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| From Our Upstairs Closet |
Any twinge of sadness at letting go of summer is balanced by the joy of embracing fall. While the illusion of carefree Ivy League students shuffling through a dusting of leaves en route to the football game arm-in-arm with a cadre of wisecracking but sincere chums may be the stuff of advertisements (real students are never carefree, and any jaunt out is accompanied by both a hyper self-consciousness and a hobbling guilt at not tackling imminently due assignments), nevertheless the reference textures and colors can be legitimately wonderful.
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| Our Downstairs Closet |
My husband and I are both members.
20 comments:
you've captured the sentiments of the current crop of college students so well. i love the variety of sweaters you have!
I definitely feel an excitement when I pull out the Fall sweaters. I feel that same excitement when I pull out the madras shorts and skirts for the Summer holidays, but in a different way and with a different objective. I think that's why we have the four seasons. Each one brings a different feeling of happiness and excitement for what's to come...a feeling of comfort and familiarity.
I enjoy being able to experience all four seasons, but I have come to realize I'm happiest when Fall rolls around.
The feelings evoked by the change of light in early fall are beautifully captured in these 2 photos.
Regards,
Bitsy
I love fall, both for the clothes and the opportunity to visit a farmstand replete with pumpkins, apples, gourds, and other bounty, on a cool, dry, breezy, sunny afternoon, as I did yesterday at Whittles farm in Mystic.
Also, thanks for acknowledging the romanticization of university style. I work at Yale and only wish I regularly saw the great cashmere (?) cable knits, chunky wools, tweeds, flannels, corduroys etc. that you've shown us today.
Muffy you ma cheri are superbly exceptional! The wears you showcase are always the highlight of following your website (with the exception of your immeasurable wisdom).
If one articulates that the the Ivy air is ripe with carefree chumming then they have yet to experience it as a student. Walk through any of the ancient 8's campuses and you will hear the chatter of students spouting off lists such as: I got 2 hours of sleep last night, I have not eaten yet today(too busy studying), It's only my second year and I have to study for the GMAT, MCAT, LSAT, GRE, and the classic-I feel like a hermit because I am always in my dorm or the library and have not seen my friends in two weeks.
It does not matter the demographic or socioeconomic status of the student because every one of them has the same goal (make the grade) and with steep grade curves and anti-grade inflation measures always in place it is certainly no easy task to make the intended grade. Make no mistake every student at an ivy wants to be there and they make sure they do just that.
Thank you for sharing the link to Vickers & Patrick!
The very first crispy 3-layer morning. One of those very best days of the year. Horses sprouting tennis-ball-fuzzy coats overnight, and deerflies all gone from the woods. . .
I actually love the fall textures of herringbone, tweed, and wool! And of course, I've always preferred the color palette. I'm already living in my huge RL cable knit crewneck!
2nd sentence is hilarious. Don't forget the contrived playful flirty leaf-fight ubiquitous in those same ads.
"real students are never carefree, and any jaunt out is accompanied by both a hyper self-consciousness and a hobbling guilt at not tackling imminently due assignments"
Nice observation. Read the first half dozen pages of Franny & Zooey to see this in action.
In my own case, we conquered this problem with strategic quantities of alcohol, administered via hip flask, another casualty of this Puritan century.
Like your fall color palette! very similar to what's in my closets! Look forward to wearing the old Barbour jacket! Have a nice forest green Patagonia fleece to wear for the start of Beagling season come October!
Tally Ho!
we are a far cry from fall here in Stuart Fl. though this AM. was 71 degrees, won't be long till we see 60! I prefer the colors of fall, in my clothing , though it doesn't really work here unless it's in the 50's and chilly. It is odd growing up in Ct. and going to school in Ma. and College in N.H.and now living here 24 years my mind knows it is fall, but walk out the door and your hit in the face with humidity and heat , so it is poplin bermudas and a J Press ss oxford bd today and probabaly the same tomorrow too!
I miss fall badly ..... Hmm, as far a collge I can't remember the details I know I did not challenge myself enough with my studies, but nestled in the foot hills of the white mountains with a bunch of other prepschool castoffs was a recipe for cocktails and laughter so it wasn't all bad......
After switching over my clothes today (which will guarantee 85 degree temperatures will return shortly), I realized I've reached another "old age" milestone.
I'd rather wear dated clothes made from good quality material than to try to replace them at 4 or 5 times the original cost. This is good news because I basically dislike shopping but depressing for all the reasons discussed in your previous posts.
It is wonderful to pull out all the winter clothes which smell like cedar and the "Fresh Linen" sachets from Hillhouse Naturals.
I feel that prep school is romanticized as well. I don't know about others' experiences, but my friends and I are rarely seen anywhere but in the library, in class, or at a sports practice. There is no time for frolicking in the leaves or going for jaunts along the river. We are constantly in the middle of an action, whether that be slaving over textbooks and notes, quickly grabbing a sandwich in between classes, or pushing ourselves to work as hard as possible out on the fields and in the boats. There are no people rolling around in the grass (unless they have a copy of their latest English book on hand) who are sporting blazers and sperrys. We are bleary-eyed, constantly on edge, and lucky to be wearing a sweater/jeans combination that actually matches.
Muffy - would love to see what preparations you and your family are doing in your garden at this time of year. I'm taking what steps I can to ensure a good base for next year (composting, etc.... great time for gathering the "browns" for the compost pile.)
(real students are never carefree, and any jaunt out is accompanied by both a hyper self-consciousness and a hobbling guilt at not tackling imminently due assignments)
Thank you.
I am amazed by your description of the college student. You hit the nail on the head. As a current student, I can relate to those feelings you wrote that real students experience.
Currently, I am starting my semester abroad at University of St. Andrews, in Scotland. Fall comes a bit earlier here, so many of the fall sweaters have been awakened from their hibernation. The style here is very interesting. Many students take a page or two out of classic prep style, but add a modern european twist to it. This results in more slim fitting clothing, but there are still students that look straight out of New England (and probably are!).
@Zeta Ridge: Best of luck on your studies at St. Andrews. I will be studying abroad at Oxford this next semester and look foreward to taking up tempory residence in the UK.
Jealous!!!
I aspire to a twinge of sadness at letting go of summer, but the older I get, the more cold blooded I get.
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