Whether you prefer to hold out until the equinox to break out the pumpkin spice, or you already bought your Halloween decorations in July- We can agree that by October, fall is in full swing. If you’re in the over-eager camp, you’re far from alone: Year over year, fall is by far the favorite season of Americans (ranging from 39-45%)- nearly half of the country! It’s the end of summer heat and the start of the holiday season. What’s not to love? …Apparently it’s classic fall colors.

According to surveys done across multiple industries from cosmetics, to paint manufactures & interior design, to automotive- the colors that always fall to the bottom in popularity are oranges, yellows, greens, & browns. Particularly warm-toned variants of these colors. Think rust orange, mustard yellow, olive green, and the most unflattering ways of describing otherwise rich, gorgeous brown hues.

It’s thought that the reason behind the distaste for these shades is a biological impulse- they can carry an instinctual connection with rotten food or bodily excretions. Even luxurious oxblood red makes it onto some “ugliest colors” lists- perhaps the name isn’t working in its favor.

However, there is a time of year when describing something as “blood”-colored is a positive; when spookiness and decay are venerated because it means getting the satisfaction of crunching leaves under your shoes, carving pumpkins, and bundling up in your favorite sweaters and blankets: Fall, of course!

As leaves and temperatures drop, fall forces us to confront the fact that many things in our world are impermanent, and that the only constant of life is change. Thanksgiving (Both American Thanksgiving in November and Canadian Thanksgiving in October) are placed in fall to celebrate the last harvest of the year. It’s when the produce that was planted months before to grow in the summer is reaped. While there are times when we’re filled with energy and desire to grow, there are also times when we need to slow down and recuperate. Autumn is a time of year that reminds us that dormancy and endings are a natural part of life.

The days getting colder, shorter, and darker can sometimes bring a sense of unease. The shadows in the evenings grow long, and there’s rustling in the trees and bushes from both stiff autumn breezes and creatures preparing for winter. This is part of why Halloween is celebrated during autumn. A lot of classic Halloween motifs are firmly rooted in fall phenomenon. Spiders and bats can be seen often because they’re more active in September/October, which is their mating season. They are widely considered pests for most of the year, but fall is a time that they’re celebrated, and we even decorate our homes with their likeness. While they can be frightening, they serve important roles in the food chain controlling insect populations.

Speaking of frightening, it’s impossible to talk about Halloween decor without mentioning ghosts, skeletons, and other representations of the dead. While Halloween highlights thrills and terror in the face of death, it is followed by Día de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) on November 1st, which treats death with dignity- celebrating one’s ancestors and honoring their memory with music, dancing, and decorating an ofrenda with photos of deceased loved ones, candles, flowers, and the favorite foods of those being commemorated. It helps lift people’s spirits to trust that their loved ones can experience rest and joy in the world beyond, and remind the living of our own mortality. While death isn’t something one should want to run towards, it’s not something to run away from either. The day serves as a reminder to enjoy the limited time we have on earth while we can experience it, and that when death inevitably comes, we can rest easy.

Another tradition that arose in the 20th century for Día de los Muertos is calavera face painting- painting one’s face to look like a skull, often with colorful floral motifs. It’s thought to help the dead feel welcomed on that day, and beautify the concept of death for the living. This practice takes something that could easily be written off as “scary”, “ugly”, or “gross”- human remains, and doesn’t shy away from it. Instead, it acknowledges head on that death is part of life, and that elegance and charm can be found in what is natural and inevitable.

Even when talking about flowers- while some declare their flowers dead and ruined at the first blemish, others will keep them long after they’ve wilted to a crisp. The latter is very much in the spirit of fall- keeping what you have from bountiful times and preserving it through the harsher months. With flowers especially, sometimes the reason they were given is what carries the real emotional meaning, and the flowers themselves serve as a memento of that occasion. Keeping them around longer serves as a tie to the memories behind them. They become a commemoration of what once was. Sure, they’re not frozen in time just as pristine as they once were, but there’s a certain grace in letting nature take its course. In fall, watching formerly vibrant tones fade away is an inherent feature of the season.

So what do we really mean when we call something “ugly”? It means we find that thing repulsive- we don’t want to look at it closely, or think about it deeply. It’s something we would rather not face. Darker days, pests, dead foliage, and death itself: These things are scorned for most of the year, and yet become causes for celebration in the fall. It shows that it’s possible to confront reality- ugly truths- and even turn them into something uplifting, cozy, and beautiful.

Go ahead and give fall colors a chance while the season to enjoy them is here!

Come see our new autumn collection

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