Editor’s Letter: Class Is in Session

OUR SEPTEMBER 2018 ISSUE, FEATURING COVER STAR OSCAR ISAAC, IS OUT NOW.

I don’t know about you, but this summer got away from me. Not in a bad way — there was lots of celebration and travel and more than a few afternoons on sunny patios. It just came and went so quickly, I almost forgot to take it all in; my laundry list of people to see and places to go remained only partially complete.

But by August, as I’m writing this, I don’t find myself wishing for more days of summer; I’m actually longing for fall. As far as I’m concerned, September can’t come soon enough. And the more I think about it, I’ve made some version of that countdown so many times before — often in some combination of outright anticipation and childlike dread.

No matter what we do now or whatever schedules we keep, I wonder if any of us really outgrow that back-to-school feeling that comes right at the end of August, when the days get shorter and the nights get cooler. Neighbours return from vacation or cottages; kids show up back from camp with slightly dazed (if not downright terrified) looks in their eyes. In Toronto, the CNE starts up and the rumble of the air show overheard is like a kind of siren call to get back inside, assemble your gear and your thoughts, and get back into the swing of things.

Years after we stopped packing backpacks with new pens and crisp notebooks and shuffling off to school, September remains a new beginning, the yard post around which we (consciously or not) organize our lives. We dust off our summer malaise and get back to work, reenter the forgotten routine of our daily lives. There’s a reason we often take this time to refresh our wardrobes — it’s not just the changing season that necessitates a new overcoat or a fresh set of shirts; it’s our inherent desire to mark that change, to feel a little different, to be, ourselves, renewed.

That’s why we’ve stuffed the pages of this issue with as much fall fashion as we could. There are boots and bags and jackets and suits; pieces that are a little edgy, and pieces that aren’t. We’ve covered a lot of ground, because now is the time to take stock and consider the kinds of upgrades you might make — to your wardrobe or anything else. And who knows? You may even learn a few things. After all, summer is over; class is in session.

Peter Saltsman
Editor-in-Chief