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Pittsburgh Autumn Fashion: How to Layer Local Vintage and Boutique Styles

By
Abdul Rafay
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A group portrait of eight people of various ages wearing layered autumn fashion on a porch, styled with hats, blazers, and knits.
At upper left, James wears a denim jacket by Kapital and sweater by GRP, both from Vestis. At bottom left, Keith wears a Santa Fe jacket from Sergio Paisley and a vintage fedora from Borsalino. Other looks described in article.

As summer cools into autumn, layers take over Pittsburgh vintage and clothing shops — flowing blouses under structured blazers, chunky knits against rugged boots. Shot at Barberry Farm in Sewickley Heights, this story pairs vintage finds with new pieces from local boutiques in Pittsburgh by a professional stylist, showing us how fashion is built in personal layers, one piece at a time.

Two models posed on porch steps of a farm building: a man seated in a printed wrap and corduroys, and a woman above in a tweed blazer and hat.
A woman smiling in a black blazer, ruffled blouse, statement pendant, and western belt, with another model seated behind her.

Above: Left: Emry (left) wears an 11:11 jacket from Vestis, as well as Selvedge jeans and Elisabetta scarf from Sergio Paisley. Lexi (right) wears a blazer, skirt, and hat from Bottom Nature Vintage and a NOTSHY blouse from Après Boutique. She holds a hat from Bottom Nature Vintage.; Right: Nicole wears a blouse, jewelry, blazer, and skirt, from Bottom Nature Vintage. Her Laurence Bras belt is from Après Boutique.

Pittsburgh Autumn Fashion Guide: Layering Local Vintage and Boutique Finds

In Western Pennsylvania, elegance means looking polished without trying too hard. For example, think of a chunky sweater thrown over a silk blouse. Alternatively, wear a tailored blazer with boots that have clearly seen some weather. Meanwhile, our autumn fashion story lives between vintage and new, fashion-forward looks and easy comforts. In particular, stylist Dominika Bronner’s choices show how to dress for this transitional season. As late summer’s ease gives way to cold-weather structure, layering becomes both practical and stylish.

Kids in fall fashion in Pittsburgh near a white fence.
Woman in a denim midi skirt and giraffe cardigan, autumn fashion in Pittsburgh.

Above: Left: Isaiah (left) wears a cardigan and jeans from Picket Fence, as well as a Kapital scarf from Vestis. Myla (right) enjoys jewelry and a Wishlist cardigan from The Flowerloft. She also sports a Kapital scarf from Vestis.; Right: Nicole wears a horse cardigan by Urban Daizy and Josslyn scarf from The Flowerloft. The MUNTHE jean skirt is from Après.

  • Après Boutique: Modern, elevated women’s contemporary wear and accessories.
  • Bottom Nature Vintage: Curated vintage blazers, suiting, Western wear, and statement jewelry out of Lawrenceville.
  • The Flowerloft: Feminine layering pieces, fringe jackets, and cozy cardigans.
  • Sergio Paisley: High-end menswear, Western fedoras, selvedge denim, and Italian shirting.
  • Vestis: Specialty menswear, Japanese denim, chore coats, and artisan bandana accessories.
  • Picket Fence: Casual, elevated everyday knits and denim.
A smiling couple embracing while wearing matching brown suede jackets with fringe detail along the arms and shoulders.
A young man in a cow-hide print jacket, dark jeans, cowboy boots, and holding a beige cowboy hat stands in a green barn doorway.
A blonde woman walking beside a dark horse outdoors, wearing a denim button-down shirt, black pants, and a dark blazer draped over her shoulder.

Above: Left: Lexi wears a fringed jacket by Klesis from The Flowerloft and jewelry from Bottom Nature Vintage. Keith wears a Pochly fringed jacket, vintage Ralph Lauren denim shirt, and jewelry from Bottom Nature Vintage.; Center: Emry dons the Cowhide Piston jacket by Jaded London, the Rowen Belt by Streets Ahead, Raw Denim Mick Flares by Good Morning Keith, and the Cooper Faux Suede Shirt by Monfrère.; Right: Ewa wears jewelry and vintage Ralph Lauren blazer and pants from Bottom Nature Vintage with a Wythe shirt from Vestis.

The Art of Autumn Contrast

Set against the barns and meadows of a working horse and cattle farm, the clothes embrace contrast: rich, romantic skirts grounded by rugged boots; workwear softened by flowing fabrics and elegant shirting. The polish of fashion is made more relevant and personal by something a little lived-in. Vintage pieces from Lawrenceville’s Bottom Nature mix easily with finds from Pittsburgh’s local boutiques, giving each look a sense of biography and history.

A close-up profile of a man wearing a black cowboy hat, a bolo tie, a white shirt, and a denim jacket with a patterned fabric panel.
Four models posed in layered autumn attire outdoors in front of a green barn door, incorporating western hats, fringed shawls, and cowboy boots.

Above: Left: James shows us the Stone Velvet Effect Western Shirt by Pini Parma, a special edition selvedge denim jacket by Barbanera, the Wisdom Talisman Elk Bolo Tie by Frontera, Brando Jeans by Monfrère, and the Taos Western Fedora by Two Roads Hat Company. All from Sergio Paisley.; Right: Clockwise from top left: James wears an 11:11 Jacket, orSlow jeans, and Kapital bandana, all from Vestis. Emry wears a GRP sweater and Surplus shorts with a bandana by Kapital, all from Vestis. Lexi dons a a top by Maria Cher from Après Boutique with vintage blazer, pants, and scarf from Bottom Nature Vintage. Nicole wears an orSlow chore coat and Kapital scarf from Vestis with a vest from Bottom Nature Vintage.

A man leaning against a brick silo wall in a long-sleeve knit shirt, cream shorts, a plaid hip scarf, and two-tone cowboy boots.
A woman leaning against a white weathered wooden wall wearing a quilted tan vest over a denim shirt and a red neck kerchief.
A woman in a periwinkle blazer with a fringed crochet shawl, orange pleated trousers, and knee-high leather boots posing by a white wooden wall.

Above: Left: Emry wears a GRP sweater, Surplus shorts, and Kapital bandana, all from Vestis. His vintage jewelry is from Bottom Nature Vintage, and his boots are from Boot Barn.; Center: Nicole wears an orSlow chore coat and Kapital scarf from Vestis with a vest from Bottom Nature Vintage.; Right: Lexi wears a top by Maria Cher from Après Boutique with vintage blazer, pants, scarf, and boots from Bottom Nature Vintage.

To make a look of your own check out our favorite stores for vintage clothes shopping as well as our Pittsburgh Shopping Guide for expert tips and store listings.

About the Author and Stylist

Dominika Bronner is TABLE Magazine’s contributing photo and fashion stylist, covering Pittsburgh shopping and style for TABLE and Shady Ave. A Pittsburgh-based stylist and mom of four, her client and event work includes Kiya Tomlin and FashionAFRICANA‘s AFRICANISM Gala. Follow her at @dominikabronner_styling. 

Make up by Bianca Black
Assistance by Alicia Bronner
Modeling by Emry Amoky, James Manning, Lexi Wright, Nicole Yakovich, Myla, Isaiah, Ewa, Keith Recker
Photography by Michael Parente
Shot on location at Barberry Farm

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Guide to PPG Paints Arena: Seats, Parking & Nearby Dining

By
Kylie Thomas
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PPG Paints Arena exterior at dusk, featuring the arena's name and a hockey statue.

Since opening in 2010, PPG Paints Arena has stood as the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins and one of the region’s premiere event venues. Hosting over 150 events annually—from NHL games and major arena tours to family shows and college basketball—it brings hundreds of thousands of visitors to Uptown Pittsburgh every year.

Because the venue enforces strict policies regarding ticketing, payments, and entry, first-time visitors can easily be caught off guard. Here is everything you need to know before attending your next event, including parking shortcuts, insider tips, and where to eat and drink nearby.

