As a kid, I remember being much more aware of the seasons. Time moved slower, you had lived through fewer months, and every new season felt fresh and exciting.
As an adult, I found myself less aware of the seasons. Daily schedules are so packed that there’s no time to gaze out the window or notice those subtle changes. One day, you realize that the landscape has changed seemingly overnight, and you wonder where the time has gone.
It wasn’t until Covid hit and I had a lot more time on my hands that I began to regain that appreciation for the changing seasons. During the fall of 2020, it felt like the falling leaves were more brilliant than they had been in years past and that I took notice of the subtle changes in the shifting sights, sounds, and smells of the season.
While life has gotten back to its normal breakneck pace since Covid ended, I still try to maintain this awareness of the seasons, particularly the change from summer to fall. Maybe it’s just my particular algorithm picking up on my love of fall, but I come across a lot of posts online from people who share my love for the season as well.
This fall fandom goes beyond changing leaves and pumpkin spice. It’s a state of mind that people welcome with open arms every September, or even sooner. Below, I explore the fall aesthetic.
The slow down
Summer is a speedy season. For me growing up in the mid-Atlantic, summer is short. It takes forever to arrive and begins to wind down early. I personally am a fan of the long days, the heat, and the outdoor activities that come with summer. But like a cool down after an intense workout, fall is a welcome change from that long pace.
As the days shorten and the temperatures cool, there’s a simultaneous relief of the slowdown and excitement at the fall activities ahead. It’s still warm enough for outdoor activities, such as taking walks and visiting farms and festivals. I find my energy level increase as I begin to sleep better yet don’t feel like I’m yet in that winter hibernation mode.
At the same time, we find ourselves indoors more. We make our hot drinks, put on our fall movies, and cocoon ourselves in blankets. The birds and crickets begin to quiet, and we follow suit.
School days
To kids, fall means going back to school. From an early age, we’re programmed at this time of year to think of it as a new beginning. Armed with a new wardrobe and bundles of school supplies, we say goodbye to our summer routines and begin a new one with our new school schedule.
Even if we’re returning to the same school with the same classmates and the same friends, no two grades are the same. There are new teachers to get acquainted with, new classes to take, and new activities.
I feel like the school schedule never entirely leaves us. Fall is always going to feel like a new beginning because for many of our early years, it was. The calendar may say that the year starts in January, but it really starts when the school year starts. It instills in us this sense of a routine and a change in focus.
While I liked going to elementary school, there was a bit of sadness as summer ended. One consolation was that, pre-streaming, it meant that my favorite TV shows were returning with new episodes.
I lived for primetime TV and Saturday morning cartoons, and they too ran on a school schedule, breaking for the summer just like I did. This further cemented fall as this season of starting fresh and seeing what the months ahead would bring in this return to “normalcy.”
The clothes
Speaking of back to school clothes, fall is all about bold colors and covering up after the hot months. Even those who live in warmer climates are seen layering up with sweaters, jackets, and hoodies, trading sandals for boots and creating a cozy look that completely contrasts summer styles.
The security of covering up and being made warm by fabric that fights against the cold is a major draw for fall fans. People talk about snuggling up with blankets and hot drinks on cold nights with the windows shut and maybe even a fire going. It’s almost like the weather gives you permission to veg out, which is something that adults crave in order to combat the hustle of our days.
There’s also the color palettes of bold oranges, reds, and earthtones. These aren’t colors that you find in any other months. The fall colors are able to pop without the bright spring pastels, the white of winter, or the electric summer colors.
In my climate especially, one cold day doesn’t signal an instant change in the weather. Temperatures tend to fluctuate. So, layering up allows you to accommodate for the 80 degree days versus the 50 degree ones.
The food
The summer fruits, barbecues, salads, and picnic foods are great. But you can get sick of them, and your cravings change with the seasons. Soon, we’re swapping ice cream cones for hot soups, we’re flavoring our drinks with apples and pumpkins instead of with lemons and peaches. We cook in our ovens rather than on our grills. It’s a welcome change in our weekly menus.
As a kid, I couldn’t wait for the fall snack cakes and cereals. McDonald’s would release their Halloween Happy Meals, and chips and soft drinks would feature the Universal Monsters, signaling that Halloween was near.
These days, it’s all about the coffee shops. Dunkin’ and Starbucks fall menus are given big, dramatic reveals. Patrons flock for pumpkin and apple-flavored drinks and pastries. I’m personally not a coffee drinker, but I appreciate the hype of these seasonal foods coming back into rotation and these small comforts that help to break up the mundane weeks.
The lighting
I start to get in the mood for fall by mid-August, but I restrain myself from actually participating in fall activities until later in the year. Even if a fall is mild, it’s not until the days shorten to that early evening hour that it really hits as having arrived.
The sunsets in the fall are very specific. The color palettes are a lot richer. The twilight hour is more pronounced. And the sun sets in a very particular way that casts just the right shadows at just the right time to feel unlike any other time of year.
Add to this the strong reds, oranges, and yellows of the trees, the scent of dying leaves, and the vegetation growing bare. The trees open up to allow us to peek through to a more layered landscape that reaches to the horizon.
The mornings too are a lot darker. They allow more of an opportunity to catch sunrises which can be as equally bold and intense.
Of course, not every fall day is bright and sunny and warm. They can be cold and dreary and rainy, giving off the spooky atmosphere that Halloween lovers thrive on. They help to enforce that urge to stay in and rest or to put on your boots and jacket and take a walk among the foliage and take advantage of those last days where you can stay outside for extended periods of time.
The Halloween aesthetic
If you love fall, you probably love Halloween. Halloween history is all tied up into the fall harvest and the dying off of nature. Its shorter days and darker nights form the perfect Halloween setting.
The growing popularity and larger celebrations of the holiday in recent years has been good business for fall in general. If the weather is changing, it means that Halloween is coming. It means that we get to decorate, dress in costumes, visit haunted attractions, and go trick-or-treating. The bare branches and longer nights set a scary landscape in which Halloween lovers thrive.
Also check out my post, 8 Audiobook Recommendations for Fall.
Harvesting and decorating
There’s also a sense of preparation that comes in the fall that likely is tied into the idea of the fall harvest. Though I don’t have many crops to harvest beyond my small garden, I do feel a pull to prepare for winter.
For me, this preparation is about getting my house in order for the winter months. I have certain chores that I do in the fall so that it feels ready to be lived in all winter. See my post, 10 Deep Cleaning Chores to Add to Your Fall Cleaning Checklist, for a list of ways that I prep for winter.
My summer decorations also get swapped out for fall ones and I eventually add Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations to the mix. The change can transform my house and remind me of what’s going on outside on the days when there’s no time to stop and stare out the window to see how the world is transforming.
There are so many symbols of fall that get transformed into decorations. It’s easy to go overboard and turn your home into an indoor fall landscape. But if you’re as lucky as me to live in a four-season climate, just looking out the window brings you the fall aesthetic in its most raw and effective form.
What are your favorite autumn aesthetics? Leave your answers in the comments below!
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It’s so trivial but just being able to wear a hoodie out is the best part of fall. Especially if you have put on weight, it takes the stress out of daily wear because no matter what, it will be comfy and fit.