Guest Blogger: Emily Strong

The light was already fading by the time we arrived to take photos at the Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s colder on the top of the mountain, the leaves already beginning to change their color, the setting sun a pale line over the mountains. The lights of the town sparkle in the valley, and we quickly snap our final photographs before the day disappears entirely. 

The days are getting shorter, and that comes as something of a surprise because autumn weather arrived so late this year. A thrill of excitement always arrives with the first cool weather of the season. I don't know exactly where that excitement comes from. Is it the colors on the trees? Halloween just around the corner? The cool breeze that wakes you up from the sleepy late summer with the promise that something new has arrived? 

With the change of seasons comes a change of clothes: layers made for comfort in the cold and an entirely new color palette. The jewel tones in this peacoat by Free People and this a-line dress by DEX Clothing particularly caught my eye. 

Autumn, especially autumn in Virginia, is my favorite season. More than any of the reasons listed above, there's something magical about it: beautiful and temperate and inherently impermanent. When the world around you looks so striking for such a short time, you have no choice but to appreciate it, to take a step back and take it all in. The astrology necklace by Secret Box gives this outfit a touch of the mystical. (Though it's currently Scorpio season, I chose my own sun sign, Aquarius.) 

This outfit captures everything that I love about autumn in the Blue Ridge, and will help you carry that magic with you all winter long.