The Ultimate Guide to PPG Paints Arena From Parking to Insider Tips

Navigating PPG Paints Arena: Seating Strategy

  • Concert Floor Spots: For stage setups, the front rows of Sections 1, 2, and 3 provide prime views, followed by Sections 4, 5, and 6. Keep in mind that floor seating is flat, meaning sightlines depend on the height of the crowd in front of you.
  • Lower Bowl Sightlines: Sections 107 through 114 deliver direct, head-on views of the main stage.
  • The Edge Seats: Located at the back of select lower-level sections, these high-top counter seats replaced former standing-room areas. They feature personal counter space, quick concession access, and clear sightlines over the lower bowl.
  • Best Budget Views: Upper-level corner sections—specifically 208, 209, 213, and 214—offer strong value for major shows and games.
  • Restricted Sightlines: The highest rows of the 200 level can feature partial obstructions. When buying concert tickets, look for a “restricted view” tag, which indicates stage equipment or rigging curtains will block portions of the view.

Bag and Entry Policies

  • Bag Policy: Only small wallets and wristlets measuring 4″ x 6″ x 1″ or smaller are permitted. Purses, totes, backpacks, fanny packs, and clear bags are strictly prohibited.
  • Exceptions: Diaper bags and medical bags are allowed but must undergo X-ray screening at designated gates.
  • No On-Site Storage: There are no bag check facilities on-site. Non-compliant bags must be returned to your vehicle or surrendered at the gate.
  • Prohibited Items: Outside food and beverages (including sealed water bottles), coolers, thermoses, air horns, laser pointers, professional cameras, recording devices, tripods, and full-face coverings are prohibited.
  • No Re-Entry: Ticket scanning allows for single entry only; once you exit the turnstiles, re-entry is not permitted.

Getting to Uptown & PPG Paints Arena Parking Options

PPG Paints Arena sits at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Centre Avenue, directly adjacent to Downtown Pittsburgh.

  • Rideshare & Taxis: Designated rideshare drop-off and pickup points are located along Wylie Avenue and Fullerton Street. Traditional taxis line up outside the F.N.B. Gate following major events.
  • By Light Rail (The T): The T is free within the Downtown Golden Triangle. Exit at Steel Plaza Station (Sixth Avenue & Ross Street) and walk three blocks east up the hill to the arena.
  • By Bus: PRT bus routes 61A, 61B, 61C, 61D, 71A, 71C, and 71D travel inbound along Fifth Avenue and outbound along Forbes Avenue. Routes 81 and 83 drop off directly along Centre Avenue.

Pro Tip: If you’re bringing a large group by your own bus, prepaid bus parking is available through Group Sales.

Where to Park

LocationDetails & Logistics
Arena Surface LotsFour official lots (East, Fullerton, South, West) plus an attached garage. Cashless; advance booking via ParkWhiz is recommended. Rates average $30+ for major events.
Downtown GaragesChatham Center Garage is the closest alternative. The U.S. Steel Building Garage and BNY Mellon Center Garage offer short walks and easier exit routes back to the highway.
Accessible ParkingAvailable in all official arena surface lots and the attached garage on a first-come, first-served basis. Accessible drop-off is at the southwest corner on Fifth Avenue.

Pro Tip: Pre-purchasing a spot in a Downtown garage often saves 20–30 minutes of gridlock when exiting sellout events compared to the venue’s immediate lots.

Concessions & PPG Paints Arena Tips

Concessions throughout the arena are operated by Aramark and are 100% cashless. Many offerings inside the arena change with each new Penguins season, so keep an eye out for new options. Don’t assume the most recognizable branded stands are your only choices. The general concession stands can offer a wider range of food, and they’re often worth exploring

  • Cash-to-Card Reverse ATMs: If you bring cash, conversion kiosks are located in the Highmark Lobby, F.N.B. Club, Michelob ULTRA Club, and near Sections 106, 119, 206, and 234. These convert up to $500 cash into a fee-free Visa debit card.
  • Local Eats: The Milkshake Factory (Section 107) remains a staple destination for local desserts. Rotating menu items and local craft brews update annually.
  • Alcohol Cutoffs: Limit two alcoholic drinks per transaction with valid ID. Sales end at the start of the third period during Penguins games; cutoff times vary for concerts.

Insider Tips

  • Accessibility & Sensory Resources: KultureCity sensory bags with noise-canceling headphones are available at Guest Services behind Section 104. Assistive listening devices are also provided free of charge with a valid ID deposit.
  • Family Services: Mamava nursing pods are located behind Sections 115, 117, and 225. Family restrooms are available at Sections 107, 109, 121, 201, and 213. Guest Services (Section 104) offers child-registration wristband programs to help reconnect lost children.
  • In-Game Assistance: Text GOAL, your seat location, and your issue to 69050 to contact arena security or guest support discretely during an event.
  • Guest Services and UPMC First Aid: Both located behind section 104, with a second first-aid station behind the concession stand at section 232. Lost and found is handled through Guest Services; after an event, call 412-804-7903.
  • Parking Help: At Penguins games, AAA operates a Puck Truck in the arena lots to help with dead batteries and lockouts. For roadside assistance, call 1-800-AAA-HELP after the third period begins.

Where to Eat and Drink Near PPG Paints Arena

Pair your show or game with a meal at these nearby spots:

Pre-Event Dining

  • Moonlit Burgers Uptown: Located five minutes from the venue, serving smash burgers with griddled onions, shoestring fries, and milkshakes.
  • Ritual House: A 10-minute walk into Downtown at the Union Trust Building, featuring upscale comfort food, global flavors, and a signature cocktail menu.
  • The Commoner: Located inside the Kimpton Hotel Monaco (an 11-minute walk), this tavern features seasonal local ingredients, craft beer, and an open wood-fired hearth.
  • Chinatown Inn: A historic Downtown landmark located a 10-minute walk away, ideal for family-style Chinese dining before doors open.
  • City Works: Situated in Market Square (15-minute walk), offering over 90 craft beers on tap and extensive seating for larger groups.

Post-Event Drinks & Nightlife

  • Shale’s Cafe: Located directly across from the arena, this neighborhood dive is a long-standing local staple for pre- and post-game beers.
  • Bridges & Bourbon: An intimate spot along Penn Avenue featuring high-end charcuterie, smashburgers, and experimental cocktail techniques.
  • The Warren Bar & Burrow: A late-night Downtown staple offering craft cocktails, late food service, and an extensive spirit selection.
  • Space Bar: A sci-fi-inspired lounge in Market Square featuring themed cocktail flights and light bites.
  • Täkō: A vibrant Downtown spot focused on street-food tacos, tequilas, and late-night food options.

Explore more of Pittsburgh’s concert and sporting venues in our guide to Pittsburgh’s arts, culture and entertainment scene.

About the Author

Kenny Gould is a writer and the founder of Hop Culture, a digital magazine focused on the beer industry. In addition to writing about food and beverages, he’s also the author of several fiction books, including the bestselling fantasy The Castle of 1,000 Doors. He holds a BA from Duke University, an MFA from Chatham University, and an MBA from NYU Stern. To learn more about Kenny, visit his website or follow him on Instagram at @thekennygould.

Photo From PPG Paints Arena

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Inside a Modern Rhode Island Cottage Inspired by Childhood Memories

By
Stephen Treffinger
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Wood-paneled living room with wicker armchair, floor lamp, large windows, and diamond wood frieze detail.

Architect Thomas Kligerman returns to childhood summers in Rhode Island, with a few grown-up updates like insulation, heating, and air conditioning.

Building a Modern Rhode Island Cottage

For architect Thomas Kligerman, who was raised in Connecticut and New Mexico, and spent his student years in France and England, some of his most powerful memories come from Rhode Island. As a child, his family would spend summers in a rented house in Weekapaug. He would later return to the area with his wife and daughters, revisiting the familiar, comforting aspects of those childhood vacations by the sea.

Wood-paneled dining room with wooden dining table and chairs on a red patterned rug.

He never imagined he would one day own a house in Rhode Island, but a piece of property became available in Weekapaug, and he and his wife bought it right before COVID. And he wanted to build a home there that reflected the spirit of the houses he had enjoyed growing up—but one that had modern upgrades, including adequate insulation, heating, and cooling—and that would give his children the same pleasant memories as he had.

A World of Wood

Living room snug featuring a teal tile fireplace with Audubon print, white sofas, and wood paneled walls.
Sage green living room with a green upholstered sofa, wicker side table, and framed art.

