, there are innumerable ways I can combine the elements of my closet together. I’ve accumulated many pieces of clothing over the years, for every season, but somehow, fall prizes me with the essential ambiance to want to wear all of them in turn.
For casual day-to-day events, I can wear jeans with tank tops—and not accumulate goosebumps up and down my arms because it is so frigid out. I can pair my tartan skirts without wrestling with the trouble of tights and I can wear cozy sweaters. My beloved baby-pink UGGs can be matched with leggings and T-shirts even though they’re technically supposed to be worn in chillier conditions.
Aside from everyday clothing, with fall comes football season, and with football season, for me, comes cheer uniforms. As a cheerleader, this brings the excitement of getting to experience the Friday night lights in our skirts and school-branded tops again.
In my most enjoyed part of the football season, midway through, when school has freshly begun, the autumnal atmosphere is idyllic. The student section is full, and the sun goes down just in time for the fourth quarter to kick off.
The cool wind makes the weather feel like fall, but not so much so that we need to pull out our jackets or sport baggy sweatpants. The benefits of the uniforms are more profound than the surface level, for I know that I cheer considerably better when not having to deal with the nuisance of a jacket or winter hat.
In the scheme of all the objects that could capture my attention, perhaps the insignificance of the clothes I can wear in certain meteorological conditions might appear trivial. However, the latitude that my most beloved period of the year allows makes me extremely appeased.
This year, my adored 30-day interval has passed me by, and soon, frigid conditions will gain all control of the weekly forecasts. Until the fall of 2024, I will mourn the loss of my favorite fall month.
