The In-Between Season
The Sunday Circular, Volume 10.
I love a good plot twist. This week I got two.
The first was a fake-out rapture where no one got beamed up, and the second was an early-autumn heatwave in New York.
We all know how I feel about fall, so I was delighted when a lingering blast of high temps and muggy air defiantly hunkered down over the city, like an unwelcome party guest who refuses to leave. But lo! In the evenings, a cool rain would sweep through, leaving the morning sidewalks slick and glistening, imbuing my humdrum morning coffee run with a romantic mood. The signs of the two seasons in a tug-of-war are everywhere: the light is softening to its golden glow, yet the trees are stubbornly holding on to their leaves. It’s a reminder that life doesn’t progress in a cut-and-dry manner. Fall does not necessarily start on September 22nd, as the orderly calendar would have us believe, but rather, transitions gradually over the subsequent days and weeks, in unpredictable fits and starts. Sure, pull back far enough and there are certain big picture laws at play—it gets cold and then hot, over and over, ad infinitum—but look closely at the day-to-day, and there is often uncertainty, surprise, even some titillating chaos! Nature, in all her temperamental glory, continues to keep us guessing—what a thrill!
As an observer, I like to see how this atmospheric whiplash affects how we dress. Look to the streets and you’ll see a staggering amount of sartorial variety. That man walking his dog in gym shorts and flip-flops passing a woman in a cocooning sweater, an oversized blazer, and boots—who is in the right? This push-and-pull is sometimes expressed even in a single outfit—a revealing tank top with a chunky sweater tied around the waist, the blessed combination of a hoodie and shorts. Harried New Yorkers trying their best to muddle through the demands of city life and the fitful fluctuations of an Indian summer are a sight to behold. It’s so … real. After spending days looking at the tightly controlled ensembles styled just so from the Milanese runway shows, it’s a breath of fresh air, a reminder that the messiness of life is so much more compelling. I don’t want runway archetypes or catwalk costumery—I want REAL. So few designers are willing to reflect life’s ever-churning micro-dramas—the banality and beauty of getting dressed every day for whatever strange developments the day may bring—and yet it’s so much more interesting! It’s much more alive!
And so, this week, I hope you embrace the liminal, the transitory, the ephemeral. We are in the in-between season, the most sacred of times. It’s a reminder that we all in transition in some way, aren’t we? On our way from one thing to another, whether that be a physical place or state of being? A season or a plane of existence?
And so, can you blame me if this week I found myself wanting to buy jackets and shorts, T-shirts and sweaters? I am but a product of these changing days, looking back and looking ahead in equal measure! Aren’t we all?
Stussy X Wales Bonner Board Shorts, $180
You know me, I love a good board short, and I’m not letting the fact that our warmest days are behind us stop me from looking. The Wales Bonner X Stussy collaboration had a lot of intriguing pieces, but the odd color combinations of the swim trunks really spoke to me. Mostly because they felt so … off. Navy and orange? Brown and fluorescent yellow? Ack! And yet, in their wrongness, they ultimately felt strangely compelling, begging for a second—even third!—look. They reminded me of my conversation with Jeremyn Lee, who loves board shorts and wonky clothing juxtapositions. Would these look great with a hoodie or a knit polo, or insane? And if it looks insane, would that be so bad? After all, isn’t all this strange weather a symptom of global warming? Isn’t the world itself going a little crazy?
Abercrombie & Fitch Essential Cropped Zip-Up Hoodie, $64
If each season can be personified by a single garment (summer: shorts, winter: coat, etc.), then fall is the season of the hoodie. It is the perfect layer for a crisp autumnal morning.
I myself feel lucky to have found not one but two perfect hoodies in my life—my great loves. One is my vintage Russell Athletic hoodie in the most soothing shade of heather gray, and that fits just so—slightly cropped and wide enough for me to shimmy in and out of with ease (crucial in these herky-jerky weather conditions). I bought it on eBay, and I kid you not, it is one of those things I would snatch before fleeing my apartment should it ever catch on fire.
So it takes a lot for me to stop and consider a hoodie. I will say, however, that this one from Abercrombie gave me serious pause when I came across it. There are a few small but significant reasons: the two-way zipper (I really like to leave things unzipped or unbuttoned from the bottom, I think it creates a nice shape), the ultra-light-gray color (nearly white!), and the fact that it comes in a very cropped fit. That last part makes it great for a bit of a T-shirt to hang down, which I think is the ideal layering proposition of the season. A bit of white tee from under a sweatshirt? Heaven.
Solovair X Carhartt WIP Single Buckle Monk, $235
Despite being a Forever Vans™ kinda guy (I even got my hands on a Vansentino pair! #blessed), my heart does yearn for a hearty, solid shoe from time to time. Something to really ground me, you know? The most recent case of that said plaintive longing washed over me as I was trying to see if any of the Sacai X Carhartt WIP stuff had made it to their website yet. It hadn’t, but was confronted with these nubby, tawny beauties. What a shape! What a textural finish! What a solid sole and sensual upper! And despite its formal shoe inclinations, the single-buckle style gives it just a touch of that simplicity and unfussy elegance that ultimately draws me to a pair of Vans time and again. I consider these a very thought-provoking potential development in my fall shoe line-up.