Like the originals, some of which date from the 1880s to the 1920s, the defining element is wood. Outside, the house is clad in traditional shingles. Inside, things are multifarious: the living room alone contains five woods: poplar, pine, mahogany, oak, and yellow cedar (including a frieze of diamond-shaped pieces that surrounds the room), creating a rich and layered look. The bedrooms are all different species, one Douglas fir, one oak, one western red cedar. The staircase is all pine. “The idea was to create this sort of wooden world that was reminiscent of the older houses in terms of window types and ceiling heights.”

The various types of wood aren’t varnished; rather Kligerman applied a light oil finish to preserve their beauty, to breathe, to give off their aromas. “People don’t realize it, but these houses have a scent that’s reminiscent of childhood. So that was the whole idea of using these woods.”

Sage green kitchen alcove with white cabinets, round dining table, woven chairs, and brass pendant light.
Custom wood partition wall with glass windows separating living spaces over hardwood floors.

A Screened Porch by the Sea

Perhaps no element says coastal New England as clearly as the screened porch, which is about 75 feet wide and 12 feet deep. The shade it provides has a natural cooling effect by blocking solar gain, but it is also very much another room of the house. There are windows in the kitchen and dining room as well as a Dutch door—so the dog can’t get in during meals, but the ocean breeze can. The natural ventilation means they rarely need to turn on the AC.

Wood-paneled bedroom featuring a white bedspread, tall wooden dresser, striped rug, and pale blue doors.

Details Inspired by the Past

Many of the furnishings were found at estate sales in nearby towns. “We were magpies and scavengers, scooping up memorabilia from Rhode Island. They are things you’ve seen in old houses, and you bring them in to create a new version. They become part of your memory.” Their picks included some wicker furniture from Kingstown, a bureau for one of the bedrooms, and the shadowbox that holds a set of arrowheads at a sale from Newport, pieces of hand-blown hot glass for a partition from an 1830s home that was being demolished.

Framed arrowhead shadowbox display mounted on horizontal wood paneling above a antique wooden bureau.

While the home references the local vernacular, the kitchen also recalls old school buildings, with institutional colors from the 20s, green-and-white cabinets, and window trim. The floors are cork, which Kligerman thinks is an underused material. “It’s really soft. If you drop a dish on it, there’s less chance it’ll break.” Similar are the countertops, which are quarter sawn white oak. “In the old days, if you had a butler’s pantry, the countertops were wood.” (He has grown to dislike stone countertops because they’re noisier, making a distinct clang when you place a bowl down.) In the alcove, plates found in Portugal frame a Hector Finch pendant light from London. The dining room chairs are the ones he grew up with, surrounding an inexpensive version of the iconic Saarinen table.

Green Throughout the Rhode Island Cottage

Most of the wood surfaces in the house were left plain but, in addition to the kitchen, a few were also painted in shades of green, including a sitting room’s pale sage, and the porch, which is a classic Seal Harbor green.

Natural pine wood paneled wall with two small framed artworks beneath a ceramic pendant lamp.

A nook in the living area, traditionally called a snug, surrounds a green-tiled fireplace on which hangs an Audubon print. In the snug, one hunkers down around the fireplace in winter. (The “North” sign on the frieze above—as well as the corresponding South, East, and West—come from Sir John Soane’s Museum in London.) In summer, you relocate into the more open area, closer to the water and to the lovely views.

Coastal bathroom with marble vanity, wainscoting wall panels, dark wood mirror, and framed Rhode Island map.
Wood-paneled hallway doorway leading into a sunlit white bathroom with a soaking tub.

Kligerman’s intent for the home was not for it to be a mere recreation, but to be for his daughters what those houses of his childhood were to him. “It’s a house that is reminiscent of the things I think about when I think about the Rhode Island coast. Thirty years from now, when my daughters walk into a house, they’ll go, ‘God, this is just like a house in Rhode Island. I’ve been here before.’”

Read Thomas Kligerman’s New Book Summer by the Sea for More

Book cover: "Summer by the Sea" by Thomas A. Kligerman, cottages from Watch Hill to Little Compton

Book by Thomas Kligerman
Photography by Read McKendree
Published by Monacelli

Thomas Kligerman’s new book Summer by the Sea is, he says, a thank you to the state where he spent so many summers. (His house is one of sixteen in the book.) It is also a way to preserve these types of cottages, which are slowly disappearing as people seek larger, less creaky homes with modern amenities. He wanted it to be more than simply a “house book,” and therefore included area history and lore, stories about shipwrecks, the lighthouses, the people who came there over time.

The numerous photographs show not only the impressive variety of the homes both inside and out but form a record of what the coastline looks like now. “There is not just the architecture. It’s also the weather and the salt air, the breadth of landscapes—the dunes and the cliffs and the marshes are also part of the story.”

For more on home renovations, check out our guide to interior design.

About the Author

Stephen Treffinger is a Contributing Editor at TABLE Magazine. He also covers interiors, design, travel, and technology for New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Domino, Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Better Homes and Gardens, Interior Design, Elle Decor, Travel + Leisure, Vogue Living (Australia), Departures, and many others.

Photography by Read Mckendree

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Collier’s Cuts: Director Zach Cregger Follows ‘Weapons’ with a New ‘Resident Evil’ Movie

By
Kylie Thomas
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Austin Abrams traveling through a bloody dark tunnel with a flashlight in Resident Evil.
Austin Abrams stars in Constantin Film and Columbia Pictures RESIDENT EVIL, directed by Zach Cregger. Photo by: Dušan Martinček
An orange rating card for the Resident Evil movie with a photo from the film of Austin trying to keep a door shut between him and the zombies. The rating card gives a 4/5 star rating.

Last year, director Zach Cregger released the alternately chilling and uncanny Weapons, a genre-defying film that earned Amy Madigan an Oscar. He follows that effort by trying to revive a horror property that never really had a signature film: Resident Evil, the video game adaptation about an evil corporation unleashing a zombie plague on humanity. Without a marquee director, another Resident Evil reboot barely would’ve been a headline; now, it counts as one of the most anticipated horror films of the year.

You Don’t Have to Be a Video Game Fan to Appreciate the New Resident Evil Movie

Cregger’s first, and best, decision: This is its own movie, with no important narrative ties to the previous films or the games. The Resident Evil video game series comprises nearly 30 standalone chapters, accompanied by seven theatrical films and a library of printed media; while there are undoubtedly references and nods to some of that lore in Cregger’s film, no advance knowledge is required.

Isn’t that refreshing? A franchise movie that doesn’t make you do any homework — a rarity in 2026. 

Mutated zombies aside, the premise actually could be described as simple: We follow an anonymous, hard-luck twentysomething on a very bad day. Our reluctant hero, Bryan (Austin Abrams), is a medical courier (a “glorified Postmates driver,” as he puts it) who’s trying to get home to his girlfriend; they’re in the midst of a spat, and he’d like to put things right. Alas, duty calls: The hospital desperately needs him to deliver an important parcel to far-off Raccoon City, on the other side of some icy mountain roads.

When an odd woman bursts out of the forest and into the path of his car, Bryan’s night takes a turn. The rest of Resident Evil is a nearly moment-by-moment account of what anyone might do if faced with an escalating set of absurd circumstances; dramatically, it’s clean and satisfying. Viscerally, it’s gory and shocking. That’s a powerful combination.

A Strong Script and Clever Direction From Zach Cregger Make Resident Evil a Winner

Structurally, it’ll feel like a video game; Bryan moves from location to location, improving his skills and equipment, trying to get a grasp on the situation around him. Unlike films that more directly play with gaming tropes (there’s a new Jumanji out this Christmas), though, it doesn’t feel hokey — it feels exploratory and even immersive.

Credit a script, also by Cregger (with help from Shay Hatten), that strips the action down to its essentials and chucks everything that doesn’t help the mood. Cregger says he cut a number of jokes out of the movie, fearing that the film was getting too funny, but there’s still plenty of macabre humor to be found in the finished product. He manages to maintain a perfectly balanced tone in the face of gore and chaos.

He’s also, quite simply, a very skilled director; he knows how to visually dance with the audience, keeping the viewer rapt through composition and rhythm. Sure, there are undead monsters everywhere, but you’re hooked on the storytelling more than the violence — a rarity. Cregger hasn’t just revitalized this franchise; he’s redefined it.

