One thing that many of us know based on the pleasant weather DeKalb has had since the beginning of the semester is that fall is nearly upon us. From clothing, activities, food and pop culture, there are many things that will be popular this season.
CLOTHING
A big part of the fall atmosphere is of course the clothing.
For those with feminine style, you know that knitted sweaters, cardigans, hoodies, long sleeve flowy dresses and tops — sometimes even crop tops — will for sure be in for us again this year.
Jean styles that are in right now are wide-leg, bootcuts and boyfriend jeans as well as skirts. Plaid is also always a good way to go to keep with the fall vibes. Shoes that are in right now are suede boots, Mary Jane flats and animal print.
For the guys, flannel shirts are always an option along with hoodies, sweaters and joggers. For shoes, sneakers and slip ons are always a great idea or you can be more stylish with luxury hikers, lugged loafers or hiking shoes
Items that can work for anyone are any kind of stylish jacket (leather jackets are my favorite and suede jackets are making a comeback) as well as beanies.
Vogue magazine is already anticipating some colors that will be trending this fall. These colors include powder pink, chili pepper red, mocha brown, different shades of blue, slime green and electric aubergine.
To add to your fall wardrobe in an inexpensive way, be sure to visit T.J. Maxx at 2546 Sycamore Road, Goodwill at 1037 S. Annie Glidden Road, the Salvation Army Family Store & Donation Center at 1814 Sycamore Road and the Huskie Closet at the Chick Evans Field House in Suite 102.
ACTIVITIES
Being in Northern Illinois, we are fortunate to experience the many activities associated with fall.
There are many places in the area that offer pumpkins, apples and other produce.
There is Kuipers Family Farm, located a little bit outside of DeKalb at 1N318 Watson Road in Maple Park, which has an apple orchard among other activities.
Wessels’ Family Farm, located at 2023 Sycamore Road in DeKalb, offers not only pumpkins, but other produce as well.
Jonamac Orchard, located at 19412 Shabbona Road in Malta is a popular fall family attraction in the area. The apple orchard has pumpkins and other activities as well.
If you are looking for a festival themed around the season, be sure to check out Sycamore’s Pumpkin Festival, which will take place from Oct. 22 until Oct. -26 in downtown Sycamore. The festival offers a pumpkin display which showcases decorated pumpkins that have been carved or painted by residents of the area, a carnival that runs Friday through Sunday and a parade taking place on Sunday, Oct. 26.
The 2025 theme of the 64th annual Pumpkin Fest is pumpkins at the movies.
FOOD
Pumpkin spice lattes are back in full force. Starbucks released this popular drink along with other fall offerings on Aug. 26.
If you are willing to travel a little bit away from campus, Coroco Coffee, located in Sycamore at 224 S. California St., is a local women-owned business with a seasonal fall menu.
You can never go wrong with anything pumpkin or apple flavored. Popular fall recipes you can make are apple cider donuts, pumpkin cheesecake cookies, goulash and chicken pot pie.
POP CULTURE
In fall, there are always seasonal movies, tv shows, books and more to get you into the autumn mood..
One popular TV show that draws large streaming audiences during fall is “Gilmore Girls,” which stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel along with Kelly Bishop, Melissa McCarthy, Scott Patterson and the late Edward Herrmann.
The show follows the popular mother-daughter duo, Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. Gilmore Girls takes place in the fictional town called Stars Hollow usually during the fall season.
The show is available on Netflix and Hulu.
“Wednesday” is another fall favorite which returned for Season 2 on Wednesday, starring Jenna Ortega, Emma Myers, Percy Hynes White, Christina Ricci and Hunter Doohan.
The show follows the popular “Addams Family” character, Wednesday Addams, at Nevermore Academy where she learns to master her psychic abilities, end a killing spree and solve a mystery. ”Wednesday” is available on Netflix.
A spooky show I recommend is “Penny Dreadful”. Starring Eva Green, Josh Hartnett, Timothy Dalton, Reeve Carney and Harry Treadaway, the show takes classic literature such as “Dracula,” “Frankenstein” and “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and brings them together in 1891 London.
The show is available on Showtime and Amazon Prime.
Spooky season is also a great time to get into reading, as there are many books that are centered around this season’s haunting chill .
These upcoming months are a great time to read Stephen King’s plethora of horror novels.
A spooky series that is unique from others is Ransom Riggs’ “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” series, which was adapted into a film by Tim Burton in 2016.
Whatever you’re interested in, there is sure to be something for you to do this upcoming fall season to immerse yourself in the autumnal atmosphere.
