Why Sad Girl Autumn is the mood – and look – you’ll want to channel this season
While the shift into cooler weather and darker nights always seems bleak at first, there’s no denying that it’s an exciting time, fashion-wise. After months of wearing breezy summer dresses and lightweight linens, it feels wonderful to slip on a multi-ply knit, or trudge through crunchy leaves in stompy track-sole boots – comfort fashion, if you will, that compensates for the gloomy prospect of another long winter.
It’s a mood that powers one of the season’s most appealing trends: Sad Girl Autumn, a chic alternative to the cliches of Hot Girl Summer (which was inspired by a 2019 track from rapper Megan Thee Stallion) and Christian Girl Fall (social media’s follow-up to HGS and the sartorial equivalent of a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice latte).
Before you click away in search of something more uplifting to read, Sad Girl Autumn is not as depressing as it may initially sound. Although Hot Girl Summer and Christian Girl Fall are linked to very specific aesthetics, they are more internet memes than fashion trends. Sad Girl Autumn, while moody and melancholic, represents something you might actually want to wear.
The look: cosy, comforting clothes that cocoon rather than cling, in a soothing palette of neutrals. Not for her the obvious rusts and russets of Christian Girl Fall - she prefers expensive shades of greige, rendered in cashmere and buttery soft leather. When she does wear colour, it’s deep oxbloods and muddy greens; no great departure from her comfort zone of black, grey and navy.
For work she likes a slouchy suit - it’s polished, yet feels like pyjamas. Ditto the sweater dress. Over them, she wears a duvet coat. Partywear features wide-legged trousers and Cecilie Bahnsen-style dresses, anything with the kind of volume that keeps other people at a distance.
Her muses are the Olsen Twins, Gabriela Hearst and Phoebe Philo, women who like their clothes well-cut and understated. It’s not the fussy fashion that generates clicks on Instagram; first and foremost it’s practical for living and working in, rather than being snapped in.
There’s a soundtrack too, thanks to the soon-to-drop Adele album. Taylor Swift’s ‘Cardigan’ also fits the bill.
If this description of Sad Girl Autumn seems a little familiar, that’s because it shares some hallmarks with other key trends this season. It features the same luxurious minimalism as the Duchess of Sussex’s new Hollywood power look and the stealth-wealth style seen on hit television show Succession. It’s all about well-chosen investment pieces that don’t scream the wearer’s status, but still imbue a quiet confidence.
The bonus of a zeitgeist-y trend is that it will have inevitably filtered through to the high street, and Sad Girl Autumn is no different. Cos is the Sad Girl’s go-to, but there are also lots of great Sad Girl essentials at Sezane, Zara and Uniqlo, too.
Ready to build your Sad Girl Autumn wardrobe? These are the kind of essentials you’ll need to curate the look:
Clockwise from top left: Joseph V-neck Cashair cashmere jumper, £235, Selfridges; Isla blazer, €299 (£253) and tailored trousers, €299 (£253), both The Frankie Shop; Longline knitted dress, £89, Cos; Conquer Chelsea boots, £265, Russell & Bromley; Granville jacket, £260, Varley
