By: Abby Chadwick
With temperatures in Savannah finally dropping somewhat below 80°F, it's time for us to once again answer the age-old question: Is liking fall cheugy?
For any of you non-internet obsessed BooBees readers, “cheugy” (pronounced: chew-gee) is a TikTok-born adjective describing any trend that is kind of embarrassing and somewhat-millennial. Chevron stripes? Cheugy. Rae Dunn? Cheugy. Matching bachelorette “Bride Tribe” t-shirts? Cheugy. However, it’s extremely important, and even necessary, to distinguish “cheugy” from “camp.” For example, while infinity scarves are cheugy, chunky belts are camp. And while over-the-knee boots with skinny jeans is cheugy, over-the-knee boots with shorts is (you guessed it) camp.
But how does all this tie into the changing of seasons? I’m getting there. The internet has bashed and berated the “Christian Girl Autumn'' trend long enough for many of us to be scared into admitting our love of pumpkin spice and Bath&Body Works fall candles. Playing “Red (Taylor’s Version)” on repeat and spending $15 dollars on a festive pillow tends to garner eye rolls from the “too-cool-for-school” crowd, and us fall-lovers are left to bear the burden of our cheugy-ness. And, in addition, the multitudes of summer-fanatics are always coming for my neck because they never want their precious season to end. The madness never ceases, and frankly, it's exhausting.
If you clicked on this article to try to find a way to celebrate fall cheug-free, there may be a few routes you can take. The first is to avoid all fall-fashion trends involving beanies, scarves, or fedoras. Ugg boots have miraculously bridged the line between cheugy and camp, so those are allowed. The next tip is to avoid any Halloween costumes involving an avocado. That means avocado toast, “holy guacamole”, etc. And finally, never, and I mean NEVER let someone catch you sipping on a pumpkin spice latte, especially if you’re using a domed lid for your extra whip! (For some reason, domed lids are cheugy and sippy lids are now in.)
Now, you can feel free to follow any or all of these rules, and they should ensure that you spend your autumnal months with minimum levels of cheugy-ness. But listen, if we’re being honest, you’ll probably have a terrible time. Because ya know what! In this day in age, anything that you chose to like is going to be embarrassing, so why not just like it anyway! Pumpkin spice is worth all the rage and I will be getting extra pumps of it in my iced almond milk latte! And I will be lighting four candles at a time until my room smells the inside of a cinnamon roll’s booty! And in this political climate, with global warming making my walk to class feel like a journey through the seventh ring of hell, I will be wearing a sweater and listening to Ed Sheeran’s debut album because it brings me just a little bit of joy when the entire world feels absolutely outrageous. So embrace the cheug, and like what you like, because no one else is going to do it for you.
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