It's Seriously Fall and we're F***ed
Happy Birthday R.L. Stine!
I’ve just been self-diagnosed with a bad case of fall-induced nostalgia. It’s a seasonal cold that is only being intensified by Brooklyn’s overcast skies, the absence of a lover in my life, the sudden pang of homesickness that hits every time I celebrate another anniversary of living in the city. Days feel inherently less lighthearted, as ‘tis no longer the season to be running around town wearing next to nothing but somehow still sweating, flirting in between drinks with friends that are enjoyed exclusively outside. Hmph. Summer Girls around the nation are at risk for falling ill, but don’t lose heart — we will get through the changing season if it is the last thing that we do.
This is how I meet you today, Reader: sick. I’m sick but I’m not weary, I’ve recognized what I have as merely temporary, certain to be out of my system next time we talk. And, importantly, my diagnosis is what led me directly to this week’s big idea, which has proven to be a good treatment for the fall gloom that currently ails me. Welcome to this week’s letter: A Fall Fashion Guide as Influenced by the World According to R.L. Stine.
R.L Stine, for those of us who might need a refresher, is the famed American author responsible for writing the Goosebumps series, and today he celebrates his 81st birthday. Happy Birthday! He’s got a pretty heartwarming “about me” page on his website which is linked here if you’re interested in his career as it doesn’t relate to the below style profile (take "style profile” with a grain of salt, by the way).
As far as his personal style goes, there’s not much to say. No shade! It’s just that this guy is as uniform a dresser as they come. And, good — he’s a writer, damnit. I’d be concerned if he wasn’t exclusively wearing black button downs and sweaters with his (and every other writer’s) signature pair of wire rimmed glasses. And, regardless, even if Stine was serving up look after exciting look, that’s not what I’m interested in exploring here today. We’re talking about fall-induced nostalgia, after all. I want to be teleported back into my childhood, to consume again what I loved back then, to somehow feel grounded amidst the inner strangeness I’m feeling. Bonus points that it’s seasonally appropriate!
So, over the weekend, sleepy and ever-so-slightly hungover, I turned on S1E1 of the original Goosebumps series on and set out to collect some data. The show opens with a title sequence that features a monogrammed briefcase, suitable to the likes of The Row, Miu Miu, Thom Browne etc., carried by a chic young man clad in all black. Immediate confirmation that I had chosen a fashionable nostalgia case study. I mean, what in the office siren hell is this?! The briefcase then, of course, flies open, papers full of scary stories scattering around a sleepy town with autumnally colorful trees. That’s that fall nostalgia, baby.
Unsurprisingly, though, beyond the opening, things fell a bit flat for me. Watching the show as an adult alone in my apartment didn’t satisfy the very specific need that I was setting out to satisfy. I mean, it’s just a very true-to-its-time children’s show. But! There was still a lot to love. The main character in the first two episode is named Carly Beth, for one. And she’s a scaredy cat. There’s a scene in which the kids are all at school and nobody is wearing costumes except for one girl that is dressed in a full blown clown ensemble (she’d love this). The script is horribly tailored to its audience; a good example being a young girl who is complaining about her family’s new swamp house expresses a desire to “get [me] out of this hole.” It just doesn’t really work without the word Hell thrown in there. There’s a child named Grady. His family “kind of doesn’t believe in guns.” Said family is not very stylish, which is believable seeing as they are scientists (no offense).
Fashion wise, the note previously made about R.L Stine’s personal style applies to that of the show’s, which is to say: there’s not much to write home about. I mean, it’s good! It’s cute! It’s just exactly what kids in the 90s should be wearing to school, which is, at the same time, not revolutionary. Think: flannels, overalls, plaid dresses, collared shirts under chunky knits, utility jackets... Hey, it’s all en vogue right now. C’est la vie, I guess. C’est la cyclical nature of things. And c’est la illusion of nostalgia — thinking I’d find something magic in the fashion of Goosebumps because it’s fall and I miss my youth. I did have fun looking around town, though, and thinking: Hey! Carly Beth would love that ensemble. Happened when I walked past a cute girl on McGuiness wearing a long overall denim dress with a bright purple and blue striped t-shirt underneath. Or when I noticed Grace’s blue and green striped socks paired with her black Nike clogs, which spent all of Saturday afternoon stomping around on some crunchy fallen leaves. Or my inclination to wear two shades of green in one outfit with a plaid skirt (actually a dress) as inspired by the show’s first episode. Woohoo! Lessons are being had after all.
I think those are all the words I wish to share this week. It’s been a long two weeks, but I already feel better about it being fall than I did when I started writing this. Like, seriously — it is all going to be okay. Maybe we aren’t actually f***ed. But I did call this a “fall fashion guide,” and I’m not entirely convinced it is that even at all. Are you? Trick question, don’t answer! What is less of a guide and more of a fun exercise for me to visualize and modernize the R.L. Stine universe can be found below. I needed to turn away from the awkwardness of the television series and find inspiration elsewhere, so I looked no further than the books themselves to create the below “guide.” Hope you enjoy looking through! Tata for now.
XO,
Kennedy
Love the book covers 🥹🥹🥹❤️
this is so good, R.L. x Collina collab when!!