The 11 Most Stylish Mothers and Daughters TV Has Ever Seen

Like real-life mother-daughter dynamics, the best relationships between moms and their kids on TV are complex, loving, and, yes, often very entertaining. And as it happens, one of the best ways to help tell a story about the relationship between moms and daughters is through their clothes.

From Lorelai and Rory on Gilmore Girls — whose outfit-swapping was often written into the show! — to Betty and Sally Draper on Mad Men and Rainbow and Zoey on Black-Ish, these characters have enviable wardrobes that help illustrate how the characters are relating to one another at that point in time — and in many cases, the incredible costuming makes the wardrobe almost a main character itself. Keep scrolling to see the most stylish TV moms and daughters ever.

Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, Gilmore Girls

The coolest mother and daughter in Stars Hollow have become a streaming mainstay thanks to their quick-witted banter — and early-aughts New England style.

As Rory, Alexis Bledel was preppy with a dash of Delia*s catalog, with a strong focus on cozy knits (see: Rory Gilmore Fall). Lorelai (Lauren Graham) was a bit more trend-focused, but in her own, offbeat way. “The whole premise of Lorelai was that she would look through fashion magazines and see something and then recreate it in her own style,” costume designer Brenda Maben told Fashionista. “I really concentrated on not [dressing her in] what everybody else wears.”

Ginny and Georgia Miller, Ginny and Georgia

On the Netflix series, now in its third season, the pair couldn’t have more opposite styles…or could they? As costume designer Julia Patkos previously told PEOPLE, when we last left them in season 2, Ginny (Antonia Gentry) was in the midst of a style evolution that has her looking more like Georgia (Brianne Howey) than ever before.

Ginny started out with a more “grungy, rebellious look,” but she moved into an “emo period” to reflect her character arc. By the end of the season her style is “unique, like a younger version of her mom,” according to Patkos.

Charlotte, Lily, and Rock Goldenblatt, And Just Like That…

Despite Charlotte’s early insistence on matching Oscar de la Renta for herself and her children, it’s clear on AJLT that Lily and Rock both have styles — and personalities — all their own. Rock even gets a modeling gig for Ralph Lauren, simply by being themself. Despite everything changing around her, Charlotte’s style is as Upper East Side-chic as ever in her Mom Era. Case in point: her Burberry apron, which costume designers Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago had made for a baking scene.

Wednesday and Morticia Addams, Wednesday

A lot of thought went into the iconically creepy and kooky characters’ new looks on the Netflix show, courtesy of Academy Award-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood.

“We wanted to establish something new about Wednesday’s look this time around and kind of make her different from what we’ve seen before but still truthful to the character,” Jenna Ortega said of her character’s update, adding that the creative team “tried different plait lengths, no fringe, fringe, hair colors” to get the final look right.

Although it’s called Wednesday, Morticia’s (Catherine Zeta-Jones) presence looms large. “In season 2 she’ll have a lot of looks, so it will be really fun to see what Morticia does when she’s out of the dress and into around-the-house looks,” Atwood told Variety.

Moira and Alexis Rose, Schitt’s Creek

Even in financial ruin, the Roses are dressed for a red carpet. Matriarch — and former soap actress — Moira’s style is all about daytime drama. “She dresses up for any occasion and will never let go of who she was, who she really is, and who she needs to be again,” Catherine O’Hara told Vanity Fair of her character’s style. (After all, her favorite season is “awards.”)

Alexis’s fashion sense, on the other hand, had more boho influencer-heiress vibes, with Instagram-ready dresses and loads of accessories. And don’t worry, Annie Murphy still has the purple babydoll dress from “A Little Bit Alexis” — though she told Harper’s Bazaar she “will never ever wear” it IRL.

Rainbow and Zoey Johnson, Black-Ish and Grown-Ish

With Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross) and Zoey (Yara Shahidi), costume designer Michelle Cole had the unique opportunity to bring their respective styles into multiple shows in the -Ish universe.

A style icon in every sense, Ross was the most involved in dressing her character, according to the costume designer. And while Shahidi is also a fashion lover, her character is more laid back. “I don’t think [Zoey] thinks about her wardrobe. It’s how she feels on that day and at that moment,” costume designer Cole told Fashionista.

Rose Weissman and Midge Maisel, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

As much as they butt heads, Rose and Midge have one very important thing in common: a love of fashion — especially headwear. And for the actors, getting into costume helped them feel more connected to their characters. “Rachel and I had talked about the fact that sometimes, when she puts those hats on, she feels more like Midge,” costume designer Donna Zakowski told Backstage.

Marin Hinkle, who played Rose, had similar feelings: “The first season, Rose had a kind of muted quality,” Hinkle told Page Six. “And then by the second season, they dressed me in these more vibrant colors and more youthful styles. And that dictates a kind of way you can be as a performer where you literally are putting something on and sort of 90% of the work is done.”

Betty and Sally Draper, Mad Men

The ‘60s-set show had incredible costumes — and like everything on this drama, the clothes all held a deeper meaning.

Betty (January Jones) had a wardrobe inspired by Grace Kelly as well as costume designer Janie Bryant’s own grandmother. “It was all about the facade of perfection. Betty worked so hard at it. She is the ultimate WASP,” Bryant told rogerebert.com. “Everything was based on what she looked like, and that can never be fulfilling. But we can enjoy the prettiness.”

The show also made an instant style icon out of then child star Kiernan Shipka, who played Sally. “Janie was the person who told me style could tell a story,” Shipka told Byrdie in 2023. “That to me is such a beautiful piece of advice. It might sound simple, but she continued to reiterate that the things that I was wearing meant something. It’s not just about clothes looking good. I haven’t ever forgotten that.”

Lily and Serena Van Der Woodsen, Gossip Girl

They share similar blonde hair and soft spots for Humphrey men, but this mother-daughter duo’s senses of style were polar opposites. Serena (Blake Lively) is the epitome of downtown effortless chic, while Lily (Kelly Rutherford) is classic uptown elegance.

“Eric Daman, our costume designer, was so spectacular and inventive, and he really took that idea to the next level of characters really having a look,” Lively told Vogue of the brainchild behind the show’s iconic costumes. “They were almost caricatures of themselves, they had such a distinct look and fashion. And I just find that so inspiring. To this day, I bring that with me to every character.”

Lisa Landry, Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell, Sister, Sister

Tia and Tamera were so iconic in the ‘90s, they made everyone want to have an identical twin — and a mother figure as cool and funny as Lisa. But having lookalike main characters brought up an interesting challenge when it came to the show’s clothing.

“The producers wanted to make sure that the audience could tell the difference between them, but they also still had to have some similarities as twins,” costume designer Ceci told Huffpost in honor of the show’s anniversary. “So what I needed to do each wardrobe change was to connect them in some way, whether it was with color stylistically, fabrications, textures…but I always had to play with that dichotomy of making sure that Tia looks like Tia and Tamera looks like Tamera, but they still look like twins.”

Cora, Mary, Edith, and Sybil Crawley, Downton Abbey

Fashion was always top of mind for the ladies of Downton. “I really tried to get the difference between the three girls,” the show’s original costume designer Susannah Buxton told Time in 2012. “For Lady Sybil I tried to show she is more of a free spirit — slightly bohemian for her time, and not so interested in high-end fashion. Her style is slightly more individualist.” 

On the other hand, one of the inspirations for Mary was Coco Chanel herself: “Lady Mary is very much high-end fashion. The Crawley family has got money, so they go to London, which already has big department stores. And since her mother, the Countess of Grantham, is American, I tried to show both of them as very keen on the latest fashions,” Buxton said.

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