The Stranger Things Fashion Theories Fans Got Right (& Very Wrong)

Spoilers ahead for Stranger Things Season 5.

There are more than two worlds worth exploring in the Stranger Things universe. Of course, there’s the real Hawkins and its parallel dimension, the Upside Down. But the third realm worthy of exploration? The characters’ wardrobes, which typically leave a trail of Easter eggs.

In the days since the first half of the supernatural show’s fifth and final season hit Netflix on Nov. 26, eagle-eyed fans have clocked the tiniest style details, speculating on what they might foreshadow about the characters’ fates. “I love hearing these theories,” costume designer Amy Parris tells Bustle, before confirming one of the biggest ones making waves on TikTok: Eleven’s (Millie Bobby Brown) style inspo.

Fans noticed that Eleven’s training outfit — a gray cropped sweatshirt and matching sweatpants layered under teeny shorts — looked remarkably like Josh Brolin’s character’s in The Goonies, leading many to suspect this was the inspiration. And they’re right. “I loved referencing real fashion trends,” says Parris, who took over the ST costume department by the third season. “It was a blip of a trend, [but] shorts-over-sweats was a thing. That happened.”

Though the Duffer Brothers, the show’s creators, were into the concept, Brown was on the fence. “She was a little wary of it at first,” Parris says. But the outfit was backed by both the narrative and practical logic. It was very different from Eleven’s former ensembles, which, if you’ll recall, were all styled by Max (Sadie Sink). But, as Parris reminds viewers: “Eleven is not with Max to dress her anymore.”

Comfort was also a concern. “I wanted [Millie] in stretchy clothes she could train in. I wanted something warm during winter in Atlanta and something that wasn’t too hot during the summer, because we shot for over a year,” she says, adding, “That outfit checked all the boxes.”

Below, Parris chats through other theories fans got right (and wrong), Maya Hawke’s sweet tribute to Winona Ryder, and the key to decoding Henry’s Boy Scout paraphernalia.

So many looks from Stranger Things have become iconic Halloween costumes. What’s the look from this season you anticipate will have the same impact?

To see Holly the Heroics on Halloween would be so exciting. Seeing Nell Fisher, who’s an incredible Holly, in that golden cape with that blue dress and the red little Boy Scout neckerchief, it’s perfect. I love it so much. Or Derek in his crayon sweater. It’s like the perfect primary color, little kid bully sweater.

I read that the cast had some input on their characters’ clothes. Joe Keery, for example, asked to ditch the Scoops Ahoy handkerchief at some point. Are there any other requests that you gave in to?

This season, for Maya Hawke, we had a beautiful outfit planned from Benetton. And it’s not that she didn’t like the outfit, but she had this great, very last-minute idea, and asked to do a nod to Winona. There’s a picture from the ’90s of Winona in a Tom Waits shirt, with a black belt, denim jeans, and a leather jacket. She’s never had scenes with Winona before, and this season was going to be the first time they were working together. So we did our ode to Winona with a Tom Waits shirt, the leather jacket, the jeans, and the black belt.

If there’s one thing our readers love, it’s a good theory, and there are a lot surrounding the Season 5 costumes apart from Eleven’s. I would love for you to also confirm or deny the following, if possible.

OK.

Theory No. 2: Holly’s look is inspired by Alice in Wonderland.

The script did say “blue dress,” and the Duffers were like, “Well, it doesn’t have to be blue.” But I really liked the blue on her. It sung with her blonde hair. When we were thinking about a cape, red felt too Red Riding Hood, and we didn’t want to lean into that. The golden ochre color feels more vintage and complements that blue dress. I knew Henry would be, as Mr. Whatsit, in that beautiful brown with the red, and that Max would be in green. So, as an ensemble, they look really complementary to each other.

But it wasn’t meant to be Alice in Wonderland. In fact, Gloria Kim, our sketch artist, mocked up a sketch where it was originally white on the edges of the sleeves. That’s when I went, “Oh, it’s too Alice in Wonderland.” So I did clock that it looked a lot like her, but it doesn’t bother me.

Theory No. 3: Max’s look is inspired by the Mad Hatter or Sarah from Labyrinth.

Oh, no. I love that connection, but it’s just meant to be a collection of things she’s grabbed as she’s been running through Henry’s mind and searching for a safe place to land. She’s been there over a year, and to convey that she’s spent a lot of time in the wilderness, I wanted the clothes to feel like a mismatch of a boy shirt and a woman’s blouse, with a boy tank underneath, and some guy jeans, and some boots. It’s supposed to feel haphazardly grabbed. And it’s really meant to be as dirty as it looks.

We spent a lot of time making sure that we could keep the “dirt” on, but they’re actually quite clean. We used Tide’s new boosted Original Liquid Detergent because it was gentle on the clothes and it helped keep the color rich. That allowed us to let Sadie know, “Don’t worry, we are washing your clothes.”

Theory No. 4: Dustin is channeling Eddie by wearing the Hellfire shirt and his ring.

He’s certainly taking fashion cues from Eddie. He’s wearing his Reeboks with the tongue out, like Eddie did. And because he’s grieving, his Reeboks went from clean, bright white to black. He has a “Don’t look at me, I’m in mourning,” trench. We wanted to give him a hat that was a little more somber. He’s not doing any goofy messaging on his hat anymore. He’s really taking things more serious.

Is that Eddie’s ring?

They’re similar rings.

Nancy has previously been compared to Ellen Ripley from Aliens and Sarah Connor from Terminator 2. Who was the inspiration for Nancy this season?

Nancy was her own inspiration. I really wanted to harken back to Seasons 1 and 2, because I hadn’t done fall. Season 3 for me was summer, Season 4 was spring break. So this was an exciting chance to do fall weather. And I really wanted to look back at the silhouettes and the shapes that the original designers did, and give Nancy that cropped jacket that she wears, that raspberry jacket, and then give her an ombré speckled sweater that we knit for her. I was using her original Season 1 and 2 influence as her fashion inspo for Season 5.

When Stranger Things was first released, everyone was still really, really young, and now the cast is fully grown. What was the biggest challenge you faced in making them look like they're still in high school?

Will’s outfits still fit him like a little boy. They’re very tight, the sleeves are a little bit shorter, and the patterns are more juvenile, like bright stripes and stuff that feels more youthful. Will has always been the least mature. He’s a little bit stunted in his growth. And so just keeping him looking the youngest the whole time is what I felt was the strongest storytelling. Staying away from any garments that look like something they’d wear in their personal life helps.

There’s a montage where Holly tries on the outfits at home, and there’s one yellow dress that fans clocked as looking similar to Alice Creel’s dress. Is it her dress?

Yes.

Will it make more sense later in the season?

I plead the Fifth.

Are there any Easter eggs you can share about Henry’s costume and the Boy Scout paraphernalia?

Viewers of the Broadway play, The First Shadow, may understand a little bit more about the Boy Scout of it all. But the nice thing about the play is that you don’t have to watch it to understand what’s going on. And the nice thing about the show is you don’t have to know all of the show to watch the play, but they do connect nicely.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.