For the Lighter Kind of Spooky, There’s Shaun the Sheep — Plus More Movies in Theaters

For a decidedly all-ages — but no less artful — spooky adventure, consider Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom. No, really, consider it. This is a painstaking work of stop-motion animation that derives belly laughs from tiny movements and careful composition, and it does so with no spoken dialogue. This isn’t merely something for the kids; it’s a remarkable achievement and a study in comedy. The seasonally appropriate plot involves Shaun turning mad scientist and inventing a formula to help pumpkins grow overnight … only for the hapless farmer to use that formula as hair cream, covering himself in fur and convincing the town he’s Bigfoot. It’s funny and charming; blessedly, it’s also only 80 minutes long. There may be no better choice for families looking for a Halloween compromise — and it’ll brighten your day regardless of age.

Those who grumble that they don’t make ’em like they used to might want to watch The Weight, a new western drama in select theaters this weekend. Russell Crowe and Ethan Hawke star in this tale of desperate choices, directed by Padraic McKinley in his feature debut. The film ticks several boxes of cinematic rarity: It’s unabashedly for adults, it’s an original story and it’s in a genre that’s fallen out of favor. What’s more, early reviews are glowing; writing for rogerebert.com, Brian Tallerico says “the last ten minutes of The Weight are as satisfying as anything you’re likely to see this year.”

Don’t Miss These Already Released Movies Too

Last week’s top new release, Practical Magic 2, didn’t exactly wow us … but it still managed to win the weekend. That ended a two-month stranglehold on the box office; it was the first weekend in the last nine not won by either The Odyssey or Spider-Man: Brand New Day. (What a summer for Tom Holland, Zendaya and — to a slightly lesser extent — Jon Bernthal.) Read our review of Practical Magic 2 if you’re determined to try the film anyway; the actors are likable, at least! And yes, there’s still time to see both Spider-Man and Odysseus (Spidysseus, for short); cinemas will be sure to get every dollar out of this year’s champions.

Start streaming this summer’s past releases with Sean’s line-up of the summer blockbuster season. Or, discover more of the arts, culture, and entertainment scene in Pittsburgh.

About the Author

Sean Collier is the editor-in-chief of Shady Ave and the arts and culture editor of TABLE Magazine. Before joining the TABLE Media team, he spent nearly 15 years as a writer, editor and columnist at Pittsburgh Magazine. As the in-house film critic for the top-rated WDVE Morning Show since 2009, he’s been Pittsburgh’s most widely heard voice on movies for nearly two decades. A Pittsburgh native, Sean has since 2020 appeared weekly on KDKA-TV’s popular Pittsburgh Today Live talk show. He’s the co-founder of Vigilance Theater Group and an active stand-up comedian and event host. He can be found on Instagram and Twitter at @seancollierpgh.

Photos Courtesy of Dušan Martinček / Sony

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What’s the Best Vodka Sauce in Pittsburgh? We Put Six Local Brands to the Test

By
Kylie Thomas
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Six Pittsburgh vodka sauces tested for best local brand

Around lunchtime — in fact, a late lunchtime, so we were extra hungry — the TABLE team sat down to evaluate a half-dozen vodka sauces from regional makers around Pittsburgh and declare a winner.

A Taste Test to Find the Best Vodka Sauce in Pittsburgh

The TABLE team is a fan of vodka sauce. Sure, we like a well-handled marinara, bolognese or Milanese, too, but for many of us, the slightly creamier flavor and texture of vodka sauce is a go-to — especially when it’s done right.

If we want to eat local with our sauce, though, who does it best? There are no shortage of vodka sauce varieties from producers based in western Pennsylvania. Thus, in the name of precision and perfection, we dumped several boxes of pasta into a pot and lined up six local jars for a blind taste test.

The Contenders:

Each sauce was spooned onto pasta and served to no fewer than four members of the TABLE staff, who were not informed which sauce they were trying. After sampling all six, the judges declared a winner and a runner-up.

Penne pasta with vodka sauce being served in a paper boat
Screenshot

But How Do You Even Compare Vodka Sauces?

“I’m not Italian — at all, whatsoever — so I don’t think too much about it whenever I do have vodka sauce,” reports Kylie Thomas, TABLE’s online editor. “Normally, as long as it’s vodka sauce, I’ll enjoy it. But this experience made me realize that the vodka sauce you get does matter. Some are essentially just tomato sauce; some are really delicious; and some are just weird.”

In contrast, director of operations Star Laliberte brought a declaratively Italian perspective to the competition, appropriate for her since she also wrote our round-up of the where to eat Italian food in Pittsburgh. “I enjoy vodka sauce, but it’s not my go-to — but I am very specific, then, about the flavor. It needs to be a very smooth, creamy sauce with a fresh flavor — and a hint of sweetness. Not acidic.”

Some sauces in competition, such as the variety from DelGrosso, had passionate — but lone — fans. (This author, who picked up the sauce on a lovely day at DelGrosso’s Amusement Park in Tipton, PA, was that lone fan.) Others proved divisive; the sauce from Pasta Too split the room evenly, with some objecting to its mouthfeel and others praising it. Ethan Chmura, TABLE’s advertising and editorial coordinator, was unabashed in his appreciation. “I liked Pasta Too’s sauce because it tasted cheesy. I really liked the consistency and the color; I thought that the color was true to vodka sauce.”

Penne pasta with vodka sauce in serving containers, part of a taste test of Pittsburgh brands.
Screenshot

There Must Be a Winner (And a Runner Up)

While each sauce had its adherents, two emerged from the pack — and came down to a photo finish.

We asked our roster of taste testers to declare two favorites each; the runner up, by just one vote, was DeLallo Creamy Vodka. Our panel praised the balance and subtlety of the offering from the Jeanette-based company. It’s no wonder that DeLallo, a specialist in authentic Italian and Mediterranean flavors (they claim to be the nation’s largest importer of olives and antipasti), would nail the flavor of their sauce. (You can get it online or in select local retailers.)

One word, however, was associated with the winning sauce: tangy. Fully half our panel included the word tangy (or, in one slightly overwritten case, “nice tang”) in their notes when evaluating Alla Famiglia Vodka Sauce. The in-house favorite at the Allentown restaurant — a must when choosing your pasta course during the famously elaborate dinner service — was roundly praised by our panel. (This sauce is available online, too, and in a handful of local storefronts.)

Now that you have the answers, run forth with your vodka sauce and cook up one of our delicious pasta recipes.

About the Author

Sean Collier is the editor-in-chief of Shady Ave and the arts and culture editor of TABLE Magazine. Before joining the TABLE Media team, he spent nearly 15 years as a writer, editor and columnist at Pittsburgh Magazine. As the in-house film critic for the top-rated WDVE Morning Show since 2009, he’s been Pittsburgh’s most widely heard voice on movies for nearly two decades. A Pittsburgh native, Sean has since 2020 appeared weekly on KDKA-TV’s popular Pittsburgh Today Live talk show. He’s the co-founder of Vigilance Theater Group and an active stand-up comedian and event host. He can be found on Instagram and Twitter at @seancollierpgh.

About the Photographer

Kylie Thomas is TABLE Magazine’s Online Editor, covering Pittsburgh food, drink, and going out, including the Things to Do in Pittsburgh column. A Point Park University graduate, her work has also appeared on The Takeout, QBurgh, and Empire Extreme. She also runs the photography business Photos by Ky. 

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine‘s print edition.

Dispatch From Milan Design Week: New Ways to Bring Comfort and Calm to Interiors

By
Kylie Thomas
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0
Plush cream sofa and fluffy pendant lights in a modern living room
From the Material Anthology collection by Faye Toogood for Tacchini | Photo by Helenio Barbetta

At Milan Design Week 2026, the annual international design fair, color and style forecaster Judith van Vliet found a shift toward interiors that soothe and restore, with hazy transparency, gentler color pairings, and tactile textures creating a refuge from the world.

