6 essentials to romanticize the fall season
Escapism becomes the most colourful way to get through the dull and dreary weather
Art by Sarah Nelson.
When leaves fade from evergreen to various shades of orange and red, and the air starts smelling of Halloween and misty mornings, I know it’s time for my fall essentials to take centre stage, allowing me to romanticize this time of year — where the rain splatters on window panes and the weather cools down.
Here are six things that help me romanticize the season.
Coffee
I usually start my days with a cup of coffee. A double-double with a sprinkle of cinnamon to be exact, something I learned from The Office’s Pam Beesly. Trust me on this. Whether you’re having a stay-cation or tackling the busy city streets, there’s nothing quite like the embrace of a medium roast to shield you from the bite of nippy air.
Scented candles
I often reach for the candles that smell like the first step you take as you enter a bakery or coffee shop. At night, I prefer earthy ones that smell of splattering rain on foggy grass fields. Scents have the power to transport me to another world, almost like déjà vu, but for a place I’ve never been to.
Books
If I could only recommend three books to add to your fall TBR (to be read) list, they would be Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. These have become some of my favourite reads. They are romantic, magical, and spooky. Plus, with the fall atmosphere, you will feel like you’re living through these stories.
Comfort films
I love all of the Harry Potter films, but my favourite is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It makes me forget that I’m a prisoner of capitalism and there is no wizarding world for me to escape to except in the form of a grainy DVD. Actually, scratch that. Harry Potter wrote everything and all of it is real. We are just Muggles (non-magic folks).
Cardigans and knitted sweaters
Ah yes, cardigans — blankets in clothing form. When I’m strolling around the local park as leaves dance to the ground or cars whizz past me on the sidewalk — making me have to sidestep to avoid getting splashed — I know I can count on my trusty old cardigan. I usually wear my favourite cream-coloured one everywhere. When I snuggle in it, I can’t help but feel the embrace of a crackling fireplace.
Similarly, wearing knitted sweaters makes me feel like Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls. I get to convince myself that I am, in fact, an academic weapon who isn’t constantly toeing the line of school burnout.
Taylor Swift’s music
Evermore, released in 2020, is a collection of fictional stories that explore a world of false promises, yearnings, friendships, families, and self-discoveries. It even has a murder-mystery song — I’m not kidding. Taylor Swift’s poetic lyricism in this album takes me on a whole adventure through late-night autumn strolls and sunny, frosty mornings. It’s like an audiobook but the chapters are songs.
Red (Taylor’s Version) was a transitional album for Swift, mixing the genres of country and pop. Combined with her picturesque lyricism and perfect cadence in every track, it has the perfect song collection to move you through time in the same way fall is the transition to winter.
The song “All Too Well” is the best example from this album as it tells a story taking place during this time of year. Swift paints a picture of driving down leaf-strewn roads as cold air whips past her cheeks. The point is, the album is fall in music form. It is one of the many reasons I always have it ready on my playlist during the fall.
