The Secrets to a 'Gilmore Girls' Fall

A cheat sheet for maximizing your coziest, most charming autumn.

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Can you feel it? The chilly nights that call for warm socks and a thicker blanket. The sudden urge to smell warm cinnamon. The pulsing desire to watch anything that features a Meg Ryan and Nora Ephron collaboration. 

Can you hear it? The gentle sounds of “la, la, la, laaaa, la” calling your name, reminding you that fall is here and thus, we have finally arrived, at long last, at Gilmore Girls season. To be clear, I would argue that every season is Gilmore Girls season, but fall has developed a strong reputation for being the perfect time of year to revisit the cozy streets of Stars Hollow, stumbling your way back into Luke’s Diner, where the banter is fast, pancakes are on tap, and you’re always — albeit gruffly — welcomed inside. 

In celebration of re-entering Lorelai and Rory’s endlessly comforting world, I’ve put together a cheat sheet for the best ways to live your very best Gilmore autumn, complete with some deeply specific recommendations that will hopefully be fun and not head-scratching. [Author’s note: none of this is sponsored. Just comes courtesy of an intense fan who has done far, far too much googling.]

Head to your local bookstore for a cozy day of book browsing and shopping. 

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While the ultimate dream is obviously a lazy afternoon at Stars Hollow Books, followed by reading those freshly minted purchases in the gazebo across the street, there are plenty of local bookstores that make for a formidable backup plan. If you’re NYC-based, I’m putting in a plug for Westsider Rare & Used Books Inc., a tiny, impossibly charming, vintage shop with fairy lights in the window, and The Strand on the Upper West Side, a really bright, welcoming space where you will undoubtedly leave with some sort of cute bookish candle in tow.  

My fellow MOPC-er Saul loves Lofty Pigeon Books in Brooklyn and Atticus Bookstore Cafe in New Haven, CT, where Rory would have logged plenty of hours while at Yale.  

(Apologies for the exclusively East Coast-centric options – please give us a shout in the comment section and let us know your favorite local bookshops around the country/world!) 

While you’re at it, make your way through Rory’s (extensive) reading list. 

If you’re stuck on what to pick up at your neighboring bookshop, might I suggest perusing the list of 400+ titles Rory has read over the years? There’s an impressively comprehensive rundown of every single book Rory thumbed through on Candid Cover, where you’ll find everything from The Holy Barbarians by Lawrence Lipton, an exploration of the Beatnik culture of Venice beach, to the lighthearted misadventures of Bertie and Jeeves in P.G. Wodehouse’s The Code of the Woosters. 

Add an extra fall-time twist by reading your book selection at your local cafe, complete with pumpkin pancakes and the hot beverage of your choosing. 

Go to a Jess-approved record shop. (Leather jacket and paperback book in pocket not mandatory…but highly encouraged.) 

Few of us can purport to be quite as cool and darkly brooding as Jess, but we can take up one of his equally cool hobbies — browsing your local record shop. Spend a fall afternoon sifting through the racks at an indie record spot (we’re putting in a plug for Rough Trade!) and you might even stumble on a rare gem like Rory’s signed Go-Go’s vinyl. Finish up your day of shopping with a hot dog and a stroll. Jess would — begrudgingly — approve. 

Snag some vintage Nick & Nora Pajamas…

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Whenever there’s a nip in the Stars Hollow air, Rory and Lorelai always throw on a pair of soft button-up pajama sets complete with funky designs like milk and cookies, slices of cherry pie, and a dancing Mr. Peanut.

After some light googling, I discovered that those pajamas are designed by the company Nick & Nora, and there’s so, so many vintage options out there on eBay if you want to feel like a Gilmore Girl as the seasons change. Bonus points if you don your PJs while eating mallomars and watching the Godfather trilogy, plus Sofia’s dying scene, over and over again. 

And an old-school chenille blanket, too! 

In the interest of continuing to stay warm during the crisp months, snag a vintage gem from the show — that comfy pink chenille blanket that’s a mainstay in the Gilmore house. While I have never been able to track down the exact one (I told you…intense), there are plenty of lookalikes on eBay and Etsy.

You might consider tucking under one of these as you watch Lauren Graham and Kelly Bishop’s recent reunion at the 92Y to discuss Bishop’s new memoir, The Third Gilmore Girl. 

Bake autumn-themed treats ripped straight out of the Dragonfly Inn’s kitchen. 

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Home chef extraordinaire Larisa has been baking her way through Gilmore Girls since 2020, crafting dishes from every episode of the show. Channel your inner Sookie and follow along with her recipes, which feature plenty of autumn-themed treats, including the orange glazed muffins with warm cinnamon butter from “Emily in Wonderland,” the apple cider ice cream from “Run Away, Little Boy” and the pancetta and chestnut stuffing from “A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving.” 

This Gilmore Girls-themed candle made my apartment feel like a quaint small town in the fall. 

Sometimes it's the little things — like a Stars Hollow candle that smells like chestnut, spun sugar and spice, warmly beckoning you into the cooler months. 

Get that dewy, flushed Lorelai/Rory look with their exact makeup products.  

A very, very big shoutout to Eliza, a fashion and beauty website, which tracked down Tegan Taylor, the lead makeup artist on Gilmore Girls, and asked her to divulge the exact products she used to get the pink-cheeked, blazingly blue-eyed looks of Lorelai and Rory, perfect for all your fall beauty needs. Among them: Giorgio Armani’s Luminous Silk Foundation in the color 5.5 and Mac’s Blushbaby, for a pop of color on the cheeks. 

Put on your chunkiest sweater and head to the real-life locations. 

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Want to get even closer to the Gilmore Girls fall magic? You can check out the actual set of Stars Hollow at Warner Bros. studios in Los Angeles (also, though, visit in the winter months to see the town all dressed up like it once was, complete with a Björk snow-woman and a fully functioning Al’s Pancake World!) When I lived in Los Angeles, I really loved to bring my laptop and work from Greystone Mansion, the filming location of Chilton, which remains completely untouched by time and has so many nooks and crannies to plop yourself down and stay awhile, plus a genuinely beautiful, sweeping view of Los Angeles. 

If you happen to be in the Connecticut area, you can head to Washington Depot, the spot that inspired Gilmore Girls creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino to create Stars Hollow. Eat at Marty’s Cafe — a great substitute for Luke’s — and browse the quaint shelves of Hickory Stick Book Shop. You might not smell snow while you're in town for the day, but you may just get a whiff of burnt orange leaves, apple cider and—if you breathe in really deep—the faintest, warmest whispers of la, la, la, laaaa.