Our homes are an extension of who we are. Visiting someone’s home can therefore be an intimate experience, as you quite literally step into another person’s world and gain a deeper understanding of who they are. Their use of color or perhaps the deliberate absence of it, the choice between a chaise longue and a sectional sofa, the selection of patterns, textiles, materials, and lighting allreveal something about their personality, values, and lifestyle. Together, these choices reflect not only personal taste but also the needs, rituals, and aspirations that shape everyday life.

Since the pandemic, our lives have been profoundly disrupted, with one crisis seemingly following another. Whether we acknowledge it or not, this ongoing sense of uncertainty has heightened our desire for stability, comfort, and control, especially within the one environment we can shape ourselves: our homes. As a result, we are increasingly drawn to interiors that support emotional and mental wellbeing. Colors, materials, textures, and light are no longer chosen solely for their aesthetic appeal; they are valued for the way they engage our senses, create a sense of refuge, and help calm both body and mind. In an unpredictable world, the home has become a sanctuary designed not just for living, but for restoring balance and peace.

Illuminated amber table lamp with textured dark wood bench
From the Fluid Re-Collection exhibition by Linde Freya Tangelder in collaboration with Cassina, Shown at 10 Corso Como | Photo by Elaine Willaert

Let There Be Light at Milan Design Week, But Filtered Through Hazy Materials

As our homes continue to evolve into spaces that nurture emotional wellbeing, the materials we surround ourselves with play an increasingly important role in shaping how we feel. One material that stood out prominently during Milan Design Week this year was textured transparency. Designers explored its ability to interact with light, color, and shadow, revealing both its poetic and functional qualities. From luminous and color-rich expressions to playful, sculptural interpretations and richly tactile surfaces, the material demonstrated remarkable versatility and emotional depth. Its growing presence reflects a broader desire for what might be called soft strength: a balance of purity, delicacy, and organic fluidity. It responds perfectly to contemporary living, where interiors seek to foster calm, openness, and connection while maintaining a sense of comfort and privacy. By diffusing light, softening boundaries, and creating subtle sensory experiences, it contributes to spaces that feel both restorative and uplifting.

Soft pink sofa and dining table create a calm, comfortable interior design.
From the Material Anthology collection by Faye Toogood for Tacchini | Photo by Helenio Barbetta

Opposites Attract: Pair Contrasting Textures to Add Depth and Dimension

Materiality emerged as a key focus, with brands exploring rich sensory contrasts through unexpected pairings. Leather met suede, stone was juxtaposed with crystal, ceramic with cement, and soft textiles with smooth resins. These combinations were not merely aesthetic choices; they were carefully orchestrated to engage the senses and create a deeper emotional connection with the space. The interplay between rough and smooth, matte and reflective, soft and hard brought a new dimension to interiors, encouraging touch, curiosity, and comfort. Together, these layered material experiences transformed spaces into environments that feel lived in and inviting, places that don’t simply house us, but embrace us.

Contrast remains an important tool in color design, but its expression is becoming more re fined, softer, and ultimately more human. Rather than relying on bold oppositions, designers are exploring gentler interpretations of complementary colors. Orange and blue, traditionally positioned as opposites on the color wheel, appeared throughout the week in nuanced shades of apricot and baby blue, maintaining their inherent tension while creating a sense of harmony rather than drama. Milan may not have introduced a wealth of entirely new colors this year, but it did reveal fresh ways of combining familiar hues. These palettes felt reassuring and relatable, restoring a sense of belonging through colors we instinctively recognize, yet presented in unexpected contexts, material applications, and spatial compositions.

Plush cream sofa and fluffy pendant lights in a modern living room
From the Material Anthology collection by Faye Toogood for Tacchini | Photo by Helenio Barbetta

Complementary Colors Go Softer and More Subtle at Milan Design Week

Soft, luminous yellows interacted beautifully with natural light, evoking optimism while stimulating creativity. Gentle blues brought a sense of steadiness and calm, echoing the permanence of the sky and balancing warmer tones. Apricot and muted orange hues acted as social catalysts, fostering warmth, connection, and conversation. Together, these colors formed interiors that felt emotionally intelligent, spaces designed not only to be seen, but to be experienced. They support a growing desire for homes that allow us to reconnect, rebalance, and find comfort in an increasingly complex world.

Milan Design Week: Textured surface with a modern lamp, evoking comfort and calm interiors.
Aesop’s Factory of Light installation at Salone del Mobile, Milan, 2026 | Photo by Ludovic Balay

Black and Metal Ground All That Softness 

A return of black in combination with aluminum or steel seems out of place in such sensory living, yet, it is explained by its anchoring effect, as well as the color of the material itself, which is honest and allows for a sense of control.

Perhaps the most striking takeaway from Milan was not the emergence of a single defining color, material, or form, but a collective shift in intention. Designers are increasingly creating spaces that respond to our emotional needs as much as our functional ones. In a world that continues to feel uncertain, our interiors are becoming anchors, spaces that help us slow down, reconnect with ourselves and others, and find moments of balance in everyday life. The future of design, it seems, is not about making the boldest statement, but about giving us a sense of belonging.

To check out trends happening right here at home, check out our guide to interior design in Pittsburgh.

Story by Judith van Vliet
Featured Photo by Helenio Barbetta

About the Author

Judith van Vliet, based in Spain, is the founder of The Color Authority and a global expert in color strategy, CMF (Color, Material, Finish) design, and trend forecasting. She helps brands across industries craft compelling and purposeful color narratives. With a background at companies like Kawasaki and Avient, Judith also served as President of the Color Marketing Group and currently hosts The Color Authority podcast. She regularly contributes her expertise in color and materials to MANERA magazine and is member of The Forecast Club. Recognized as one of the leading voices in color intelligence, Judith empowers global brands, including Braun De’Longhi, Cosentino, and Renolit, to use color with clarity, purpose, and vision.

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.

Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s Colleen Doyno Shares How to Watch a Musical

By
Kylie Thomas
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Colleen Doyno, Pittsburgh Musical Theater, shares how to watch a musical.

Colleen Doyno has spent more than three decades with Pittsburgh Musical Theater — a span of time that stretches past that name. The former Gargaro Productions (named for founder Ken Gargaro, also the namesake of the company’s home theater in the West End) has positioned itself not only as a producer of engaging and exuberant musical theater but also a leader in arts education. In that respect, Doyno is well suited for the executive director’s chair; she began as a performer and dance instructor at PMT before rising to conservatory director and general manager before assuming the company’s lead role in 2014. A deep lover of the genre, Doyno shared some thoughts on appreciating and watching musicals with TABLE Magazine in advance of PMT’s upcoming revival of Evil Dead: The Musical. When you’re done here, discover more about the Pittsburgh theater scene in our guide to the arts, culture, and entertainment scene of Pittsburgh.

Tips for Watching a Musical From Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s Colleen Doyno

  • Musical theater has a unique ability to reach both the heart and the mind at the exact same moment. It combines storytelling, music, movement, design and human emotion into one shared experience that becomes almost visceral for an audience.
  • A song can express what words alone sometimes cannot.
  • What makes musical theater especially powerful is that it mirrors life in a heightened way. In real life, we all carry emotions that are often too big for conversation alone — joy, grief, fear, love, loneliness, hope. In musicals, those emotions are given melody, rhythm and movement — and suddenly audiences recognize themselves on stage in a very personal way.
  • At Pittsburgh Musical Theater, we often see people come into a production thinking they are simply coming for entertainment, and they leave feeling seen, connected or changed.
  • There is something incredibly communal about sitting in a theater with hundreds of strangers and collectively laughing, crying or holding your breath. In a world that increasingly isolates people behind screens, musical theater creates human connection in real time.
  • I actually love hearing someone say, “I’m not really a musical theater person,” because usually that simply means they haven’t yet experienced the right production.
  • People often think musicals are only spectacle or escapism, but the best musical theater is really about humanity. It is about relationships, struggle, identity, resilience, joy, heartbreak and hope. The music simply becomes the emotional language of the story.
Evil Dead The Musical: Ash and terrified woman with chainsaw and book

Musical Theater is for Everyone

  • We try to meet audiences where they are. We produce work that feels emotionally honest, visually compelling and deeply relevant to contemporary life. Shows like Dear Evan Hansen resonate because audiences recognize themselves, their children, or their own experiences in the material. Even someone who thinks they “don’t like musicals” understands what it feels like to want connection, acceptance or belonging.
  • I also tell people that musical theater is one of the most accessible forms of art because it invites you in emotionally before you even realize it … You simply have to be open to feeling something.
  • Certain productions invite people into the theater through something they already know and love from another form of storytelling. We see this often at Pittsburgh Musical Theater with productions [such as] Evil Dead: The Musical. Many audience members [for Evil Dead] may not consider themselves traditional “musical theater people” at all — they are horror fans, film fans or people who have a deep connection to a cult classic they already experienced through cinema. What draws them in is the opportunity to experience something familiar in a completely new and immersive way.
  • There is something thrilling about seeing a story you know transformed live on stage, where the energy is immediate, unpredictable, and shared collectively with an audience.
  • At PMT, we believe theater should feel welcoming and accessible to everyone, including audiences who may never have imagined themselves attending a musical. Sometimes all it takes is finding the right doorway into the experience.

