Is It Now Acceptable To Dress Like My Favorite TV Show Character?

I am, ashamedly, a poster-child Gen-Zer. I wear "vintage straight" jeans and a middle part... I even make Tik-Toks, for God's sake. So what business do I have saying I'm nostalgic for a time when I wasn't even born?

The fashion of my childhood was, in my opinion, horrendous. God save us the day the 2000s come back into style. It was all tunics and bedazzling and low-rise bottoms. And my own sense of style in my pre-teen years was... nothing to brag about. There are pictures of me in orange and brown and green dresses with stripes on the top and polka dots on the bottom and pink polka dot tights. It didn't help that my parents gave me thick, blunt bangs for years, or that at the age of 5 I ran around with a red turtleneck on my head because I wanted to have hair like Ariel.

But I was raised on old 90s TV shows that my parents loved when they were teens. My first two binged shows were Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The X-Files. And I was — am — neurotic. If the Ariel thing didn't tell you, whenever I fell in love with something as a child, be it a show, a book, etc, I fell hard. My style and personality in my teen years consisted solely of a mix-match of whatever character I was currently obsessed with. So when I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer that year in 7th grade, I decided I wanted to be Buffy Summers.

Of course, that was 2016.

The 90s weren't back "in" just yet, and so I had a hell of a time finding clothes, especially with my limited 14-year-old budget, that fit my newly stolen fashion sense. You can imagine my disappointment. All I had to work with then were my knock-off combat boots and fake leather jacket. I bought a cross necklace online, even though I was Jewish, and didn't really consider that everyone at school probably thought I was Catholic or something.

But then in junior year— 2019 and 2020 — I was browsing Hollister for a new summer wardrobe. Being newly employed and having no sense of how to save money, I was of the mind that if I had money in my pocket, I should spend it. I was between obsessions and therefore between styles, and at 16 becoming increasingly more and more concerned with wearing what was "trendy" whether I liked it or not. But the skirts and crop tops and camis and slip dresses advertised all across virtually every popular store New Arrivals page struck me as familiar.

So what did I do? Well, I bought the clothes that would have made 7th-grade me squeal with joy. Staring in the mirror in my slightly wrinkled new mini skirt and crop top (my mother was not as thrilled as I), I looked like a shorter, paler, slightly less fit Buffy Summers, and a little part of me still wanted to squeal with joy.

Never did I imagine I'd one day be able to dress like a Buffy character without looking like a complete nerd, but the 90s, from what I can tell, are back. The pants, the boxy jackets, the grunge look, the slips layered over baby tees and cardigans. Even the hair. Hell, even bucket hats seem to be making a come-back. Or at least, that's what my last foray into youtube fashion blogs tells me. And honestly, I hope at least some of these trends stick around.

For some reason, 90s clothes just fit me. Not physically, because women's clothing sizes are a joke, but I feel comfortable, and, yeah, nostalgic. Nostalgic for a time when things were a little less crazy and I was a little less tired and a little more innocent and I really just wanted to be a vampire slayer.