I'm a Millennial Rewatching ‘Buffy’—and I'm Obsessed with the Show’s Whimsigoth Fashion

Nothing sets the mood for fall quite like a nostalgic binge-watch. Last year I tackled Gilmore Girls (arguably the most quintessentially autumn-coded series out there), but this time around I’ve traded the shenanigans of Stars Hollow, Connecticut for the slightly more fantastical goings-on of Sunnydale, California. Yes, that’s right—I’m deep in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer rewatch. I’ll be honest, though, the supernatural conflicts and vampire entanglements so far have felt a lot more low-stakes than they did when I originally watched it as a pre-adolescent (you know, when it was actually airing). But there is one thing about the series that has me completely hooked: the clothes. More specifically, the wonderfully whimsigoth wardrobes of the show’s butt-kicking heroines.

Feminine yet edgy, dark but dreamy—such is how I’d describe the series’ thematic undertones, as well as the essence of the so-called “whimsigoth” look I’m referring to. It’s a little bit bohemian, a little bit gothic and 100 percent a product of the late-’90s/early 2000s convergence of Lilith Fair and dELiA*s catalog. And it is forever preserved in all its glory in the delightfully bonkers world of Buffy.

As a millennial, I’m obsessed—and I’m not the only one. According to Google Trends, searches for the term “whimsigoth” have risen steadily over the past two years, since it was officially coined by architect and design archivist Evan Collins. But lately I’ve been seeing it everywhere. In fact, Architectural Digest recently dubbed it a home interiors trend and Target just curated an entire collection around it. Whether it has something to do with the return of spooky season or the seemingly consistent cultural yearnings for the ‘90s, whimsigoth is on the rise, and it’s definitely my favorite aesthetic for autumn. 

As you may have guessed from the combination of the words “whimsical” and “gothic,” the whimsigoth look isn’t quite the all-black-everything aesthetic of a moody teenager à la Lydia Deetz or Wednesday Addams. There’s a romantic earthiness to it that softens the edge. Think: bell sleeves, long skirts, crochet, crushed velvet and touches of lace and mesh. Motif-wise, fairy-like florals, butterflies and celestial bodies reign supreme, as do nods to astrology and, of course, witchcraft. 

Indeed, while Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy Summers has her whimsigoth moments when she combines floral skirts and lacy camisoles with her ever-present cross necklace and leather jacket, it’s really Alyson Hannigan’s Willow Rosenberg who perfects the aesthetic—especially in later seasons when she (spoiler alert!) embraces her witchy powers. On a related note, the term whimsigoth is also often applied to the magic-wielding characters in Practical Magic, Charmed and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, solidifying its synonymy with good witches of the ‘90s.

As you can see below, I’ve already been busy cultivating my collection of Buffy- (and Willow-) inspired staples, so to help you get the look, I’ve rounded up a few more whimsigoth pieces that have totally cast a spell on me.

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