A darker shade of green

For the first time since I can remember, I will not be joining the throngs of kids, tweens, teens and young adults returning to school for another year. I have always loved being a student, and I miss shopping for new school supplies, discovering my new textbooks and (for me) exciting first class lectures. Maybe my memory is a little rose-tinted – I did have my fair share of start-of-the-year anxiety and reluctance – but I have always loved this changing of the seasons most of all.

Growing up with sweltering Texas summers, there is nothing like that first whiff of chill air. Autumn air is invigorating. It’s the scent of imminence – sweaters, Halloween, classes, books, my birthday, Christmas and maybe even snow are all on their way and coming nearer all the time. Even though its still warm here in LA, I’m getting a jump start on fall fashion.

Right now, I’m really into hunter green for fall, whether its a sweater, dress, jumpsuit or accent bag. However, as I learned doing research – read “online shopping” – for this entry, hunter green means a lot of different things to different people.

(By the way, there’s also a shirtdress version of this Dolce Vita top with the leopard print collar here.)

I’ve always imagined it as a very dark shade of blue-green, but what designers and copyeditors call “hunter green” actually seems to vary from jade to dark army green. As I began laying out all the beautiful pieces I found, I also realized how much I loved seeing all these darker greens together. This year’s fashion is all about mixing the unexpected – what you were always taught NOT to mix growing up – so I’m thinking, why not layer on the green?

I really want to try some tone-on-tone green looks with hunters, emeralds, forests, armies, jades, olives and khakis. I can’t wait to try this with natural leathers, metallics, sequins, faux fur and animal prints. I may not know right now whether or not I’ll ever end up in classroom again, but fashion is great way for me to stay a student at heart.