The Year 2000: a love story - or - Surprise, it’s the Gilmore Girls
Here’s the deal: I did not start this blog with the intention of only wading in the shallow waters of dissecting outfits on TV and film. I fully expect myself to dive into a thesis on medieval fashion trends and how they subtly and not so subtly blend in with what we’re all wearing today…but also, I am watching “Gilmore Girls” for the very first time and I have some things to say.
That’s right, at the ripe age of 32 (the age of Lorelai Gilmore herself in season one, btw) I’ve decided to dive headfirst in to the seven-season journey of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. I have so many growing and changing opinions that I’m continuing to nurture, like how at first Lorelai’s character was supes annoying to me, but grew on me. Or how the obsession of coffee was kind of overkill, but then it grew on me and now I drink more coffee. I’ve been influenced! I digress.
I just finished season one, and I came here today to discuss the beauty of the year 2000 in fashion. The ‘90s had ended not with a Y2K bang but with a low-rise jeans whimper and what a time for the fitted tee/fitted cardigan/fitted tops of all kinds! There were still remnants of mid-‘90s cool like the chunky Doc Marten or a nice set of tiny sunnies (yes, I’m once again mentioning tiny sunnies.) The year 2000 was figuring out its own identity while being fully aware of the internet and all that was yet to come.
As the season went on, I caught myself examining and even pining for Lorelai’s wardrobe. Maybe it’s just that point in this pandemic we’re all trudging through, but I’m feeling some kind of nostalgia about this particular wardrobe. These clothes, mixed with the wholesome vibe of the entire show, has me rekindling my adolescent aspirations. Any millennial will tell you that the 2000s were rife with bad fashion choices all around, but now that our gal Lorelai and I are on the same wavelength age-wise and I’m seeing the year 2000 through a different lens, my opinion has changed. For me the early 2000s consisted of the trends as seen on Pen15 because that’s where I was in life: middle school. Gilmore Girls (season one, at least) has me wanting to pin back the sides of my hair again and wear a structured leather duster at all times. These are the clothes I wanted to be able to wear, but was too young to pull them off. Could you imagine a middle schooler wearing an office appropro Lorelai-at-the-Inn lewk? It’d be social suicide.
Anyway, because I love things in list form, here are a few of my favorite season one outfit moments:
Episode 13 - “Concert Interruptus”
Rory’s cool vintagey denim + patchwork leather jacket and Louise’s leather mini. The Bangles would approve, I’m sure.
(Madeline’s pink leather jacket is cool in theory, but the collarless leather jacket is a no for me.)
2. Paris’ begrudging, brown monochromatic party lewk from Episode 13
There are zero quality photos of this outfit online, so I thought the least I could do was take some zero-quality photos of my own TV screen. This explains why Paris’ eyes look full-on possessed. (Enjoy the pixels, future image seekers.)
What we’re trying to see here is a chocolate brown duster over a hazelnut brown, shiny, collared shirt dress with some chocolate leather knee-high boots. Also really into the choice of double braids.
3. Rachel’s whole vibe, TBH.
She’s laid back, has a cool job, and her no-frills sartorial choices somehow tie together every room she’s hanging out in.
Now I want some baggy Levi’s.
Might get a spiral perm, too.
4. It’s no secret that Lorelai has a lot of great everything in her arsenal.
Graphic tees, interesting prints, pops of rainbow color schemes and lots of sheer fabrics get some well-deserved air time.
But right now I’d like to focus on this specific turtleneck from Episode 18 - “The Third Lorelai”
This turtleneck appears from 8:28 to 10:13 and then is never seen or heard from again throughout the season. I need more information and I spent too long looking for it on the internet. Send help. Send links.
