I first heard about the Dark Academia aesthetic about two years ago and for once, I was sad that I’m not a teenager in this day and age (mostly I’m extremely grateful to have grown up pre-social media and before all kinds of standards became absolutely ridiculous). I would have been ALL OVER this subculture in my teens – I mean: Reading! Tweed blazers! The Dead Poets Society!

It can be a bit tricky to do Dark Academia when one is 41. Overall, it’s a rather adult-friendly aesthetic, but one must keep in mind that not everything that looks nerdily cool on a 17-year old has the same effect when worn by middle-aged people. And while The Secret History may have seemed pretty aspirational 25 years ago (perhaps minus the murder part), it reads slightly differently once you have a child who will go to a university in not-so-distant future.

Still, there are elements of the darkly studious vibe that one can adopt without a significant risk of ridicule. This includes:

Books, of course. I already mentioned the most quintessentially Dark Academian book, The Secret History. But there are many more and no hard and fast rules for how to define the genre. Ideally, of course, there should be an element of academia and an element of darkness. I am reading The Maidens at the moment and it seems to fit the bill, but I would say that anything gothic – Frankenstein, The Portrait of Dorian Gray – or with a classic feel – Greeks, Brontës – would work, too. I have taken a photo of some books on my TBR that I think sort of go with the theme. The only one I’ve finished is The Mad Women’s Ball (this one should in fact be read mostly for the idea and the mood, the rest is mildly disappointing).

Candles. Candles are a big part of the Dark Academia vibe and any kind of candles would do (well, you may want to avoid pink ones). But talking about Frankenstein and Mary Shelley, Cire Trudon has had a genius idea and launched a black candle called Mary. This is, pretty much, Dark Academia summarised in candle form. I obviously couldn’t resist and have bought it already. It’s mostly spices to my nose, sweeter and more comforting than I expected, but really lovely for autumn. If you don’t care for scented candles, then Coreterno does some cool pillar alternatives. Or if you don’t fancy paying unreasonable amounts of money for candles, just get some traditional white or black  tapered ones and you’ll be set.

Tweed & Co. Mary Janes and pleated schoolgirl skirts might be questionable choices for grown-ups (although if they work for you, enjoy!), but we can certainly do tweed. I have a very soft spot for tweed jackets and I’m currently on a hunt for a good, slightly masculine one. Ditto a tweed coat. I think anything classic menswear inspired works well for women who are interested in adding some Dark Academia to their look: white shirts, navy grandfather cardigans, brogues or loafers, knitted vests, anything with checks, moody scarves, high-waisted trousers, etc. Obviously, going vintage is preferred. Riding boots aren’t necessarily considered canon, but I think they can work well and my own dream DA boots are in fact these Giuliva Heritage ones. Oh, and I’m kind of counting my Vampire’s Wife Cate Dress as Dark Academia as well.

Milky tea and plums. It is probably weird to think of foods that would work with a specific aesthetic; I mean, who does that? Quite a few people actually, a quick google will tell you. I feel that a strong tea is the most quintessentially DA beverage, although you could make a case for coffee, too. I’m at the moment trying to replace one of my daily coffees with Kusmi Prince Vladimir (I always add milk, despite the citrus!), so I’m voting for tea. Plums don’t feature very heavily on the Dark Academia Food Lists, but I’m having a major plum and damson moment and I think they fit the Autumn-y aesthetic perfectly. Also, I wanted to include them because this allows me to reference a skincare product as well: the much-hyped Le Prunier oil which I have now tried and find rather nice.

The weather has just turned in Brussels and I’m suddenly very much in the mood for the new season, filling vases with dahlias, sending letters, wearing coats and doing some proper, rainy-day reading. What about you?