Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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Foliage Fashion When the leaves change in Boston, so does the dress code. by robert cocuzzo As a kid, the only joy I ever found in returning to school each fall was when my mom would take me back-to-school shop- ping. I loved picking out new binders, grabbing a handful of pencils and Magic Markers, and selecting that wicked-cool lunch box that really made a statement: Herein lies the PB&J and string cheese of the Fonzarelli himself. But most of all, I loved picking out my back-to-school clothes. After my younger brother and I grew out of hav- ing to wear matching outfits—which lasted literally till I was in the sixth grade and made us, two blue-eyed blond tow- heads, look like members of the Hitler Youth—buying new duds for the first day of school was an occasion on a par with show-and-tell. Mom would bring me down to the bigger-than-life mall, and we'd find an outfit that looked plucked from the set of Dead Poets Society. This usually consisted of a sweater, cor- duroys, a pair of bucks, and maybe a peacoat, if there was a sale. "This sweater is going to change my life," I would think. "I'm going to be discovered on the street and written into the cast of Boy Meets World and then finally Topanga will be mine!" So no matter how hot it was, 90 degrees with 10 0 percent humidit y, I would wear that outfit on the first day of school even if it killed me—which it very nearly did, as I would sweat through each class like it was an interrogation. While the styles have certainly changed since my child- hood, the motivation behind choosing one's fall clothes hasn't: Fall fashion is about personal renewal. We've worn thin those f lip-f lops and cut-off T-shirts that defined rooftop barbecues and beach days all summer long. Fall is about reclaiming the cool air of sophistication that wafts off t he br ick s of Beacon H i l l a nd Ha r va rd Square come September. It's a time to try those tortoise-frame glasses again and see how long you can go before one of your buddies tells you that you look like a jerk. Of all the fashion seasons, fall is ours to f launt. The weather in October is such that we ca n comfor t ably m ix a nd match t he carefree colors of the Cape with the tough text iles of New Ha mpshire. A t r ue New England look for the autumnal gentleman might consist of leather Frye boots, cognac J. Crew cords, one of L.L. Bean's signature f lannel shirts, and, to top it off, a relaxed-wash military-style khaki coat. And for his date, how about a matching J. Crew ging- ha m sh i r t w it h a chu n ky wh ite R a lph Lauren sweater on top of skinny Madewell jeans and Hunter wellies? Now of cou rse, at t he hea r t of bei ng fashionable, it's not so much what you're wearing but how you're wearing it. If you spot ted Gisele st r ut t ing dow n Newbur y Street in a pair of jellies, a Patriots jersey, a nd sweat pa nt s t hat someone's dad had worn while painting the kitchen, she would still look damn good. And not just because she's a knockout. But because she wears it all with confidence. Thankfully, in Boston, when it comes to confidence, we wear it well. BC IllustratIon by DanIel o'leary 136 bostoncommon-magazine.com PARTING SHOT Fall 2015