When Yellow Leaves, or None, or Few Do Hang

It's that time of year--that time of year "when yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang / Upon those boughs, which shake against the cold." It's also that time of year to relish in--and wear--the colors of fall.

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of presenting a mini-teaching demo to a group of prospective UMF students and their parents. I chose to look at the first four lines of the Shakespeare sonnet quoted above. I love this sonnet because it is timeless, even though it is all about time's toll; it is so relatable to young and old. It makes me happy to share with people why Shakespeare is my bard. This poem represents that well:)

On that Saturday, I felt inspired to wear some fall colors--a rich burnt nut-brown pair of corduroy pants, matching MK shoes, a brown ceramic pendant and chain (given to by my husband during our courtship), a cream-colored sweater, and a plaid scarf with hues of yellow, brown, burgundy, and more. The outfit matched the poem in some way--it represented that time of year that embraces the passing of green into yellow and brown. It's the season that looks back on summer with a distant glare. It's the season that anticipates winter with some trepidation, but also with resignation that winter, too, is a part of life.

OK. Enough waxing philosophical. Onto the outfit!

Here I am in my backyard. Yellow leaves, eh? Some do hang on that tree still. Some litter the lawn.

Here's a close-up of that scarf and necklace.

Yup--the shoes match the pants. I got the shoes years before I bought the pants. How does this happen? Fate.

***

While I tend to wear a lot of bright colors, sometimes I like to blend in with my surroundings. Sometimes it's nice to stand out, but that's not always the way to wear awesome color. Sometimes "neutrals" can pop, like the pants + shoes + scarf I wore together.

A recent episode of Project Runway showed the potential of adding neutrals to your wardrobe. When real people walking the streets of Soho, NYC were asked to pick their favorite collection out of three choices, they chose the neutral palette from those red, blue, and neutral. Check out the looks below as they walked the runway.