As Told to Sean Collier
Photos From Pittsburgh Musical Theater

About the Author

Sean Collier is the editor-in-chief of Shady Ave and the arts and culture editor of TABLE Magazine. Before joining the TABLE Media team, he spent nearly 15 years as a writer, editor and columnist at Pittsburgh Magazine. As the in-house film critic for the top-rated WDVE Morning Show since 2009, he’s been Pittsburgh’s most widely heard voice on movies for nearly two decades. A Pittsburgh native, Sean has since 2020 appeared weekly on KDKA-TV’s popular Pittsburgh Today Live talk show. He’s the co-founder of Vigilance Theater Group and an active stand-up comedian and event host. He can be found on Instagram and Twitter at @seancollierpgh.

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine‘s print edition. 

Pittsburgh Silent Film Festival Brings Classic Movies to Theaters This September

By
Abdul Rafay
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0
Black-and-white film still from Sparrows showing Mary Pickford protectively shielding a child as an older boy in suspenders and a hat gesticulates in front of them outdoors.

Silent films are finding a new audience through the magic of live music, historic venues, and shared moviegoing experiences. The Pittsburgh Silent Film Festival brings these early works of cinema back to life, creating an atmosphere where old stories feel surprisingly fresh and engaging.

Screen Classic Movies During the Pittsburgh Silent Film Festival

Alfred Hitchcock made ample use of sound effects, dialogue, and music across his cinema masterpieces — think of Bernard Hermann’s staccato strings in Psycho, the flapping of wings in The Birds, or simply the sound of Cary Grant’s voice in North by Northwest. Yet he was once quoted as saying that all those noises were somewhat superfluous. “Silent pictures,” Hitchcock said, “were the purest form of cinema.”

Why did Hitchcock feel that the talkies were somewhat impure? “He used long silences to create tension in a lot of his films,” explains Chad Hunter, the founder of National Silent Movie Day and the Pittsburgh Silent Film Festival. “It makes people engage in a more heightened way.”

Vintage behind-the-scenes photograph featuring Mary Pickford in a straw hat smiling next to a man holding a toddler and a pipe.

There’s certainly heightened engagement evident in the rapid growth of the Pittsburgh Silent Film Festival and the surprising attendance for the festival’s screenings. In larger venues, such as Sewickley’s Lindsay Theater and Keystone Oaks High School — home to a 3-manual 19-rank Wurlitzer organ, which is played during occasional screenings of silent favorites — hundreds of fans turn up. Smaller venues, including community screenings in libraries and churches, routinely sell out.

“It’s the combination of the silent film, live musical accompaniment and a live, theatrical setting — with an audience,” Hunter says. “That’s a magic ingredient.”

The Return of Silent Cinema

Hunter, a professional archivist who has worked extensively in preserving film, established National Silent Movie Day in 2021 (along with Brandee B. Cox of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and Steven K. Hill of the UCLA Film and Television Archive). It was swiftly endorsed by Martin Scorsese; “If you’re at all interested in cinema,” the filmmaker said, “then you’re interested in silent cinema, because that’s where the art form originates. That’s where the language of cinema came into being.” The nascent holiday was also embraced by the cable network TCM, who presents an all-silent lineup each September 29.

Black-and-white promotional still from Sparrows showing actress Mary Pickford with braided hair leaning in to whisper into the ear of a young boy in ragged clothing.

“I think it might be in part due to the generational shift in interest in older things,” Hunter says. “Analog in particular — I can’t believe that CDs and VHS are coming back — and in film as well.”

What to See at the Pittsburgh Silent Film Festival

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Silent Film Festival has grown from a periodic screening series to a single-day event to a full week of film — and it has spread throughout the region. This year’s festival, scheduled for September 27-October 4, will include at least 12 screenings across 11 venues, many with live musical accompaniment.

On September 27, a new restoration of the 1926 seafaring adventure The Black Pirate, starring Douglas Fairbanks, will kick off the festival at the Lindsay; on the same day, the Pittsburgh Film Orchestra will accompany the wistful Mary Pickford drama Sparrows at Third Presbyterian Church in Shadyside. Leading Charlie Chaplin expert Dan Kamin will introduce The Kid at the Rangos Giant Cinema on September 30; the landmark German fantasy Faust will play at Row House Hollywood on October 3. Ernst Lubitsch’s comedy So This is Paris will play at the Frick Pittsburgh on October 4, a tie-in to the museum’s French Moderns exhibition.

Featuring Faces of Children

Hunter is particularly enthusiastic about the rarely seen 1925 drama Faces of Children, an early example of both cinematic realism and international co-production (it was made by a French company in Switzerland).

The film will be shown inside Old St. Luke’s Church in Carnegie; it’s a 236-year-old house of worship with a church organ that dates back more than two centuries. That organ, which remains in working order, will be played by accompanist Eric Cook to score Faces of Children.

It’s an occasion, he says, that will demonstrate the power of film to bring distant time periods together.

“The church is small but impeccably preserved. And the little pipe organ is the oldest pipe organ west of the Alleghenies … It feels like you’re looking into a time that has passed, but that setting — watching a film and hearing that organ — connects all those dots.”

If you can’t make it to the Pittsburgh Silent Film Festival, you can always check out what else there is to do across the city in our Guide to Things to Do in Pittsburgh. Or, find out what new movies to see in theaters in our Arts, Culture, and Entertainment Guide.

About the Author

Sean Collier is the editor-in-chief of Shady Ave and the arts and culture editor of TABLE Magazine. Before joining the TABLE Media team, he spent nearly 15 years as a writer, editor and columnist at Pittsburgh Magazine. As the in-house film critic for the top-rated WDVE Morning Show since 2009, he’s been Pittsburgh’s most widely heard voice on movies for nearly two decades. A Pittsburgh native, Sean has since 2020 appeared weekly on KDKA-TV’s popular Pittsburgh Today Live talk show. He’s the co-founder of Vigilance Theater Group and an active stand-up comedian and event host. He can be found on Instagram and Twitter at @seancollierpgh.

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine‘s print edition. 

Your Fall 2026 Horoscope for the Autumn Equinox

By
Kylie Thomas
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0
Looking up at a group of tree tops with autumn leaves in orange and yellow colors.

In the northern hemisphere, the days start shorten toward the December solstice after the Autumn Equinox comes around September 22, bringing with it plenty of change in your 2026 fall horoscope.

Saturn and Jupiter are the two most powerful planets beyond the personal sphere, and when both are under hard aspect at an ingress, history tends to bear out a particular kind of disruption for those in positions of institutional authority – the landed, the powerful, often those who mistake their present station for something unchangeable or inevitable. The Sun and Moon together describe both centralized leadership and the public at large. With the Sun opposing Saturn and the Moon opposing Jupiter, we’re looking at a season in which leaders run into serious resistance (Saturn), and the public finds reason – and appetite – to hold con artists (Jupiter) to account. Direct challenges to the legitimacy of institutions are very much described here.

There’s a meteorological dimension too. Ancient mundane astrologers associated Saturn in the southern degrees of Aries with intensified rainfall, and Jupiter as an eastern star with the same. Both conditions are present at this equinox.

