Classy, Colorful, Cozy – Autumn Aesthetic

Autumn is easily my favorite season. It becomes cold enough that bundling up in sweaters and scarves are a necessity, but not so cold that you have to start wearing a huge puffy jacket (unless you want to).

The apple trees in the yard start showing flashes of red. Insects are no longer trying to devour me every time I step foot outdoors. I have an excuse to knit an excessive amount of scarves, cowls, fingerless gloves, and leg warmers.

Since aesthetics are a thing that I love almost as much as autumn, I decided to make a blog post dedicated to my autumn aesthetic for the year 2017. I’ll start off with a few words on autumn, and then I’ll show some pictures that I feel capture the feeling of fall. Lastly, I’ll be showing what I feel are key accessories for any fall wardrobe.

A Few Words on Autumn

Autumn carries the crispness of an approaching winter, and the grasping tendrils of a fading summer. It shows us death but it promises life in the spring to come. Warmth no longer comes from a blazing sun, but from a blazing hearth. Autumn is the season of contrasting warmth and coolness, when the sky turns gray, but the leaves become fire.

Scarves in a thousand shades of intensity wrap around necks, boots slap against the pavement. Sweaters give hugs to the shivering, hats muffle the sound of the wind that whispers the screaming truth. Clouds are worn as accessories, trees become crowns.

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The smell of a roasted squash wafts down from the kitchen. You enter and the counters are rainbows. Bright red tomatoes, juicy and sweet. Carrots that could rival oranges for the name. Corn gleams golden like coins. Cucumber, zucchini, broccoli and a dozen others make the world seem like a forest. Blueberries and blackberries remind you of the night sky.

But the best thing is the bucket of apples. In a gradation of shades, red to gold, gold to green. You pick one up and squeeze it. It’s firm. The apple crunches as you take a bite and juices tickle your tongue. Every taste is as savory as the last.

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Squirrels chatter in the trees, chipmunks squeak as they scurry around. Crows caw warnings as they fly overhead, and pigeons coo their reassurances. A deer steps on a twig, but it doesn’t snap. Winter is approaching, they must hurry.

The Feeling of Fall

This is a picture of a butternut squash that was picked too soon. Although it is difficult to tell, the squash in this picture was roughly six inches tall, rather short and stout. It sits on a pillow of fallen leaves, some bright and fiery, others dark and decaying, aptly showing the contrast that this season offers.

I noticed this lovely spot of sunlight dancing on the leaves as I took a morning stroll. The way it seemed as if the leaves were sparking in the light, I just couldn’t resist taking a picture. I absolutely adore the subtle shadows that play on the backdrop of chartreuse, lemon, and scarlet.

It’s magical, the way the golden sunlight illuminates the top of this mushroom. It’s a rather large mushroom, as you can tell by the apple beside it. The blades of grass casting shadows that look like stripes just adds to the mystical effect.

The fungus growing on one of the apple trees in my yard is a polypore, a type of mushroom that doesn’t have gills, but has little pores on its underside. This polypore is an ischnoderma resinosum, which is commonly found on dying trees. Last year I saw this ischnoderma in the same spot, so I hope to see it again next year.

These are the leaves of the same apple tree that the ischnoderma is growing on. As you can see, they are starting to turn a lovely a shade of crimson. Soon I’ll be able to collect some apples to eat.

One of the least colorful of all the pictures, these thistles show the death and decay that autumn brings. But it’s still beautiful, with the way the light shines on the fluff, and the droplets of morning dew sparkle like little jewels.

Chipmunks are one of the cutest wild animals, in my opinion. I was lucky that I noticed this little guy, he blends into the wood rather well. I was even luckier that he let me get this close for a picture, since I had noticed him at a distance and had to walk over to him to get a good picture. Maybe I’ll see him around next year.

Fall Clothing

I’m not normally one to obsess over fashion, but I can still acknowledge the aesthetics of a nice outfit. There are some clothing pieces and accessories that capture the feeling of fall, and so I have made a list of them.

Sweaters

Sweaters keep you cozy, especially as the weather gets colder and winter starts creeping up. Be it cardigan or pullover, snug or baggy, simple or fancy, a good sweater will become a staple of your wardrobe during the cold months.

Scarves

Scarves are wonderful accessories because of how incredibly diverse they are. Shapes vary, from long to short, thick to thin, wide to skinny. They can be in any pattern, and any color. Scarves can be worn in a multitude of different ways, some simple, some complicated, all of them beautiful.

Fingerless Gloves

Long fingerless gloves are excellent for the days when it’s warm enough for a short sleeve t-shirt, but cool enough that your arms are left a bit cold. Shorter fingerless gloves provide good hand warmth and ease of mobility, making them useful when you want to do art outside on colder days.

At the time of posting, there are just a few more days until autumn starts. Hopefully this post has gotten you just as excited for the upcoming season as I am. If you have any favorite fall memories, ideas, or events, let me know in the comment section.