Every year, there is a rave about Lorelai and Rory Gilmore being the fall fashion icons — every outfit they wear is carefully picked out for the perfect balance between comfort and fashion.
Whether it’s Rory’s iconic white sweater or Lorelai’s business casual workwear, the Gilmore girls never fail to wear the perfect outfit. But why is the fashion in “Gilmore Girls” so iconic? Why is there non-stop talk about it every year?
These are the questions I have been asking myself as I’ve started to rewatch the show this year. Every episode I watch, I need to know immediately where everything in both Rory and Lorelai’s wardrobes is from. Even Rory, in her Chilton uniform, makes me want to go back to high school and convince my mom to put me in school with uniforms. Everyone I talk to is obsessed with both the mother’s and daughter’s closets, and there are even news articles from renown magazines like Vogue discussing the iconic fashion in the show.
Trends come and go, and we are in an era where we are moving backward with fashion. Y2K fashion is making a strong comeback, and “Gilmore Girls” is just part of the reason.
When we wear clothes that were trending in the early 2000s, we feel like we are reliving our childhood. Personally, I feel much more productive when I’m wearing a good outfit. Look good, feel good, do good and all that. And we all know there’s no one more productive than Rory Gilmore when she’s studying, so maybe people feel like if they dress like the Gilmore girls, they’ll be able to romanticize their life like them.
“Gilmore Girls” fashion is even taking over social media. There are Pinterest boards of Rory and Lorelai’s outfits, Instagram accounts that give “Gilmore Girls” -inspired outfits and TikTok posts about what people would wear if they were in the show.
In my opinion, some of the most iconic outfits in the show were Rory’s white sweater outfit, Lorelai’s first day of Chilton outfit and pretty much every single Friday night dinner outfit either of them wore.
Rory’s white sweater outfit was in the very first episode. She wore an oversized sweater with simple blue jeans and her backpack as an accessory. There was snow on the ground and you could tell it was freezing. That’s why this outfit was perfect. Not only was it adorable, but it was also warm and cozy. It was also one of our first impressions of Rory — you can tell a lot about a person by their outfit. We could tell that Rory prioritizes comfort and also knows how powerful a simple outfit can be. Sometimes, the simpler the better.
Next, we have the outfit Lorelai wore on Rory’s first day at Chilton. Of course, in perfect sit-com fashion, Lorelai’s alarm didn’t go off in the morning, preventing her from picking up her dry cleaning. The only thing she had to wear was a pink tie-dye baby tee, a pair of jean shorts and cowboy boots. For an outfit that was supposed to be ugly, it was very cute. Maybe it’s just the way she presents herself, but I swear Lorelai Gilmore could pull anything off.
It would be a disgrace not to talk about the Gilmore girls’ Friday night dinner outfits, because they are iconic. How can one acquire so many dresses and skirts that they never repeat a single outfit? I don’t know, but it makes me jealous. The slip dresses and little cardigans are perfect, and wearing them with little heels makes it even better.
The fashion in “Gilmore Girls” is so thought out, and it perfectly reflects the characters’ personalities. I’m not surprised so many people are obsessed with the Gilmore girls’ wardrobes, because I am too. Both characters can pull off business casual or comfortable night-in outfits, and they are an inspiration to lots of clothing trends today.
