Spooky season, here we come!
- Janhtria Darline
- Oct 20, 2022
- 8 min read
Updated: Nov 18, 2022
As wedding season is coming adrift, we yet still have more to celebrate! You’re right, you’ve guessed it... it’s spooky season.
The 4 months of beautiful bright blue clear skies begins slowly transitions into billowy clouds. In Washington, as much as I love having consistent amount of warmth from the sun, I’ve been longing for the grey skies to come back home. I love quiet and stillness as we prepare for the cold weather and get cozy (yes, that includes a lot of spiced food and drinks to warm you up)! Some may disagree, but I believe that autumn might be the most romantic season of the year! What’s a better excuse to go out and spend time with each other than going to the pumpkin patch and have a fun carving date after. But we’ll talk about more autumn activities next time.
Let’s Talk Fashion!
Despite loving the sun and blistering heat, Autumn has always been my favorite season. Growing up in Washington, I’ve gotten used to the rainy season — so rain boots and rain jackets are a necessity! Also, what‘s even better in autumn fashion... is you get to layer!
Corduroy, denim, and knitted apparel comes out of the closet! Warm tones and neutrals blends us in with the colors of the falling leaves and earth all around us. Spooky graphic tees of witches and wizards, cats and werewolves, and even cult movie favorites stir up a conversation when you’re in your local café grabbing a drink on the go to your favorite bookstore. Chunky black boots have always been in style, but in autumn, it doubles as functional and fashionable (unless you’re a religious Doc Martens wearer – that’s just a whole different breed of fashion followers). If you’re looking for a chunky platform that has been popular and styled by multiple celebrities and TikTok stars this past year, you might be thinking about Naked Wolfe’s Spice Stretch Boots. They are retailed a whopping price of $349.95 as they are made with vegan stretch material that fits like a glove (or in this case, should I say sock?)! They come in various colors and finishing variations of: black shine, brown, chalk, denim, and red patent. There are plenty of budget friendly dupes out there like Steve Madden’s Cypress boot retailing for $189.95 or ASOS’ Nokwol Platform Knee Boots for $130 that are just as stylish and possibly just as comfortable. Of course, we all know that pricing isn’t just the comfortability/quality of an apparel or product, but it also goes for the branding, such as the Naked Wolfe’s sleek logo they‘ve embellished on both the heel of the boots and the heel itself.
If you prefer comfortable/basics shoes or wear your Nike Air Force 1s year-round like me, these are some of my favorites that I’ve been eyeing, or own! But before I start, lets not confuse the word “basic” with the negative connotation that the media has given it. In order to make your maximalist pieces to stand out, you would need other pieces to create a foundation and build and blend it together so you can continue to elevate you look with other clothing pieces.
First, we'll introduce Coach's C270 Tech Runner. What I love about this shoe is that is it the perfect chunky size that gives a statement but isn't stomping loud in front of people's face. The cream and baby blue combo gives a nice clean and soft look, and the monogram of Coach's "C " logo detailing adds on to the design and branding. The reviews are high, rating of 4.5/5 stars on the Coach's website. Many who bought the shoes reviewed it as "comfortable and sturdy", as well as rating the overall fit, true to size. What's also great is that Coach is currently running a sale on their site that is currently live right now and may last going into the holidays. The retail price is $178, but with the sale going on it is currently $119 (33% off!).
Now if you're a fan of Yeezys (YZY), and want to expand the shoe family, you may be interested in Adidas Originals: Ozweego Sneakers and Ozweego Celox. The shoes are similar in looks because the founder of Yeezy, Kanye West, collaborated with Adidas and dropped their first shoe collaboration back in October 2015. Initially it took me bit to like the idea of Yeezys, but I loved the idea of chunky sneakers. When Adidas launches the Ozweego sneakers, it gave me Dune vibes. I love how it looked like it came from an extraterrestrial sci-fi movie with the circles and bumps, and even detailing to the bottom of the shoe! They come in men and women sizes, all varying in 10 different shades! As for the Ozweego Celox, unfortunately they are available in men sizes, available in two shades. You can always size down for a better fit. For example, some shoes I’ve gotten in the past only came in men’s sizes, and I regularly wear a 5.5/6 in women’s so I would just size down to 4/4.5 men’s. And if you want to match your "mini me's" with a children shoes, they’re available in 4 different shades. Here are some of my favorites out of the Ozweego collection!
Next up, the Nike Waffle Debut Sneakers in Pink Oxford. I originally saw this as I was browsing on ASOS, and for the rest of the shoes that will be listed, they’re also found on ASOS as well! I love the warm pink tones, and the suede material and the heel loop in the back so it’s easy to slip in and out of! These currently retail $70 on ASOS.
The River Island Chunky Knit Sneaker with Crystal Details in beige has some similarities as the Ozweegos, but without the intricate details that gives the Ozweegos the “alien” look. In addition, the shoes have a gold cord lock and gold aglets that gives it the perfect amount of shine to compliment the rest of the bedazzling on the heels of the shoes. The customers who have purchased River Island Sneakers rated it high in comfortability and quality. River Island is a British brand, and their apparel are budgeted on the higher end. If you have the ASOS app, they are currently running a 30% sale, so instead of being $110, it is $77 on ASOS!
