San Francisco is full of places to let out a good cry or just sit in your feelings.
It’s officially here: Sad Girl Autumn. Yesterday, September 22nd, was the first official day of fall, at least here in the United States. (Fall, in fact, doesn’t come to much of the Southern Hemisphere until March, while the month of September is when the Northern Hemisphere enters the foliage-filled month.)
This year's dancy Sad Girl Autumn anthem just dropped. https://t.co/KClAI4KIiv
— Matt Charnock (@M_J_Charnock) September 23, 2022
It’s that sacred time of the year where everything is pumpkin spice. Somewhat thicker than usual layers of clothing are worn around the Bay Area. Taylor Swift’s Red album again enters into the cultural zeitgeist. Of course, now’s the time of the year when we get into our feelings.
Call it “Sad Girl Autumn” — the antithesis to “Hot Girl Summer.“
Fortunately for us in SF, there’s a plethora of ways to participate in Sad Girl Autumn. From low-key crying atop a pretty public staircase to sitting pensively at a cafe shrouded in fog, here are our five Sad Girl Autumn activities to do in San Francisco.
Treat yourself to a vintage coat
Even though our wardrobes stay, more or less, the same year-round, it’s perfectly acceptable and sound to splurge on some outerwear this time of year — especially if said article of clothing makes you feel something. Better yet: Make that wearable treat a vintage find. 7×7 put together a phenomenal vintage-shop list to thumb through, as you go about choosing the best store to find a coat that you can low-key hide in. More info.
Cry atop a tiled staircase
San Francisco has 600 public staircases, but only a handful of them are decorated with mosaic tiles. Personally, the Hidden Garden Steps at 15th Avenue and Kirkham Street are our favorite place to have a cute lil’ early-morning or late-night cry. Pro tip: Don’t be that person who sits in the middle of the staircase weeping — so choose a side to release that much-needed release of lacrimal fluid. More info.
Check out some poetry at SFPL
Sad Girl Autumn is the season for waxing nostalgic and melancholic with some good poetry, courtesy of a trip to the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL). In addition to the Main Library, the San Francisco Public Library has 27 branch libraries — all of which have great selections of poetry. Though if you want that full dejected experience, there’s nothing quite like reading Emily Brontë underneath the Main Library’s spiral glass roof and letting all those feelings just sink in. More info.
Feel pretty at the Conservatory of Flowers
Just because you’re sad doesn’t mean you’re not hot! As an attractive person, you’re morally obligated to find yourself among other pretty things. And what’s more pretty than surrounding yourself in a sea of exotic flowers and gorgeous greens? More info.
Have an espresso underneath the fog
We’re big fans of morning routines… or rather: the ideas of them. We want to be that person who gets up early enough to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee, overlooking the city from a well-worn cafe table. Maybe this is the season we finally do that — embracing the doom and gloom troupe whilst nursing an espresso somewhere in Oceanview or Ingleside, where SF’s fog is the thickest. More info.
