What I'm Reading & Wearing This Autumn

What's on my shelf and in my closet this September. Spoiler: it's mostly dark academia and brown knitwear.

Sep 04, 2025

Do you guys remember Polyvore? (Yes, I’m old okay). Anyways, it’s really no surprise that I ended up being a graphic designer, because I used to spend HOURS painstakingly choosing the exact correct combination of aspirational clothing options to match whatever vibe I was going for (usually based on a fictional character, book, or television show).

Kinda like I did for this post, which I think took honestly like a full work day’s worth (spread over three days) of finding items, arranging them exaaaaactly right on the moodboard, hunting for those last few details to fill in weird gaps and round out the outfit, and compiling all the links.

Anyways, I’ve realized I typically wear one of four outfits in the fall and winter – a sweater, pants, a jacket, and loafers; a sweater, pants, jacket, and ankle boots; a sweater, midi skirt, and tall boots; or a sweater, mini skirt, sheer black tights, and ankle boots.

The Book

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

I really don’t know how I haven’t read this book yet, it’s been on my list since it came out, and there are now four of them in the series and a Netflix movie, so… yikes.

Summary

The book follows four seventy-somethings in a retirement community who meet each week to discuss unsolved crimes (as you do). When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph next to the body, the group suddenly finds itself smack dab in the middle of a real murder investigation. As more bodies pile up, the Thursday Murder Club has to catch the killer before it’s too late.

The Outfit

Mid-Length Twill Workwear Jacket, Abercrombie, $160
Oversized Slouchy Cable-Knit Cardigan Sweater, Old Navy, $40
Martin Crop Trousers in Gingham/Ecru, Sézane, $160 (I finally splurged on these pants after seeing them everywhere and I’m so glad I did. They are such high quality and so cute!)
Small Preppy Bucket Crossbody Bag, Old Navy, $25
Iris Snaffle Loafers, Boden, $180
Santal 33 Eau de Parfum, Le Labo, $240
Printed Hair Scarves, Anthropologie, $38
Emerald Cut Topaz Dangle Hoops, Quince, $50
Ribbed Ruffle-Edge Boot Socks, J. Crew Factory, $8
Summer Fridays Dream Lip Oil in Rosewood Nights, Amazon, $26

The Book

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

I added this book to my Dark Academia rec list last week but I haven’t actually read it yet (oops). It sounds SO fascinating though. I love intergenerational stories, I love dark academia, and I love witchcraft, so I anticipate really loving this book.

Summary

Minerva grew up listening to her great-grandmother’s stories of witches and “real” magic. Now, it’s the 1990s, and she’s a graduate student studying the history of horror literature and researching the obscure horror author Beatrice Tremblay. During the course of her work, Minerva discovers that Beatrice’s most famous book, The Vanishing, was inspired by true events. Decades earlier, Beatrice was attending the very university where Minerva now studies, and became obsessed with her beautiful, otherworldly roommate, who mysteriously disappeared without a trace. As Minerva digs deeper into the Beatrice’s manuscript, the story starts to sound alarmingly similar to one her great-grandmother had told her many years before. And she starts to worry that the same dark forces that terrorized both her great-grandmother and Beatrice Tremblay are now targeting Minerva herself.

The Outfit

Relaxed Blazer, Gap, $158
Textured Jersey Blouse, H&M, $25
JW PEI Lucia Classic Top Handbag, Anthropologie, $99
High Rise 70s Flare Jeans, Gap, $63
Sol Block Heeled Penny Loafers, Boden, $199
Fluted Earrings, H&M, $7
Merit Flush Balm in Fox, Merit, $30 (I really love this stuff! It’s so blendable and buildable, and adds the perfect rosy glow).
Notting Hill Glasses, Eye Buy Direct, $49 (I had these exact glasses for like three years, and I loved them so much. I’m thinking of getting another pair with my updated prescription honestly).
Snake Chain Collar Necklace, J. Crew, $52

The Book

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Somehow, despite Practical Magic being one of my all-time favorite movies, AND having this book on my shelf for nearly two years now, I still haven’t actually read it. I know, I know. Anyways, it’s top of my list now that it’s officially autumn in my neck of the woods.

Summary

For more than two hundred years, the Owens women have been blamed for everything that has gone wrong in their Massachusetts town. Gillian and Sally have endured that fate as well: as children, the sisters were forever outsiders, taunted, talked about, pointed at. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, with their musty house and their exotic concoctions and their crowd of black cats. But all Gillian and Sally wanted was to escape. One will do so by marrying, the other by running away. But the bonds they share will bring them back—almost as if by magic...

The Outfit

Cropped Vintage Denim Jacket, American Eagle, $53
Turtleneck Sweater, H&M, $25
The Floral Slit High Waisted A-line Skirt, Rihoas, $36
Heeled Tall Boots in Chocolate, LOFT, $119
Past Life Black Spinel Statement Ring, Local Eclectic, $99
Hammered Motif Earrings, Boden, $69
Whisky, 1989 Eau de Parfum, Thin Wild Mercury, $165 (I’m still working through my sample size of this perfume, but I adore it. Allegedly, it’s the same scent Florence Welch wears.)
Reversible Wide Suede Round Center Buckle Belt, Target, $20
Signature Lipstick in 1990, Merit, $26

The Book

Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

Okay so this seems like THE book this autumn. I had been completely ignoring the hype because I thought it was another high fantasy or romantasy thing that wasn’t up my alley. Proof you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, hmm? Anyways I was at a bookstore last weekend with my friend and she was like “You know, you’d probably love this, it’s all dark academia and hell and magic and stuff.” Oh! I immediately grabbed a copy off the display table. I’m excited to dive in! And I’m definitely keeping my fingers crossed for some good enemies-to-lovers action too.

Summary

Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality—her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world—that is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.

Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands, and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams. Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the same conclusion.

The Outfit

Cable Knit Cardigan, H&M, $35
High-Waisted Wrap-Front Mini Skirt, Old Navy, $19
Ambassador Leather Chelsea Boots, Dr. Marten’s, $170
Lace-Trim Cami Tank Top, Old Navy, $7
Sheertex Rip Resist Tights, Amazon, $35
Croc-Embossed Headband, J. Crew Factory, $20
Matte Revolution Hydrating Lipstick in Pillow Talk Medium, Charlotte Tilbury, $35 (I’ve been wearing this lipstick nearly every day since 2019, and I get so many compliments on it. It really is a “your lips but better” shade that feels universally flattering. And it lasts forever!)
Brown Plaid Scarf, Lulu’s, $28
Croc Crossbody Bucket Bag, J. Crew Factory, $57