As the weather becomes colder, the urge to wear a big cream sweater and black headband like Rory Gilmore from “Gilmore Girls” can’t be ignored. Or maybe you decided you want to pair a red plaid mini skirt with tights and a white long-sleeve shirt like Rachel Green from “Friends.”

If you are one of the many people still looking for fall fashion inspiration, chances are you stumbled upon a few articles telling you that you need trends from the ’90s like platform shoes, faux fur coats and graphic tees in your closet. 

But why should we look to the ‘90s for fall fashion inspiration? Why do we solely associate fall with this decade?

Americans often associate fall with childhood and nostalgia. Dr. Amy Jane Griffiths, a licensed psychologist and professor at Chapman University, told Bustle, that people often look to the fall season for comfort because of the traditions occurring around that time of year.

“We all crave the comfort and security that comes with traditions and predictability,” Griffiths said. “They may relate to joyful experiences with friends and family and provide something to look forward to.”

These fall traditions can range from watching the leaves change colors as you start a new year at school, cozying up on your couch as you watch a spooky Halloween movie or spending hours looking through your closet for the perfect sweater to wear on Thanksgiving.

The rise in ‘90s nostalgia grew during the 2010s, when more millennials began entering adulthood and started to reminisce about their childhoods.

But not everyone was alive during the ‘90s. The oldest members of Gen Z were three years old when the decade concluded, so why does Gen Z still associate nostalgia with the ‘90s, especially during the fall? 

The same reason people make the association of fall being a comfort season is the same reason people associate ‘90s movies and TV shows as comfort watches.

In the same Bustle article, JR Thorpe and Kaitlyn Wyde make note of a study which discovered as the weather becomes colder, people viewed certain films, like romantic comedies, as “psychological warmth.” 

This is because people want to feel closer to others – whether that be watching Ross and Rachel fall in love in “Friends” or Buffy and her friends defeat the foe of the episode in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Since these nostalgic ‘90s watches become associated with warmth, dressing similarly to our favorite characters becomes another source of comfort as the season becomes colder and we become busier.

In a Popsugar article, writer Sarah Wasilak interviewed Chloe Bell, a content creator and co-owner of Shop Your TV. Bell noted that TV show characters can influence our styles because we are constantly watching them.

“We’ve become used to seeing our favorite TV show characters daily — that increases our influence to dress like them, paired with some boredom-fueled online shopping,” Bell said. 

Giving into that urge to dress like Rory Gilmore, Rachel Green and any other character from a ‘90s comfort watch reminds us of fall because of the shared connection between them and nostalgia. It’s no shock, then, that dressing like these characters and enjoying these movies and TV shows as the weather becomes colder will help keep us warm this fall. 

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Hi! I’m Kayla Friedman, A Magazine’s editor-in-chief. My staff and I are committed to bringing you the most important and entertaining news from the realms of fashion, beauty and culture. We are full-time students and hard-working journalists. While we get support from the student media fee and earned revenue such as advertising, both of those continue to decline. Your generous gift of any amount will help enhance our student experience as we grow into working professionals. Please go here to donate to A Magazine.