If you listen closely, I’m sure that somewhere in the distance you’ll hear the coos of one knitwear adorned girl to another. “OMG I literally love the fall! I can finally wear my knee-highs! I’m literally so excited!” And as much as I wish that I was unique enough to say that I was, I’m actually not mocking the pumpkin flavored obsession. I can’t, because I’m victim to it. Like *literally* every girl around my age, I’m a sucker for fallen leaves, shearling lined leather coats, and pompomed beanies. But my obsession is reasonable, because who would ever call me crazy for loving the aesthetics of a warm soy latte resting in a gloved hand? Fall is fun. It’s confusing, sure, especially in New York’s rain-speckled high 70’s and low 30’s, but it’s fun. In fact, I’d make the case that the real question here isn’t why girls are so obsessed with fall, but why more guys aren’t. I mean, boys are people too, right?
For the sake of argument and article, I’ll make a general assumption: deep down, boys actually love fall. But because pumpkin spice and masculinity might be considered mutually exclusive, they don’t let their obsessions show. So today I’m all about appreciating boys—firstly because they’re cute and I like them—and secondly because they should be allowed to revel in their love for fall (like the rest of us do) without judgment.
While he doesn’t necessarily consider himself a fashion savant, this NYU student has an identifiable sense of style that I’m not afraid to openly admire. The maroon color of his perfectly scuffed low-cut Doc Martens resting alongside the beige of his socks and khaki of his pants is perfectly balanced out by the black on black upper body collaboration. But if the year was 1912, and this outfit was the Titanic, then his belt would be that scene where the old couple lays down in bed as water fills their room nodding to their impending death: BECAUSE IT’S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PART. Without the belt, the tucked in shirt might look weird, and without the tucked in shirt, the cuffed khakis would look out of place, and without all of that, the outfit would be kind of boring. So thank you, belt. And most of all thanks to this Fashionisto for showing us what fall is really all about.
As always Fashionista/os, my closing remark is a piece of advice. This time it’s to not give into expectations: if you hate fall then embrace your hatred, tell all your friends about it, make an “I hate fall” club where you design and sell “I hate fall” shirts just to profit enough to make some more shirts. But, if you love fall as much as I do (and as much as I think this guy secretly does), then own it and wear whatever makes you feel perfectly autumn appropriate.
