A Guideline for Timeless Fashion from a 90s TV Icon: What Would Rachel Green Wear?
Written by Robin Schleusner
Since the 1990s, Rachel Green has effectively captured the world’s attention, a result of her undeniable charm, character development, and clear influence on fashion. Over thirty years since the television show, Friends, aired, Rachel Green’s outfits still appear on Pinterest boards, TikTok slideshows, and Instagram Reels. The chic and sophisticated, yet casual style is the key to what makes Rachel stand out among the Friends cast, and is the basis to her lasting impact on fashion. It is this groundwork that leads myself and many other Friends fanatics to pose this question in their own style after each series rewatch: What would Rachel Green wear?
Timeless fashion is marked by a style that doesn’t chase trends, but instead invests in pieces that can last and that never go out of style (Timeless Fashion: An Alternative to Fast Fashion, 2023). When creating each character’s wardrobe, Friends costume designer, Debra McGuire, states that she actively avoided the baggy, unstructured style of clothing that was trending in the 1990s, as it didn’t look good for television. Instead, McGuire curated styles that reflected each character’s personality (Raniwala, 2019). It is this rebellion against trends that defined Rachel’s signature style, and went on to shape the fashion of the future.
Perhaps the most timeless practice of all is curating a style that feels both personal and reflective of your own identity. This was one of the primary principles that McGuire took when styling the Friends characters (Raniwala, 2019). For Rachel, her style evolution coincided with her character development throughout the show’s ten seasons. At any given time, the style which Rachel is representing authentically reflects the character and the life changes she has undergone–from being a newly independent young woman working at Central Perk to a career-driven earner and eventually, a mother. In this evolution we can detect a transition from mini skirts and crop tops to pant suits, and modest clothing (Sollosa, 2019). Despite these changes throughout the character’s evolutions, Rachel Green’s timelessness lies in the persistence of a chic, girly, and polished style, maintaining the presence of button down shirts, tailored dresses, and unique, yet simple pieces.
Part of the desire to attain Rachel’s style is the fact that her wardrobe appears to be realistically attainable. The clothing featured in the television show consist of pieces that the average adult could find in their closet. She sports jeans when she is hanging around the city, she wears suits to work, and is often seen in a mini skirt. These staple pieces do not showcase her style to be extravagant, but elevated in a way that still makes her and her style relatable to viewers: young adults coping with the challenges of early adulthood.
Finally, a large part of Rachel’s style identity lies in her color palette as seen in the show. A consistent style identity can be the key to making your style easily recognizable, and such a guideline exists when it comes to the case of Rachel Green. McGuire states that as she arranged for the characters’ styles, she used the color palette of New York City as a base (grey, black and brown), and added pops of color and texture depending on the character. For Rachel, these pops of color included greens and blues (Snowden, 2019). These color choices helped to create Rachel’s style identity both aesthetically and literally (because why would Rachel Green not be wearing green?) to maintain a consistent look.
It is a culmination of resisting abiding by trends, creating a personal and consistent style, and being a realistic example of a twenty-something year old living in New York City that keeps Rachel Green’s fashion persistent across decades. By taking inspiration from this iconic 1990s television character, we can not only take inspiration from her style, but also adopt the philosophy of a personal and authentic wardrobe she embodies. If we can embrace this philosophy, we can ponder the timelessness of our fashion decisions by asking ourselves: What would Rachel Green wear?
Edited by Ruby Her, Claudia Rothberg, Molly Bloomfield, Galilea Matus and Sophie Radbill
Sources
Parker, E. (2020, April 9). Rachel Green’s Style Is Still Relevant Over 25 Years Later. Glamour. Retrieved October 30, 2025, from https://www.glamour.com/story/jennifer-aniston-friends-style
Raniwala, P. (2019, November 29). Why is Rachel Green's style still relevant today? Friends' costume designer Debra McGuire spills the tea. Vogue India. Retrieved October 30, 2025, from https://www.vogue.in/fashion/content/friends-stylist-debra-mcguire-on-rachel-green-style-ralph-lauren-jennifer-aniston-vogue-india
Snowden, H. (2019, July). The One Where We Talk Styling 'Friends' With Costume Designer Debra McGuire. Highsnobiety. https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/friends-outfits-debra-mcguire-interview/
Sollosi, M. (2019, September 15). How the Friends costume designer created each character's style. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 30, 2025, from https://ew.com/tv/2019/09/15/friends-style-costume-designer-interview/
Timeless Fashion: An Alternative to Fast Fashion. (2023, January 3). State of Matter. https://stateofmatterapparel.com/blogs/som-blog/timeless-fashion-an-alternative-to-fast-fashion?srsltid=AfmBOooNIE3b-GVPcJS9XttLo0dXZuvN-asHw0tgFd-WuN3q5ABkyl8w
