Don't Sweat the Fall Stuff... or What makes Fall the most fashionable, favorite season on the Island

Ella Fitzgerald said it best;’ Autumn in new york, The gleaming rooftops at sundown, Oh, autumn in new york, It lifts you up when you run down’. She sang of glittering crowds, the promise of new love, and oh, that autumn. And it’s those images that transfix me, and the rest of the manhattanites every year, when suddenly out of nowhere, everything changes.

And it’s not just a season that changes with the tides. It’s a feeling, a smell, a change in the air. A gentle twist of the clouds and the atmosphere from fun, warm and light, to cool, calm and comforting. Flip flops turn to closed loafers, or this season, the ubiquitous slippers, jean shorts become ankle skinny jeans, and camisoles become blouses, oxford button downs, and of course, everyone’s favorite chunky sweaters.

There is something magical about that time of year when sweaters start anticipating their arrival, almost leaping out of their storage bags, and boxes, to the front of the closet battle lines. The early mornings are ripe; ripe with that fresh smell that only truly comes the first day of every new season….It’s the smell of new leaves dropping and coffee turning pumpkin flavor. The smell of pencil shavings from newly sharpened pencils, and crisp, blank composition books like blank slates waiting to be filled with questions, answers, and mostly notes back and forth.

Fall in new york is like no other season, in like no other place. And like most things that are fleeting, as is fall. It feels like the shortest season. Fall semesters breeze by, but winter semesters seem months longer in comparison. Summer can go fast, and slow all at the same time, but you still feel like you did a lot. But fall leaves just as quickly and sneakily as it arrives.

But as all things must, they change. Not just people, and times, but seasons. There’s a new chill in the air, and for adults, the back to school concept doesn’t quite hold up, because once you’re older, you’re never off for that long. But me, I still feel like a kid going back to school.

Then again there is just Something about this season… It turns our attitudes, and we all feel like school kids, excited about the start of something new, maybe it’s a new job, a new relationship, or most comforting, a comfy, new, knit sweater. Almost as good as jumping into a fresh, new pile of soft, yet crunchy fall leaves. You don’t know what lies at the end, but you know you’ll have fun getting there.