NN07 Deon Flannel Shirt, $170
Something really exciting happened to me this week. I pulled out a ratty flannel shirt out of my closet, one I hadn’t worn in about three-ish years, and I put it on, and I fell back in love with it. This, friends, is the sick justification I make to myself for never getting rid of anything. You never know when you will magically find yourself back in a former lover’s arms! Shop your closet, as they say! The best way to be sustainable is to never throw anything away and die wrapped in the threadbare rags of your former shopping glory. Or, at very least, sleep tight knowing the possibility of it coming back into your outfit rotation is never far off. Finally, something to live for!
And so, my big prediction (for myself) is that this is going to be a return-to-flannel fall. The one I reincorporated into my life is from Urban Outfitters of all places, when they used to sell vintage (who knows, maybe they still do), and I took a pair of scissors to the hem long ago, so it’s all frayed. And, while I’m into that look, I do need something a bit more polished. Enter the NN07 Deon, which more than a few of my friends have been wearing as fall slowly encroaches. (Is there anything better than having stylish friends you can ask, “Who makes that?” No!) The reasons are clear. It’s a great length for leaving untucked, it comes in the *ideal* weight of 100% cotton flannel (able to fend off a chill but won’t have me overheating—the finest of balances to strike), and, crucially, it comes in, at last count, eleven really excellent pattern/color options. Eleven! And I mean, really excellent. There are at least a half-dozen I’d happily take home. This is truly one of those “buy a bunch and wear on repeat” wardrobe solutions. You’re welcome!
1990s Vintage Carhartt Jacket, $300
When Mama Miuccia introduced her rustic barn coat a few seasons back, I knew in an instant it would be a slam-dunk runaway hit. And I was right! It’s so … brilliant, so unexpected, so subversive. If I were a man of means, I’d buy it for myself (in multiple colors), but they can cost upwards of $5k, so … sadly, it’s gonna be a pass for me (I’ve got rent to pay). And yet, you can find wonderful approximations all over the place. eBay, Grailed, Etsy, and Depop are all filled with rough-hewn workwear jackets that are beautifully worn-in and can lend that same salt-of-the-earth, agrarian-chic vibe to your own wardrobe. Why some might say these are even better than the Prada facsimile, because they are “authentic” (though some might take umbrage with an urbanite toiling at a laptop wearing a garment made for manual labor).
I am always on the lookout for something like this, despite already having a wonderful tan version. But this shade of green! The vaguely western-style chest stitching! The threadbare seams! The shabby collar! The fading! She’s a real diamond in the rough, even if $300 is maybe a bit of a reach. But, hey, compared to $5k … a steal!
Uniqlo U Double-Face Knit Half-Zip Sweater, $49.90
I was finally able to catch up on some reading this week, including the excellent New Yorker deep-dive on Uniqlo by Lauren Collins. I was both astounded by the sprawling scope of the company—and this is coming from a person who has a pretty good grasp on just how vast the Uniqlo kingdom is—and slightly unnerved by its cult-like corporate culture. A big takeaway for me was how much thought goes into creating products that are, at first glance, deceptively unassuming. And yet, I think most shoppers can see a Uniqlo product and understand that it is different from, say, some careless, indiscriminate Amazon Basics rag. That there is, indeed, quite a lot of forethought and discernment at play in their designs.
Well, funnily enough, the latest Uniqlo U collection dropped this week, and proved the article’s point. Everything is pretty dang excellent—as you would expect from something overseen by menswear savant Christophe Lemaire. You could buy one of every item and have yourself a top-notch, “capsule wardrobe” for fall. The outerwear struck me as particularly strong, as it often is, especially the cropped parka with its curved silhouette, the schlubby-chic workwear corduroys with an elastic waistband and adjustable hem, and the sleek technical jacket that looks easily like it could come from a luxury gorpcore brand.
But most intriguing is this high-neck zip sweater. To me, it personifies how so much care went into something so seemingly straightforward. The colors on offer are just right—particularly the earthy brown and eggshell off-white—and the fine-gauge cotton-wool blend (yes, it also contains acrylic, rayon, and polyester, which, if I’m being honest, doesn’t thrill me) is a nice thickness. Bonus points for dropped sleeves. But most of all, the zippered high neck is clever without being too design-y. You could wear this a few different ways, even throughout a single day—as a slouchy turtleneck, open, half-zipped like a high collar, etc. I like the ease of tossing on a sweater with loose trousers and bringing along a light jacket and wearing it in different arrangements as the day goes on.
Do It! Longsleeve T-Shirt, $59.99
A good motto to live by. And it feels particularly apt this week. Sadly.
I am experimenting with affiliate links, but I swear on a holy bible that I only feature things I would buy myself. I do have something of a shopping addiction, so that’s maybe not the best endorsement … but still!
