I saw a video on TikTok recently where someone posited that, perhaps, we as a culture have collectively overrated the time of year known as Autumn.

The temperature swings wildly from morning to evening, forcing us all into a one-woman-show number of wardrobe changes. The days shorten with a sharpness that always seems to catch us by surprise. 

Some years the leaves change all at once, as though they had been planning for months for their big moment. Other years, it’s clear their meetings are as synergistic as a modern corporate boardroom — where half the trees lose their leaves immediately, conjuring images of winter, and the other half stay green through mid November. 

It’s true this season can be a rollercoaster — the old rickety type that leaves you with whiplash and a sense of unease. Is a season like this worth all the fuss? Should we really yearn for sweater weather? Should we write entire movies around the themes it represents? Do artists need to wax poetically about how “inviting” it is? 

In an emphatic word: yes. 

Like most of the volatile things in life, when it’s right, it’s the best. Steak is one of the most subjective and wildly inconsistently prepared foods on earth, but when it’s right, it’s the centerpiece of the one of the best meals you’ll ever have. There are fish that, if prepared incorrectly can kill you. If done properly? They’re a delicacy. 

Autumn is not overrated. It’s finicky. But like most diva actors or prima-donna athletes, they perform when the lights get bright, and that’s why we put up with the times when they drive us a bit crazy. 

So yes, we may have days when our parka gives way to t shirts by 2:00 pm, and evenings when we mistakenly think it’s 9pm when it’s barely 6:30 yet, and some trees may not get the foliage memo on time. But few moments top the first time you see the park lit up in oranges, reds, and yellows — when your regular errands spots are shaded an entirely different color palette. 

It’s never fails to catch us by surprise, like a wonderful gift we forgot we were getting. It’s breathtaking, and entirely worth the fuss. 

So, in honor of the season where we sweat in our sweaters, we wanted to share some of the layers that have caught our eyes from our favorite brands! 

Anna’s Picks:

Nathan’s Picks: