By: Gabriela Yareliz
It’s fall. I’ve always been that person who forces fall (and spring, to be fair). I remember wearing my corduroy pants once school started. I distinctly remember melting at a UF bus stop in the hot August sun with a shoulder bag that is probably part of the reason why my shoulders are so strong. Pencil bags, syllabi, and new shoes. Who doesn’t love this season?
I’ll never forget a road trip I got to embark on for a law school project, right as my last year of law school was starting. The leaves were turning. I watched them, orange, red and yellow, zoom by and opened the window to take blurry photos. I saw the pond that inspired Walden (that’s what the sign said). I felt deep and soaked in the moment and then begged Wilson, who was driving, to stop at the next Target so I could pee again. Ahhh the depth of autumn.
Autumn also means NY fashion week (NYFW). (It is happening now; planes full of influencers hit the tarmac at JFK). Fashion week is always the inspiration to justify outfit absurdities no matter what season it is. In the fall, you endure the heat and wear the jacket, thinking, “Hey, fashion week folks are wearing way more layers and surviving as they run from stage to stage.” Then, in the winter, you wear the cute shoes and tights as the bone-chilling wind cuts through you and makes you feel naked. You tell yourself that the fashion week influencers are freezing their butts off bare-legged in midtown, so of course you can man-up and take it. True life.
This time of the year always feels like the beginning of the year. I spent some time cleaning (still have a bit more to sort through). It’s the perfect time to reduce clutter (both physically and of the mind), refresh the daily essentials (just got a new workout mat, which I love), bust out the candles and all fire lights (set up my little lantern) and stack the fluffy blankets that smell like Nordstrom still.
This autumn feels like cargo pants (nostalgia is hitting hard thanks to Sara Foster), corduroy (does it ever go out of style? It is my favorite fabric. Bury me in corduroy. New life calling– more on this later), and cozy evenings reading Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie.
In an effort to force welcome the season, I decided to make healthy s’mores. You know, gluten-free graham crackers and high grade chocolate (whatever that means). Almost burnt the tiny easy bake oven I have. Marshmallows were toast (not salvageable). I tried again and mastered it. I had a s’more while the heat wave outside raged on.
Friday is hours away. Thank God. It will be a day of intense focus and keeping my head down with NYFW updates in the little breaks where I come up for air. If you spot any corduroy looks, send them to meee. The heat wave has broken.
GABRIELA YARELIZ 