Well, here we are… the last day of August.
Honestly, where has the summer gone?
I'm not one of those people who starts getting excited about autumn while we're still in July. I love summer. Give me hot weather, light mornings, long light evenings, bare feet, flip flops and being able to wander about without taking a coat just in case and I'm very happy indeed.
I could quite happily have a few more months of it.
But when it comes to colours…
I'm autumn through and through.
Perhaps it's because I'm an autumn baby. Maybe I've been programmed that way from birth.
Whatever the reason, I've always loved those rich, earthy autumn colours — the deep greens, moss, olive, warm browns, rusty reds, terracotta, burnt orange and those gorgeous golden mustard yellows.
And looking at the Harris Tweed I tend to choose, I think the evidence is pretty conclusive.
Oakwoods Tartan is probably the perfect example. It's one of my biggest sellers and, when I look at it, I can see pretty much every colour I love about autumn — mossy and olive greens, warm browns, rusty tones and those lovely golden mustard shades.
Put it all together and you've basically got an autumn woodland woven into Harris Tweed.
No wonder I love it… and apparently I'm not the only one!
It did make me wonder whether my love of those colours is connected to being an autumn baby. Or perhaps I'm just very predictable.
“Which colour would you like?”
“Anything that looks like a tree in October, please.” 🤔
I love the way autumn colours work in Harris Tweed. There's so much depth to them, and the texture of the wool seems to make the colours even richer.
A mossy green doesn't just look green. It can have hints of brown, grey and gold running through it. The terracotta can change depending on the light. And the mustard has that gorgeous warm, golden quality that reminds me of autumn sunshine filtering through the leaves.
And then there's that lovely slightly rustic, natural feel that somehow makes all those colours work together.
It's probably no coincidence that these are the colours I keep coming back to.
Although I should probably admit that having a favourite colour is one thing.
Having access to lots of beautiful Harris Tweed in your favourite colours is quite another.
This is where things can get dangerous.
Because buying fabric is very easy to justify when you have a business.
“It's for work.”
“I might need it.”
“Someone will definitely want this colour.”
“And anyway, look at it. It's gorgeous.”
All perfectly sound business reasoning, obviously.
There is absolutely no fabric hoarding going on here. 😂
Just very careful and considered future planning.
And perhaps that's one of the reasons I love this time of year so much. September always feels like a bit of a reset. Summer isn't quite over, but there's a definite change in the air. The evenings start drawing in, routines return and suddenly you start thinking about cosy things again.
And that's when Harris Tweed really comes into its own.
The texture. The warmth. Those beautiful autumnal colours.
Bags, cushions, jackets, accessories and all those handmade things that are made to be used rather than tucked away somewhere safe.
That's something I particularly love about Harris Tweed. It's not precious in the sense of “don't touch that, you'll ruin it.”
It's made to be lived with.
A bag that gets thrown over your shoulder.
A cushion that gets used every day.
A jacket that gets worn year after year.
Something that gathers a bit of history along the way.
So, while I'm definitely not saying goodbye to summer just yet — I'll happily keep the sunshine, flip flops and long evenings for as long as they're willing to stay — I am quite happy to welcome September.
Because September means the beginning of my favourite colour season.
The leaves haven't even properly started changing yet, but I'm already looking at the greens, oranges, terracotta and mustard and thinking…
Yep. That's my palette. 🍂
Maybe I really am an autumn baby after all.
So goodbye August.
And hello September.
Hello cooler mornings, cosy evenings, autumn leaves, ridiculously good colours…
and hello tweed season.
Although, to be fair, between you and me, there isn't really a tweed season in my world.
There's just a season when everyone else finally remembers how good it is. 🧡
Are you a summer person, an autumn person, or somewhere in between? And which autumn colour is your favourite?
