As the weather changes and the evenings start to get darker, we are reminded that autumn will soon be upon us. I, for one, am looking forward to the onset of the colder months and delight in any excuse to dig out my big coats and knee-high boots.
But more than that, there is a simplicity that comes with autumn. It comes as a sort of breather after the hectic summer months, allowing us to re-set and slow down, falling back into familiar routines.
For me, it simply wouldn’t be autumn if I wasn’t spending my weekday evenings religiously re-watching Gilmore Girls - a habit that I don’t see myself changing anytime soon. In fact, in "preparation" for this article, I have started my annual binge-watch early this year.
Gilmore Girls follows the lives of Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter Rory. Though it is now somewhat dated, having been made in the early 2000s, it remains iconic – a testimonial to the complicated nature of mother-daughter relationships.
With Carol King’s 'Where You Lead' as its theme song, the show will always feel nostalgic to me. Perhaps this is because it reminds me of first loves, friends who are more like sisters, and my mother.
For this reason, I have returned to Stars Hollow, the fictional small town in Connecticut where the show is set, every autumn since I was 17. In many ways, the small town – where everyone knows everyone – reminds me a lot of my hometown. Characters such as Taylor Doose and Miss Patty would slide comfortably into life in St Columb Major, where there are already enough eccentric characters living there that no one would bat an eyelid. I am however yet to come across St Columb’s equivalent of Luke Danes, Stars Hollow’s cynical diner owner who in my opinion will always be the best character in the show.
On my first watch, as a 17-year-old starting her A levels, I saw myself in Rory. I too was determined to achieve, thinking about university, and laying the foundations of a career in journalism. It is perhaps this which equates me associating the show with autumn. Many of the storylines revolve around Rory starting school or university, a transition that will forever be associated with September, the coming of autumn and the purchase of a new winter jacket.
Despite the similarities that I share with Rory, it was Lorelai who my 17-year-old-self aspired to be – enthusiastic, strong-willed, and always well-dressed, Lorelai is in many ways the heart and soul of the show. As a well-developed female character who is both a flawed human being and a devoted mother, you cannot help but root for her. As a result, my winter wardrobe will always be slightly influenced by Lorelai and her archetypal noughties style. Miniskirts and layered sweaters become my uniform as soon as the leaves start to turn brown.
Lorelai is perhaps also one of the main reasons the show is so strongly associated with autumn. Her love of caffeine – a key character trait of hers throughout the show – is a reminder of the simple pleasure that is a warm cup of coffee on a cold day. When this is paired with her obsession with snow, you cannot help thinking about Lorelai without feeling the need to cosy up on the sofa with a mug of something warm.
I, therefore, urge anyone whose had enough of the recent heat waves or is in need of a little nostalgia to give Gilmore Girls a watch. Whether it is your first time, or you dip in and out of the story like me every year, it is the perfect way to start the autumnal months, get some style inspiration and romanticise your own home town.
What is a show that you religiously watch every year? Let us know in the comments.
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