Autumn Aesthetics

By Megan Roderick 

Since the earliest of ages, my favorite thing to do has been to play dress up. Clad in a tangled mess of clothes I’d experiment with different colors, fabrics, patterns, and accessories. Sometimes this meant layering a princess dress and jeans or pairing plastic heels with a sequin scarf. As I grew older, my love for fashion grew and changed with me. I had my fair share of fashion fails and phases before I finally began to develop my personal style, one that was true to me. 

I started my educational journey at UMass Amherst as a communications major before I decided I wanted to pursue my love for fashion full-time. There wasn’t an official fashion program at UMass Amherst so I built my major using the Bachelor's Degree with Individual Concentration program. I was able to take classes from all different departments including costume design classes and fashion classes. Working as a costume designer for the theater department and a stylist and logistics coordinator for Umass Fashion Org exposed me more to avant-garde and dramatic fashion beyond the everyday. I fell in love all over again with the art of costuming and extravagance. Styling and costuming people was arguably more enjoyable than dressing myself. Helping people feel beautiful and confident felt like the world’s coolest superpower and I knew immediately this was what I wanted to do in life. 

I was also mesmerized by what the people around me were wearing on their own and the outfits they chose for themselves in day-to-day life. A privilege of working in the fashion world is being around confident and creative people. It seemed everyone I came across, whether on stage or off stage at theater and fashion shows was dressing uniquely and authentically for themselves. Their confidence radiated from the inside out, it was clear they felt confident in what they were wearing. For them, dressing up for a special occasion was replaced with the idea of dressing up for yourself every single day and I loved it. 

        Since graduating this past May, I’ve felt my style changing yet again as I enter into this new season of life. I find myself gravitating more towards simple chic looks and attempting to radiate “girl next door energy”. While I continue to add timeless vintage pieces into my collection and participate in my favorite fall trends, there are a few fresh new trends this fall that I can’t wait to see more of. 

        Cheetah and leopard are this fall’s new “it girl”. From leopard bags and phone cases to cheetah mini and maxi skirts, it’s perfect for turning Brat summer into Brat fall. Animal print, in general, has taken off and seems to be a simple and unique way to elevate any outfit. Zebra print belts or pony hair flats are fun ways to incorporate the trend this season.

Megan