THE WEIRDENING

It's getting dark out and you need some (secondhand) sparkles.

The Autumn Equinox has passed; in draws darkness. This is the season of crisp leaves and spiced apples, but this is also the season for ghosts to rise up from the loamy earth and glitter to cut through lengthening nights. Scarves and sweaters are wonderful, but naturally it’s the weirder side of fall that I find infinitely more fascinating to dress for with all its rough-hewn textures and hints of Halloween costumes to come.

As I get older, I find that I no longer need a mood board to dictate how I dress on a day-to-day basis. I’ve got a uniform of sorts that I absolutely love for all seasons (one that will form a big portion of what we sell at Mess…I can’t wait to show it to you). However, it’s the special occasion dressing that requires a little extra thought and little more friction against capital F-fashion—one that requires some reference imagery for guidance.

As always, I’m drawn to little details that pull others closer and create conversation, but this autumn I want them to be especially weird: handbags with haunting gargoyle clasps, glasses that look to be stolen from the opthalmologist’s operating room, and furs freed from the attic for the first time in ages. These treasures make everyday staples (antique lace dresses, little black jackets) feel exciting without requiring the addition of any new clothes. Below the paywall, I’ve got a trunk of secondhand suggestions for septuagenarian spectacles, Jazz Age tiaras, Mongolian fur coats, and flapper-worthy sequinned shawls that are all harbingers of what’s to come in our wardrobes this season: The Weirdening.

From left to right: 1. @gigait. 2. Bianca Jagger on the cover of Vogue, March 1972. 3. Karl Lagerfeld, ‘Fitting Room Follies,’ 2009. 4. John Currin, Rachel in Fur, 2002. 5. Marc Jacobs S/S 2025. 6. A Nicklas Skovgaard look photographed by Freya Werner for Issueissue Magazine Vol. 4. 7. Ragdoll lambs! 8. Marianne Faithfull in Girl on a Motorcycle, 1968. 9. @__dgulia_, 10. Tim Walker, ‘Mad, Merry, Marvelous,’ Vogue Italia, September 2000. 11. Manuela Pavesi, ‘The Feminine Issue,’ i-D Magazine, March 2005. 12. @lucadistanio. 13. John Galliano S/S 1997. 14. Prada Pre-Fall 2025 via @jensenleigh. 15. Brigitte Bardot in Paco Rabanne, 1967. 16. Miu Miu F/W 2017. 17. @strangedesires. 18. Twiggy by Justin de Villenueve, 1968. 19. Anna Weyant, 2022. 20. Hans Feurer, Pearls, 1969. 21. Prada Pre-Fall 2025. 22. Miu Miu F/W 2023 boots. 23. Penelope Tree by Arnaud de Rosnay, 1967. 24. Simone Rocha S/S 2026. 25. Holiday card by Alexandra Cabral. 26. @edicolaerno. 27. Nathalie Delon by Giancarlo Botti, 1967.