Gossip Girl: New York, I Love You XOXO

Part 2 of 3: Plus ça change, plus ç'est la même chose

Has anything really changed over the years? I mean, other than than the style of the clothes. Remember waaaay back when Eric was locked in the Ostroff Centre (now the Pedowitz Institute) and Lily's all, "I don't care if it's a Murakami...someone get me a drink." Well, minus the inconveniently suicidal child, Lily still has that attitude and style.

Gorgeous as always, but not really the picture of a woman who just lost her husband for the second time. Although, I guess on your fifth marriage it's more practical than about true love. She does know that she should wear a bit of black to indicate to the media that she cares about Bart's death. I love the black lace top and the giant black earrings. 

And as always, I love her hair.

I do not love anything happening on William vdW here. That coat is the colour of a potato and shaped like a sack. His exile from the UES has done him no favours. I honestly don't know what Lily and Ivy saw in him.

Poor Ivy. Despite being the jilted lover, she's looking all kinds of amazing in that red with the structured grey jacket and pattered tights.

But no matter how good she looks these days or how much money she has, she's just not ready for this crowd. Player got played on that one. I guess that explains the weird romance she had with William.

Although I'm not sure Georgina is buying that plot line.

Now there is a power couple if ever I saw one. I mean, really. Jack tried to ruin his nephew, was exiled and is now back (only because his brother is dead) to help his nephew get married to avoid the long arm of the law. 

And Georgina? Girlfriend personifies scheme.

It's probably ten in the morning and she's already in full body armour. Trusting a woman who dresses in all metallics, all the time, is kind of like trusting that dude with the face tattoos. He might stab you, she might stab you in the back. And you should have seen that coming.

How do you accessorize all those spikes and sequins?

Giant. Ass. Jewelry. That's how.

It's funny, we gave Vanessa such a hard time for overdoing it, but we're totally okay with Georgina. Maybe we just appreciate Georgina's moxie more.

Speaking of Vanessa, how is she doing these days?

Same old, same old boho self, plus one mid-century modern kitchen. Maybe one or two fewer necklaces, so I can only assume she's been reading YKYLF since leaving to go do whatever it is she did. I can't remember since Dan literally never speaks of his childhood BFF. 

On the subject of Brooklyn, when the news of Dan's online treachery broke, Rufus broke out his best trophy husband leftovers for a round of son-shaming.

The cowl neck! Oh how we didn't miss those sweaters. And so many patches! It's like he's going to go hunting with the cast of Downton Abbey. And as always, he accessorizes with a look of righteousness and judginess. 

Sage dressed like she's thinking of making a move to Brooklyn. Her brown plaid frumpy dress and chartreuse cardigan are equal parts Early Dan plus Girls hipster-adjacent style.

If the series hadn't come to an end, I'd want to send a note to Eric Daman about how we don't need this. Since the teenage troublemaker won't be a part of our lives anymore, I'll give her snaps for her outerwear - she's the winner of that catergory for this episode.

I love the plaid coat and the brown wedge boots. Well done, kiddo. You make your man-child boyfriend so much more interesting.

Something he can't do for himself.

Yep. That's Nate. Grey shirt, black tie, no clue. Best moment for him was when he thought it was a good idea to tell the cop his girlfriend is a minor. We've said it before, and we'll say it again: it's a good thing he's pretty.

As the truth came out about Gossip Girl, our friends on the UES needed a good, stiff drink.

And wasn't it about time that someone served Dorota?? I think we all enjoyed seeing her order from Jack. She knows who belongs and who doesn't.

But the Scooby Gang weren't the only ones surprised. Cameo upon cameo of former minor characters (Lola! Juliet! Agnes! Mayor Bloomberg!) expressed their shock. Our favourite was how Bell and Bilson took the news.

"Gossip Girl is real??" You bet your ass she is, Rachel.

Gossip Girl: It's Really Complicated

Part 2 of 2 - The Successes

As for those steadily improving Gossip Girl characters, the list isn't really a surprising one. By the end of six seasons, you know who can dress and who only gets lucky once in awhile.

Blair finally begins to grow up (sartorially...not emotionally) and, for the first episode in a long time, appears in pants. Specifically, a gorgeous gray tweed pantsuit.



The black detailing at the waist reminds us just how tiny she is, and the burst of blues and purples courtesy of the Gucci blouse is so flattering. Our Thanksgiving wish for her is better hair. What happened? The ghosts of Thanksgivings past tell us it once had volume and lustre. 

