How to Have a 2000s Girl Autumn

Listen, as a certified “grew-up-and-went-to-high-school-in-the-2000s” girly, I never thought I’d feel nostalgic for those days. And yet, a decade later, here I am, a serial pinterest user who can’t get over that feeling of the weather beginning to turn and embracing all my favorite child/teen-hood things.

I was a bit too young to have opinions about the 2000s while we were living through them, but I remember it vividly: there were the pumpkin spice latte cardigan girlies and the controversies around hating everything a woman does (seriously why did we despise them so much for wearing Uggs? I sadly must admit, I definitely had a “not like other girls” phase in high school), and the soft goth Bella Swan Aria Montgomery gals with dark purples, black painted nails, Doc Martens, and an unhealthy fascination with vampires and a secret tumblr account, and the Rory Gilmores stacking library books in preppy skirts and sweaters, worried about their next history exam.

Part 1: The Vibe

Soft, autumnal, faintly gothic, a small-town coffee shop and a boarding school library — think heavy rain against a window, a journal you’re not going to let anyone read, a crush you’re definitely not going to admit to. It’s romantic in the old sense of the word: moody skies, a little melancholy, everything slightly overcast and slightly beautiful because of it. Make a Pinterest board of your favorite vibes, and even try to figure out what “kind” of autumn you are if that’s fun- we all are a mix of everything to be sure, but are you more of a Bella Swan, Rory Gilmore, or Aria Montgomery?

Part 2: The Look

This is where the whole aesthetic lives or dies tbh. Start with a flannel — oversized, a little worn-in, the kind you’d steal from someone’s closet in a CW show (Dean Winchester, I’m looking at you). Layer it over a plain tee (band tees are tempting, though I think more body-con things are closer to the traditional aesthetic) or a thin turtleneck. Under that: tights, always, boots, paired with tall socks pushed down over them in that specific slouchy way. A cardigan goes over everything, ideally oversized enough to pull your hands into the sleeves, Ariana Grande style.

Finish it with black nail polish, a little chipped is better than perfect, and if you want to commit fully, a plaid mini skirt instead of jeans on the days you’re feeling closer to Pretty Little Liars than Gilmore Girls. The whole point is texture, like knit against denim against wool, and even in the heat you can play around. Tights and a skirt and shirt works- add 2000s chunky accessories and you’re golden.

Thrift for the perfect fit! I love that this aesthetic is purposefully lived in and comfy- it’s not too far from the “not like other girls” vibe a bit (seriously, this thinking was everywhere in the 2000s when you see it) in that “not trying too hard to impress” kinda way. Re-embrace the style and focus on the comfort of it all!

Part 3: To Do

Go to an actual bookstore, not a website. Barnes & Noble is doing a lot of the heavy lifting in this whole aesthetic for a reason — wander the shelves with no plan, buy something you don’t need, then sit in the café with a drink that takes longer to make than to drink. Get a library card if you don’t already have one (and sign onto Libby for audio books!!) and check out something you’ll probably return unfinished (my TBR pile is way too big). Take a walk somewhere with actual trees, preferably in the evening to take advantage of the cooling (ish) temperatures, and put your phone away, instead opting for a digital camera or film camera if you want to take pictures. Journal by hand. Watch the sky instead of a screen for longer than feels efficient. Light something in the background while you do all of this; I built my autumn candle line around this exact mood, warm and a little spiced, the kind of scent that makes a room feel like it’s already October even when the thermostat is well above 90.

Part 4: To Watch

This era runs on a very specific supernatural-teen-drama energy. The Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars are the twin pillars with their moody small towns, secrets nobody should be keeping, everyone’s hair somehow always perfect during a crisis. Twilight belongs here too, forever, unapologetically- rainy Pacific Northwest atmosphere doing at least sixty percent of the emotional work in that entire franchise. And then, sitting a little apart from the supernatural stuff but essential to the whole mood, Gilmore Girls, specifically for Rory, specifically for Stars Hollow in October, specifically for the idea that a small town with a good coffee shop and a well-stocked library is basically the whole dream. Supernatural is a key favorite of mine, especially season 1 with the weird blue green dark filter (seriously, why did all 2000s media have that?), flannels, and spooky monster of the week episodes.

Part 5: To Listen

None of this requires an actual season change. That’s the whole appeal!! It’s a mood you can build with a bookstore trip, a candle, and the right playlist, regardless of what the thermometer’s doing outside. Real fall will show up eventually. This version doesn’t wait for it.