How Rory Gilmore Went From Deeply Hated to This Fall’s It Girl

“I never thought that Rory was a trendy person,” Gilmore Girls costume designer Brenda Maben told Fashionista in 2016. “[She has a] good, solid, classic style that you could wear from year to year and not look outdated.”

Such is the mantra of “quiet luxury,” which favors understated, yet high-quality items over too much personal expression. The term has had social media in a chokehold since the spring of 2023.

I’ve always found it somewhat odd that the generations that proudly chant “eat the rich” went all-in on a style philosophy that’s often directly associated with the morally bankrupt, yet uberwealthy characters. They lust after the fashion of the characters on Succession and celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow (whose civil courtroom ensembles made headlines in late March).

Perhaps Rory Gilmore is another example of this apparent disconnect, though her unfussy looks are at least more relatable to teens and twenty-somethings—as are her so-called crimes against humanity. For every few TikTok videos of Rory Gilmore-style dupes, there seems to be at least one denouncing the character as insufferable. In the case of fashion, likability and influence do not have to intersect.

In one viral clip from the show’s pilot episode, Rory jokingly describes herself as “unbelievably self-centered” during a conversation with her first love interest, Dean (It’s also worth noting that the tomato-red turtleneck from that scene is very in style right now.)

“I never noticed this foreshadowing for all her future mishaps and mistakes,” TikTok user @afterworkwithalana captioned her post, adding, “Happy Gilmore Girls fall!!”

Thanks to Rory’s rise in relevancy, we’re surely due for a round of essays explaining why Rory Gilmore was not that bad, actually (in fact, Collider already published one in September). Personally, I think she paved the way for the messy teen heartbreakers of today’s small screen—particularly Devi Vishwakumar of Never Have I Ever and Belly Conklin of The Summer I Turned Pretty—but that’s an unpopular opinion for another hot take.

For now, I’ll leave you with the words of TikTok user @skylar.alysha: “Hate the character all I want, but I can’t deny she’s a fashion icon.”