El Niño, Heat, and Wet Conditions

NOAA is already forecasting a significant El Niño pattern for the coming months, with potential for a strong or super event, historically most felt in late autumn and early spring. The astrology agrees. Mars, Jupiter, and the South Node converge in mid-Leo this November, a configuration that points toward heat and wet conditions, possibly extreme. Expect warmer-than-average temperatures this fall, wetter conditions, and elevated flood risk particularly across historically prone regions like the southern United States.

NOAA isn’t sure when to expect things to get more intense, but I think astrology suggests from mid-November onward.

One counterintuitive note: Atlantic hurricane activity may decrease this season, since El Niño conditions tend to disrupt the sustained wind direction that storm formation requires.

A Season of Reckoning

On a more personalized level, these two aspects tend to arrive as a kind of reckoning – situations that demand some maturation. That might mean accountability, discipline, or a harder look at how you’ve been managing your commitments or your faith in something. The Sun-Saturn opposition is a harder hit, all things considered, than the Moon-Jupiter opposition. Thus, cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) feel the pressure most directly this season – Aries and Libra especially. Leo and Aquarius will find themselves interrupted by the Moon and Jupiter, but Jupiter’s nature means there’s an upside more readily available to those who pay attention rather than resist.

Mercury and Mars Draw Sharp Edges

This square is typically thorny: communication problems, mental restlessness, a tendency toward argument and impulsive reaction are all normal. People feel impatient, eager to prove a point, not always sure which point that is under such transits. In such conditions we tend to overreact to information overload while inflicting it ourselves upon others, and think to dig in when we should be listening. Slow down. Consider multiple angles before firing off.

The square becomes exact just as both planets change signs – Mars moves into Leo, Mercury into Scorpio. It’s still a square, but Mars has a special relationship with Scorpio (it’s one of the signs it rules), which means Mars cooperates with Mercury more readily than the buildup would suggest and the end of things isn’t so intolerable after all.

Coming into the season, Mars is 27° Cancer, conjunct the fixed star Procyon, which comes from the Greek meaning “The Preceding Dog,” or more precisely, “Before Sirius.” Procyon is the brightest star in the smaller of the two dog constellations, Canis Minor, and rises just ahead of Sirius, the great Dog-star and brightest star in Canis Major.

Procyon with Mars tends to bring intense activity, along with a risk of anger, arrogance, and pride. On a mundane level, it raises a warning about those who outfit hunters, or those who hunt things down – that should be a warning to keep an eye on states or institutions cozying up to tech companies because of their surveillance and intelligence-gathering capacity. AI has been the obvious flashpoint here, and I expect that pressure to sharpen as the year closes.

Forty Days with the Devil

Coming into the season, Venus is already at maximum elongation from the Sun (as far from it as she gets) and beginning to slow. It turns retrograde on October 3 and stays that way until November 14, a cycle of roughly forty days.

Forty days appears throughout ancient mythology in contexts of wandering, temptation, withdrawal, and trial. The origin of this 40-day period of trial is the count of days of Venus’s retrograde cycle.

Goddess of love and desire, Venus has long been associated with temptation; one of its Latin names was Lucifer, meaning light-bringer, given its brilliance as the brightest object in the night sky (outside the Moon). In Christian imagery, the devil as tempter carries traces of this older association, as in Christ’s 40 days in the wilderness, where he was tempted three times – toward appetite, power, and the testing of divine protection. Venus retrograde cycles tend to surface these same themes in personal life: a period that asks you to sit with something you would otherwise resolve quickly, to reconsider rather than decide, to resist acting on feelings still in flux.

Old relationships may resurface, sometimes an ex, sometimes just an old question about a current one. What you cherish and desire – in people, in commitments, in work and in friendship and everywhere else these ideas are relevant – comes under review. This is a period better suited to reassessment than to new beginnings.

A Mercury Retrograde (Again) From October to November

Mercury retrograde happens about three times a year, so most people have learned not to panic. That’s reasonable. But familiarity can produce complacency – and while a Mercury retrograde won’t cause catastrophe on its own, it has a reliable talent for taking a minor problem that was going to happen anyway and making it significantly harder to fix quickly. We’ll have Mercury retrograde this season from October 24 to November 13, stationing to its direct motion within hours of Venus.

Expect misunderstandings in communication, delays in travel and logistics, issues with devices and data, revised or scrapped plans, contracts returned with new language, incomplete information causing delays, etc. The most useful orientation is one of review rather than initiation – this isn’t a period to launch things that require clean, precise communication. Double-check what you’re sending before you send it. Back up your data. If something important has been left unclear in a relationship or professional context, this period will likely surface it.

I find it helpful to think about retrograde periods as a time of special focus and attention.

Your Fall 2026 Horoscope

Aries

If you’ve been stubborn about something lately, it’s fair to say that life is going to knock you upside the head a few times this season to shake things loose. It looks like it might even be a romantic partner who needs you to see something differently, or if you have children, it could be a bout of acting out. Don’t let insecurity get the better of you, and watch out for feeding into it. Great indications of good things coming from friends this season.

Discover your perfect menu and cocktail for the zodiac sign Taurus to find out more about your sign.

Taurus

Venus in Scorpio in the 7th house suggests this is one of those times where questions of a romantic nature – often touching on themes of commitment or fidelity – come into view. Might be that something triggers an old hurt, or an old flame enters your life, or some new reality enters your existing relationship – a new person, a new feeling, a new desire. Venus is your ruling planet, so if you remember to assert your needs clearly, you can stay in the driver’s seat here.

Discover your perfect menu and cocktail for the zodiac sign Taurus to find out more about your sign.

Gemini

Great period for personal productivity, especially the type that’s a bit edgy – maybe pushes you a little to your creative limits, gets you a chance to try something quite different without being overly attached to whether it works the way you expect. Also a good time to invest in your immediate environment or in ongoing education, if that’s been on your mind. The stars favor curiosity right now, and the things you start with that spirit are more likely to go somewhere surprising and worthwhile.

Discover your perfect menu and cocktail for the zodiac sign Gemini to find out more about your sign.

Cancer

Be mindful about overspending. This looks like a season where temptation runs a bit high and money you’d later prefer to have saved has a way of moving faster than you planned. There’s also the possibility of an old lover coming back in some way that captures your attention and interest. Best not to indulge, but if you do, the priority should be keeping some distance from old patterns with that person. The feeling and the right decision are probably not the same thing here.

Discover your perfect bar cart, menu, cocktail, and birthday gift guide for the zodiac sign Cancer to find out more about your sign.

Leo

Lots of drive and energy are coming your way, with real inner means to make the most of it. Mars entering your sign brings a certain ferocity that can occasionally risk alienating people – watch for that, especially in close relationships. Be prepared for a possible disruption to your medium-term plans come mid-November, when Mars and Jupiter join the South Node very near your house of finances. That’s a significant configuration, and planning now will go a long way toward softening whatever arrives then.

Discover your perfect bar cart, menu, cocktail, and birthday gift guide for the zodiac sign Leo to find out more about your sign.

Virgo

Of all the signs, the impending square between Mercury and Mars is likely to affect you most. Expect friction in the areas of money, friends, and communication – possibly travel and neighbors too, but the day-to-day things are the most likely targets. The good news is that no matter how aggravating the buildup feels, this square resolves better than its tension suggests it will. Sit with the discomfort a little rather than forcing a quick fix, and the outcome is likely to surprise you.

Discover your perfect bar cart, menu, and cocktail for the zodiac sign Virgo to find out more about your sign.

Libra

Hold off on significant financial decisions right now – Venus is about to turn retrograde in your second house, and that tends to produce a certain spin and confusion you’d rather avoid when money is on the table. The upside is that this promises to be a very social season for you, full of friends and activity. Some overextension on that front is worth watching, but a little of it is harmless. Let the social calendar fill, just not at the expense of your budget.

Discover your perfect bar cart, menu, and cocktail for the zodiac sign Libra to find out more about your sign.

Scorpio

Venus turning retrograde in your sign could easily point to a former lover entering the picture. Worth remembering that this forty-day retrograde cycle is often felt to have been a time of temptation – the invitation is to remain present with what’s in front of you while thinking about what kind of choice you want to be capable of making. If it helps to channel attention elsewhere, this is a strong period for professional development. Good time to build something with your name on it.

