It’s the middle of November – the peak of autumn, if you will: leaves turn to warm tones that dangle off branches, temperatures dip, and Starbucks’ red cups embellish the landscape of the city. Time to whip out our oversized scarves and wool sweaters to brave the chill of anything sub sixty in New York.
Meanwhile, I’m packing for my trip to the West Coast for Thanksgiving – with a suitcase full of cotton t-shirts, shorts, and ankle socks.
Something seems to be off here…
Next thing you know, I’m back home in LA, reunited with the rows and rows of palm trees that are as inescapable as they are comforting – and things are looking and feeling almost exactly as they did the last time I was here in July. The temperature hasn’t changed much, and neither have our wardrobes. The only sign of seasons turning are in Barney’s window displays and E.P. & L.P.’s recent menu changes “in accordance with the cooler temperatures,” as my waitress put it.
And as I was sitting there last night over dinner, in my (unnecessary) denim jacket, hearing about the “autumnal specials” in seventy-degree weather, it dawned on me: our seasonal weather changes here in La La Land are just as comical and monotonous as the city’s nickname.
But maybe these so-called “seasons” are characteristic to what we love about each coast: the constant flux of temperatures and nature in the east, versus the sunny sameness in the west, where daylight savings, autumnal menus, and window displays are the only marks of the seasons changing.
Perhaps my New Yorkers out there take pride in autumn as an opportunity to display their double-breasted pea coats and leather gloves, while on this side of the country, in the City of Angels, we celebrate consistency, as our halos and wings take form in basic white t’s and denim shorts – always.
And while I can’t wait to make the trip back to the Big Apple to see what cashmere creations take the streets, I’m taking this moment to bask in LA’s own version of autumn, with sun and blue skies galore.
So to all my Angelenos, throw some ice in that pumpkin spice. Time to gear up for fall: go out and buy your tank tops, flip flops, t-shirts, and shorts. But don’t worry; feel free to splurge…because I’m sure we’ll all end up wearing the same pieces for each “season” here to follow.
In short, let’s make of this time of year what we will, regardless of where we are. Forecasts and outfits aside, perhaps autumn is more so just a state of mind than it is a mark of temperatures (and wardrobes) changing, necessarily – ultimately just a time to reset and refresh for us all.
