It wasn’t until I caught myself telling people (on multiple occasions), “I don’t buy summer clothes,” that I realized why autumn is my favourite season. I thought it was the changing leaves, the fleeting excitement of starting new classes, or the ability to order a hot cup of coffee without being asked, “would you like that iced?” Then, in late July, as I found myself wearing dresses from three summers ago and not wanting to spend money on summer clothing (even though I needed it), I realized that my love for fall stems from one thing: clothing.

What I love most about fall clothing isn’t so practical a reason as being able to wear the same pieces throughout the year, but with less layers. It’s the layering itself that really gets me going. Forget jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie. No, no. I’d rather wear tights, frilly socks, boots, a skirt, a t-shirt, an oversized cardigan, a scarf, a hat, and - well, you see where this is going. In the summer heat, “putting an outfit together” in the morning feels like “finding the outfit I’ll sweat least in.” I dread it. In the fall, though, getting dressed in the chilly morning feels like baking a layer-cake of textures and colours that will keep me warm, comforted, all day long. Who doesn’t like cake?

So, I ask you two things:

What season do you love getting dressed in, and why? And does anyone know of a country where the temperature rests permanently around 15 degrees celsius? I’d like to move there.

Words by Stephanie Fereiro
Photos by Samantha Walton

My Grandma and my Step-Grandpa Ralph, an American who was in the Navy during WWII and loved our cottage for the endless opportunities to build things, bought a pair of red, plaid Mark’s Work Warehouse-style jackets in Kensington Market the first year we went up to Lake Simcoe. They have since become staples of our cottage wardrobes, recognizable in a myriad of summertime photographs scotch-taped on the cabin walls. Worried that we might misplace or ruin the originals, and wanting to keep the flannel tradition alive, I bought a blue plaid jacket at Value Village to add to the collection. My brother Tom promptly stole it, taking it back to university and, as I ruefully described it shaking my fist, turned it “into fashion.”

Then a funny thing happened: Tom spotted similar jackets all over campus. Plaid flannel jackets, so gawky, so nerdy, so clichéd Canadian, were not supposed to be a trend! No longer separating him from the crowd, he folded the jacket up and brought it back up to the lake.

The circle completed, as practicality begat anti-fashion begat fashion begat practicality, the plaid flannel jackets are once again worn for their comfort and warmth when trudging down to the beach in the early morning, curled up admiring the sunset and laying on the dock, listening to the black waves and watching the stars.

- Max Mosher

It’s hard not to love autumn, and everything that comes with it: various fall fashion weeks, leaves changing colour, pumpkin spice lattes, all the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror reruns that will inevitably air (remember when that show used to be so good? Sigh.) My personal favourite thing about the fall is the surge in technicolor tights that always make their way onto flickr’s Wardrobe Remix. Because if you’re going to keep your legs warm, you might as well do it in hot pink.

1. 17 October, 2. mini beret, 3. pop of red, 4. 13.10.2009, 5. 15 Oct. 09, 6. 10-15-09, 7. contemplating halloween costumes…, 8. Stupid face and pink legs, 9. Positivism Attracts Positivism

-Anna