Discover your perfect bar cart, menu, and cocktail for the zodiac sign Scorpio to find out more about your sign.

Sagittarius

Start planning a trip. Seriously – this is a good season for you to get out and do something new, ideally with people you don’t see enough: siblings, old friends, or maybe someone who lives in another country you’ve been meaning to visit. Whatever you do, the season looks quite relaxed and enjoyable. Just keep an eye on mid-November, when a conjunction of Mars and the South Node may take you somewhere you’ll later wish you’d paused before committing to. Enjoy now, stay alert then.

Discover your perfect menu and cocktail for the zodiac sign Sagittarius to find out more about your sign.

Capricorn

Some personality clashes at work seem probable this fall – maybe with a supervisor, or someone recently promoted who isn’t bringing their best self. It’s worth thinking about whether some of that might also apply to you. Both the Sun and Saturn are in their signs of fall, approaching opposition, and this configuration often produces a kind of mutual insecurity – two people triggering each other without quite recognizing it. The balance comes from acknowledging what the other person is navigating, and what you are as well.

Discover your perfect menu and cocktail for the zodiac sign Capricorn to find out more about your sign.

Aquarius

You’re about to be busier than you’ve been in a while, and most of what the astrology shows looks pleasant – but these are long-term commitments or things requiring real, sustained attention, which means your plate is going to fill up quickly. The quick and rash decisions of others may disrupt your own carefully laid plans if you allow them to. Know where you’re headed and don’t be pulled sideways by someone else’s urgency. Your clearest path right now is steady, deliberate, and eyes-forward.

Discover your perfect menu and cocktail for the zodiac sign Aquarius to find out more about your sign.

Pisces

I get the sense that this was a very active summer for you, and it’s going to start feeling like time to turn inward sooner rather than later. The Moon and Jupiter placed in your 12th and 6th houses favor retreat, rest, and a quieter kind of attention over the coming weeks. This is a season more for consolidation than expansion. If the summer was expensive, there’s also some good news for your finances – the quieter pace that’s coming will likely help the wallet too.

Discover your perfect menu and cocktail for the zodiac sign Pisces to find out more about your sign.

About the Author

Wade Caves is a Brooklyn-based astrological consultant, educator, and published author who has practiced astrology professionally since 2014. He was certified with honors from the Mayo School of Astrology in London and the School of Traditional Astrology (STA), where he now serves as faculty and as principal of the Astronomy and Mundane Astrology programs.

Wade wrote the quarterly World Reflections column for The Mountain Astrologer and currently serves as editor of In Mundo, Skyscript’s world astrology journal. He is the editor and annotator of the 300th anniversary edition of William Lilly’s History of his Life and Times (Rubedo Press, 2015) and hosts the World Astrology Summit, a conference dedicated to advancing astrological technique for diverse audiences.

A sought-after speaker, Wade has presented at the United Astrology Conference (UAC), the Northwest Astrological Conference (NORWAC), the Astrological Association, and the International Society for Astrological Research (ISAR), among others. He has taught intensive courses across the US, Europe, Australia, and Canada.

Before practicing astrology full-time, Wade held an executive advisory role with a data consulting firm specializing in large-scale infrastructure, bringing an analytical and research-driven approach to his astrological work. He specializes in horary, electional, and classical technique with an emphasis on cross-era literacy – connecting ancient methods to modern practice.

At TABLE Magazine, Wade writes monthly horoscopes, seasonal forecasts, and original lifestyle content that connects astrology to food, cocktails, and entertaining – a unique editorial approach that bridges astrology and the culinary world.

Website: wadecaves.com • skyscript.co.uk/inmundo Email: hello@wadecaves.com

Photo Courtesy of Derek Thomson

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The Hottest Interior Design Trends for 2027: More Pattern, More Personality, More Craft, More Everything

By
Kylie Thomas
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Ornate daybed with patterned cushions in a room with bold, patterned drapery.
Pierre Frey x Isabelle de Borchgrave | Photo by Sylvie Becquet

Textile designer Saana Baker is always crisscrossing the globe, searching for the next big thing in design to publish in The Textile Eye, her quarterly trend report. After surveying the latest textiles, furnishings, and decorative objects, she spotted a seismic shift for 2027: interiors are getting more expressive, more individual, and a lot less afraid of maximalism and decoration. Here, the four trends she predicts will shape interiors in the coming year. Then when you’re done viewing what’s below, check out our guide to interior design trends and experts.

Armchair with floral pattern upholstery, featuring a bold floral design in rich colors.
Casal Chair | Photo by Marc Guenard

A Custom Look From Ready-Made Textiles and Wallpaper

Most textiles are created to repeat seamlessly across a bolt of fabric. A special few are engineered as complete compositions for a chair back, a bed, a curtain, a rug, or even an entire room. While this approach has deep historical roots in tapestry, needlepoint, decorative panels, and bordered textiles, it is appearing with renewed relevance across Europe’s design fairs. Borders, areas of open space, panoramic layouts that unfold across multiple widths, and other carefully planned compositions are built into the textile or wallcovering, allowing the design to respond to furniture and architecture with unusual precision. The result carries the feeling of something made specifically for its setting—a ready-made bespoke approach that imbues a room with identity.

Autumnal botanical print with dried leaves and grasses in earthy tones.
Textured wallpaper with a repeating pattern of overlapping botanical leaves in muted green and beige tones.
Left: Art by Sarah Van Rossem Seen at Dutch Design Week | Photo by The Textile Eye, Right: Casamance Wall Covering | Photo Courtesy of Casamance

Botanicals Get Unruly With Brambles, Seed Heads, and the Beauty of Decay

Nature remains one of design’s richest sources of inspiration, but today’s botanical references are expanding well beyond perfect bouquets and idealized gardens. Designers are finding beauty in pressed flowers, dried stems, seed heads, tangled vines, and plants caught at every stage of their life cycle. Botanical imagery is layered, abstracted, faded, and sometimes barely perceptible, rewarding closer observation. These compositions acknowledge that nature is constantly changing, revealing beauty in growth, weathering, and renewal alike. Understanding this shift transforms these patterns from decorative florals into reflections on the rhythms of the natural world—and reminds us that some of nature’s most memorable moments are also its most fleeting.

Textile trims and tassels: more craft for 2027 interior design trends.
Textured tassel with stacked wooden beads on colorful patterned fabric
Art Nouveau floral fabric pattern in coral and gold on navy.
Left: A Vignette From the Watts 1874 Showroom, Middle: A Detail From the Artemest Apartment at Milan Design Week 2026, Right: A Detail From the Lelièvre showroom in Paris, January 2026 | Photos by The Textile Eye

The Return of Decorative Details, From Embroidery to Tapestry

Decoration is once again being celebrated as an art in its own right. Designers are rediscovering the expressive power of ornament, reinterpreting centuries-old traditions through fresh color palettes, contemporary forms, and extraordinary craftsmanship. Passementerie, tapestry, richly woven jacquards, and embroidery continue to evolve while preserving generations of technical knowledge and artistic skill.
Many of today’s most sophisticated patterns are woven, not printed, allowing remarkably subtle shifts in color, texture, and detail that only become more apparent with close looking. Understanding the artistry behind these details transforms them from embellishment into meaningful design choices—and understanding the craftsmanship behind these objects, and the generations of knowledge required to produce them, enhances the pleasure of adorning our homes.

Intricate tapestry with abstract patterns, chess pieces, and surreal figures, reflecting 2027 design trends.
Detailed toile fabric with colorful embroidered accents, featuring pastoral scenes and ornate borders.
Left: Detail From the Moooi Exhibition During Milan Design Week 2026 | Photo by The Textile Eye, Right: Schumacher x Richard Saja | Photo Courtesy of Schumacher

Intricate Patterns That Reveal More Over Time

The most compelling decorative objects reward a second look. Designers are increasingly drawing on history, mythology, architecture, maps, manuscripts, and other cultural references to create textiles and furnishings that reveal more over time. Historic motifs are embroidered, reinterpreted, and layered with unexpected interventions, allowing familiar imagery to take on new relevance. These pieces blur the line between design and art, inviting curiosity while giving interiors a richer sense of identity and cultural connection.

Story by Saana Baker
Featured Photo by Sylvie Becquet

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