Nike Air Max 90 Futura Sneakers in Sand Drift falls perfect with the autumn colors. The shoes makes me think of what it may look like, if you were walking on spice. Unlike most shoes, the inner and outer sides aren’t similar, as the outer side has a rose tone half circle for more detailing. The retail price from Footlockers is $150.
Shoes are either a neutral statement to your out, or they can make or break it. Other was to bling up your look are to add accents through accessories!
Accessories!
Minimalistic jewelry has been trending for a while, so pairing your outfit with some gold huggies, gold rings, or even gold necklaces can pull the outfit together or even enhance it. Some people may prefer to wear silver, but gold looks better on my skin tone as I have more of a warmer-neutral skin tone. Growing up, my parents have always passed down gold necklaces and bracelets as a child. Many Asian cultures, specifically South East Asians, tend to wear gold chains, pendants, and jewelry in general as gold has an extended history of holding a cultural importance in social classes.
Jewelries that I purchase for myself or gift others are often from: Local Eclectic, Linjer, and Etsy. These brands are the ones I keep going back to, as their products stay in great condition even after I wear them in the shower and lather on my lotion and body oils! The price point ranges from medium to high, as you are paying for ethically sourced and made products, not fast fashion jewelry that tarnishes and stains your skin green after it touches water for the first time. It’s better to invest in jewelry that will last a while rather than something that is wear and tear. Jewelry goes the same for being in fast fashion; if it doesn’t last more than a month or two after wearing it— it may not be worth investing in. I understand that there are cost constraints and as someone who also has bills to pay, I am still learning to see what materials are worth investing in, rather than wearing it out a couple times.
Local Eclectic is a woman founded and owned brand with many different designers from around the world with a variety of jewelry styles. From earrings and bracelets, to engagement rings and birthstone jewelry. It's a great site to find gifts for anyone, and they're easy to personalize. L.E. carries other brands like: Carrie Elizabeth, La Kaiser, Tai Jewelry, and many more designers (over 20 great brands for you to choose over)!
My favorite styles are their celestial jewelries. Previously I've purchased a set of the Simple Star Diamond Band, and Solid Gold Starry White Sapphire Huggies, both in gold. What's also nice is that if the item you have is sold out, you can be put on the emailing waitlist to see when they're available for purchase again. Another feature that I appreciate as a consumer is how detailed yet straight-forward the details of the products are, details of the band width, how many/what type of gems are on on. I would say to be aware and make sure to read the description of the sizing of the rings though because although the rings and jewelry looks nice and big in the picture, most of their styles are more petite and minimalistic (but very detailed and beautiful of course!). I'm not saying that it is false advertising, but in the pictures, because the shot is zoomed in, the product seems a big bigger versus in person.
Carrie Elizabeth carries most favorite designs, but because she's based in the UK, ordering from Local Eclectic saves me the hassle of waiting for the long shipment time, and saves a couple bucks due conversions to US currency.
Linjer is another recent favorite of mine. I haven't order much from them, but they have a lot of great stacking rings. Unlike Local Eclectic, it is its own independent brand, founded by Jennifer Chong and her husband, Roman Khan. Their prices are a bit steeper compared to L.E. but that's because their products/metals are sustainably and ethically sourced. Linjer also sells watches and handbags. Once your jewelry is shipped, their packaged in a really nice grey suede pouch to ensure preserve its beauty to keep it long-lasting!
As for Etsy, a reliable and affordable brand that has lasted me years is Inspired Jewelry (InspiredJewelryxxx), founded by Giselle Liang. I've ordered multiple rings like: Square Signet Ring, and the Black Onyx Signet Ring. The only con is that for their gem rings, the gem itself isn't secured so it's prone to fall out. The onyx fell off mine, so it's unwearable now because it has an empty space which it doesn't look appealing anymore. There are a couple reviews of customers who experienced the same thing with the onyx signet ring.
Another brand I'd like to mention that I‘ve been looking into is Hard Jewelry. Based in Ogden, Utah, I initially ran into this brand as I was mindlessly scrolling on Instagram. What stood out to me about them is the founder, William Velazquez, who markets the brand to young consumers, and those who are into alternative/gothic fashion. With over 26,000 reviews, all averaging to 5/5 stars, you know his marketing tactic is great because he connects with his followers through humor— most often, memes. By sharing personal stories, and meme-ifying the products, they generate large amounts of traffic. The daily stories and makings of the products, and details shipping and designing his jewelry shows the transparency of his product which many admire. Even the name behind the brand is to represent the long lasting life of each item, holding is value while being accessible and sustainable for the buyers, as the jewelries are made up of solid stainless steel or sterling silver. The style of this is more into the alternative, edgy style - as most of their designs and brand is known for the swords, skeletons, and even anime themed designs. As of recently, Hard Jewelry is on their way for their Las Vegas pop-up!
As we Washingtonians continue to wear our spring and summer attire as the warm weather has been carrying on into mid October, I know I‘m ready for the rain to wash out the smoggy air and leave it crisp and clean as how autumn should feel as it regularly should. Once the smoke washes away and we’ll be delighted back with our regular forecast of cloudy grey skies, it will feel like autumn once again. And if you haven’t figured out what to do with your friends/families or what you can do to liven up your ‘gram, don’t forget to check in again for some fun autumn activities you can do locally or outside the city if you don’t mind a bit of a drive!
Until next time,
Janhtria Darline
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