The Basic Gal’s Guide to
Celebrating Pumpkin Spice Latte Season ave you just seen the first autumn leaf flutter to the ground? Do you have pumpkin spice syrup instead of blood in your veins? Have you been counting the days since LAST YEAR’S pumpkin spice season? If any of these things describe you, then get ready to sit back, relax, and grab your signature PSL as we present to you… the Basic Gal’s Guide to Celebrating Pumpkin Spice Latte Season. Every true PSL babe knows that ‘autumn’ is mostly just a social construct. This is PSL Season and NOTHING ELSE. So, how do you celebrate in style? To find out, we talked to a Southampton student who really needs a personality trait other than Pumpkin Spice Lattes. (Remember the girl who ordered “black market” pumpkin spice syrup from the American coffee chain, Dunkin Donuts? …yeah, it’s the same student. And yes, she really needs to get a life). STEP ONE: Embrace The Struggle That is British PSL Season
you ever truly know? Your best bet is to grab both, sip awkwardly, and hope for the best. STEP TWO: Take Your PSL On a Day Out Is it really PSL season if you didn’t get some pics? For the ultimate celebration, pull out your ankle boots, your most Instagrammable sweater and hat, and head to a nearby pumpkin patch for a day out with your PSL. Don’t forget to give all your pics captions like, ‘Let’s give ‘em pumpkin to talk about!’ and ‘Pumpkin Spice, Spice Baby!’ Everyone who reads your captions will stand in awe of your originality. STEP THREE: Wonder What A Real PSL Would Taste Like Here in England, we’re free of things like added preservatives, unhealthy chemicals, and… you know… flavour. So, while you’re sipping your British PSL that mostly tastes like cough syrup, stalk some American Instagrammers and think about their gigantic 32-ounce PSLs that are brimming with extra pumpkin flavour and sugar. And, to really make matters worse, just remember that in America, you can get an extra-large Pumpkin Spice Latte with extra pumpkin, extra spice, and - be still my beating heart- EXTRA LIQUID SUGAR. Does it make any sense at all? Absolutely not. Would it give you diabetes? Without question. But it sure is fun to dream about! Celebrating PSL Season in England isn’t much, but…oh well! PSL and carry on, I guess!
The first thing to keep in mind is that celebrating PSL Season in England is HARD. We don’t really have the romanticised American weather with ‘autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place’. (See that Taylor Swift lyric I just casually wove in there!) Here in England, we go from ‘sweaty weather’ to ‘sweater weather’ in 2 seconds flat, with both seasons often overlapping throughout the same day. It’s been ‘wear a sweater in the morning and regret it in the afternoon’ weather since early September, so, it’s a bit tricky to really break out your chunky sweaters and really try to embrace the vibe. But the true PSL lover will do her best and forge ahead anyway, even while she battles such conflicting questions as: is it the day for a hot PSL or an iced one? How can
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WORDS BY ALYSSA-CAROLINE BURNETTE IMAGE BY SAYLI JADHAV
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