Gone With the Will - Part 1 of 3 - The Good

Chuck buckles down and sits down with good ol' Uncle Jack for a reading of Bart's will. All good intentions aside, Blair interferes and tries to bolster him up with her own belief, but of course, we all know it won't be enough. Not exactly helping is Jack's plan to completely discredit Chuck in front of the Bass Industries board. Meanwhile, Lily and Rufus are still in Boston, unsuccessfully trying to locate their son, and with Nelly Yuki, a bit of stealth, and Vanessa's big mouth, their secret finally hits the Upper East Side.

I've waxed rhapsodic enough about Blair's school uniforms enough, but I can't help myself here.



Her plaid suit with fitted pencil skirt and crisp white blouse is straightforward enough, but the deep plum coat and black quilted bag add some great touches.



If you look closer, the plaid of the suit fabric is rich and textured.

When Blair throws a brunch to support Chuck's new inheritance of Bass Industries, she reserves the entire plate of eclairs for her man and shows up looking fabulous.



Another fitted skirt, this one a heather gray, paired with a beautiful white silk printed blouse.



And really, how stunning does her hair look here?

I never thought I would be adding Vanessa to a "Best of" list.  Usually a mainstay of the "Worst Dressed" list, I have to guess that maybe her proximity to the A list is finally beginning to rub off on her.



Whenever Vanessa is successful at making her Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat approach work, it's because she's smart at mixing patterns, and she includes a neutral that balances the whole look out.  The awesome coat she's wearing tones down the pattern of her skirt and the tights, and sets off the gorgeous striped scarf she's wearing.



Plus, major props on the hair, her makeup is understated and gorgeous, and most shocking of all, I love her silver hoop earrings.

Unlike Vanessa, it's not at all a surprise to see Chuck dressing well.  This outfit in particular I think is a harbringer to come, especially in Season 3, when he goes all "Wall Street."  But it still contains a lot of the flair that makes Chuck Bass, Chuck Bass.



This would be a fairly staid gray suit, light blue shirt combination, but the red striped tie adds just enough color, and even ties in with his mustard yellow pocket square.



His khaki trench with black piping adds just the right dandified touch.

Little Eric is really taking a page from his elder stepbrother's style book.



I love this double breasted jacket with the shawl collar.  Sophisticated details but not overdone for someone of Eric's age.

And for Blair's brunch, Eric does color matching like a pro, pairing an ivory and tan striped shirt with this gorgeous red and gray sweater.

Serena nails one outfit out of the park this episode--this amazing coat and her even more amazing turquoise knee-length boots.  I'm not going to lie, I'd probably commit at least a misdemeanor for those boots.



Plus, her double-breasted military-inspired jacket paired with the gray scarf is very flattering on her.



Her gold woven bag is just hideous though, and completely the wrong choice for this outfit. But I suppose we've come to expect S to sport at least one beachwear item per outfit, even on the coldest of NYC days.