In Defence Of Pumpkin Patches, Halloween And Being An All-Round Autumnal Basic Bitch

Nothing stays pure on the internet - and being snobby is always in season. So, welcome to October, the month half of social media blooms into a festival of blankets and orange-themed joy... and the other half is there to piss all over it.

And while it's easy to be snarky, this year of allll the years, I know which happy, cosy camp I'd rather be in.

In recent years we've really started to buy into the American tradition of Halloween being a month-long festival. And with it, have come the pumpkin patches and the idea of Autumn being a festival in itself - a festival for which doors can be decorated, clothes can be bought and special foods and drinks should be consumed.

READ MORE: Here's How To Recreate Stacey Solomon's Autumn Wonderland Door Decor

It's crept and crept until it's just become normal. Last year, for instance, I heard the word gourd being flung around for the first time. Endlessly.

And because it brings some people JOY (SO MUCH JOY, LOOK AT THIS PICTURE OF STACEY AND REX) it has now become something that the internet has started to take the piss out of.

And I'm not having it.

It's influencers' fault really - they take something and go WAY TOO FAR WITH IT, staging full-on photo shoots down at the patch and making it look lame, and unauthentic and worthy of mockery...

But you know what? Most people DO want to go to a pumpkin patch with their kids or their date or their pet or their own damn selves, and soak up some AUTUMN. And while they're there, take a few pictures.

And yes, they might want to do a Halloween Zoom, or get dressed up, or get their kids dressed up as Carole Baskin or a slice of banana bread. That's OKAY.

The way you know that something has crossed from cute to attacked as 'basic' is when people DO IT ANYWAY, but post stuff on Instagram preface by a 'Sorry, but I couldn't resist' or ironically unironically do hashtags like #BasicButILoveIt.

Well, if Emily in Paris taught us anything (apart from that all, yes ALL French men can be hypnotised by some neon skirts and a greta set of brows) it's that we shouldn't be afraid of the basic as an insult and reclaim it.

Though, I'd go further and just say we should throw the term IN THE BIN. Yes Kate Moss said it and it was really funny. But it's just not 2020 is it? If anyone can find some joy this year, bloody go for it. Don't brand it anything. Just enjoy it. Freely.

What could possibly be wrong about frolicking in a field of pumpkins, wearing a cosy knit and clutching a spiced latte? NOTHING. Go for it. And post it. And avoid the 'ironic unironic' hashtags while you're at it.