I think even Blair knows it to be true. I can only assume that's why the sour face. Or maybe it's because her emotionally distant and drunk true love is being, well, emotionally distant and drunk. 

Despite the hair, it's nice to see a grown-up side of Blair. And since she's still Blair, she finds the perfect accessory in a iridescent flower pin on her lapel.

Unfortunately, all is not so golden.

First, she insists on slipping on this wallpaper-print coat in clashing whites and golds.



This actually looks like a housecoat my grandmother owned in the sixties. She's really dropped the ball on outerwear. It used to be one of her talents. The kind of talent you could take to the bank and add to your LinkedIn profile. Not so much anymore. 

Second, she pulls out one of the most offensive and just plain bizarre outfits she's ever worn on GG. And I mean ever. 



Whaaaat? Yeah, I don't get it either. I guess she was trying to forcibly jerk (shock?) Chuck out of his Bart-induced scotch haze? The thing is, it's not like Blair doesn't know how to lure Chuck to bed. This was not only unnecessary, it was tacky. And potentially using jewelry Vanessa left behind before she went whrever it is she was exiled. 

But if you think the top is a bit much, take a gander at the full ensemble (yes, there's more). 



Oh yeah. Definitely tacky. Wacky, like Blair, but also missing that important factor of class that we've always associated with her.

Dorota doesn't know what to make of all this.



Us either, Dorota.  But I'm glad to see you broke out your Thanksgiving themed uniform.

Sage may be a newbie to our little show, but she's got sophistication in spades, at least for a national holiday.



Let's get to know her a little better. When not debuting, scheming, stripping at fashion shows, dating older men and airing sex tapes at society functions, Sage loves walking the streets of Manhattan in awesome khaki trenches with embroidery details.



Plus, like any self respecting young woman with more money than she knows what to do with, she's busy perfecting the Van der Woodsen talent of Wearing Very Heavy Earrings. This Sage, she's a force to be reckoned with.



Underneath the coat, she's not quite as classy, but still, her evergreen bandage dress is flattering enough, and she managed not to overdo the costume jewerly.

Serena's ex-almost-fiancé Steve is more pathetic than anything else, but he's included here because we feel sorry for him.



One of many (many) to have loved and lost Serena, he seems to be lost and confused. Possibly because he also thought food came from a catering truck. It also seems like he's so confused that he's taken to dressing poorly. The shirt looks bunchy under his coat, like it might not even fit him all that well (in his grief has he lost weight? Because he should know enough to get a fitted shirt) and the camel coat is just plain lazy. Maybe Serena's love is poisonous to the opposite sex -- after all, Dan doesn't seem to faired all that well either. They do say the female of the species is more deadly than the male. 

Feeling sorry for himself and generally giving up on life, Chuck is really suffering after losing the evidence to lock his father up once and for all.



Been there, done that. Amirite? I mean, if I had a nickel for every time my step mom tossed the damning microfiche in the fire.... It's no wonder he wishes all the glasses in his penthouse were bottomless. And they possibly are. 

He looks marginally better upright (but still with trusty glass in hand). Since this is Chuck, his pajamas are a sumptuous black satin with a subtle maroon trim. Very nice. The man does know how to feel sorry for himself with a touch of class.

Of course, we know how well Chuck cleans up. He's the one character you can count on fairly consistently to look great and event-appropriate, even if he is completely in the bag after two bottles of scotch. Plus, he really knows how to dress for fall.



The brown three-piece suit is gorgeous, and his red bowtie the perfect accompaniment (unless, maybe, we're counting Blair).  Even his hair has finally grown out from his unfortunate incident with the clippers.

Despite being all kinds of underhanded, it's kind of hard to stick Bart Bass in with the losing side.  He's such a perennial winner.



His clothes aren't all that interesting, but for the look he's going for--cold, hard-hearted businessman--he dresses flawlessly. He's even wearing a palette of icy blue and gray, his exterior emphasizing the barren wasteland within. Everything about him exudes power and ice and general hatred for his spawn. 

She might not have made it to the beach as planned, but Lily Rhodes van der Woodsen Mueller Bass Humphrey Bass is usually another high point during the holiday season on Gossip Girl, and this year is no exception.



Not the most fantastic dress she's ever worn, but it fits beautifully and the weft of the fabric adds a little visual interest. Love her gold knot earrings. Small by usual Rhodes girl standards, they're a nice touch. 

Definitely a lot more going on with the outfit Lily slips into for dinner.  



There's a lot of sequins on this dress, maybe even more than Serena would dare to wear. Totally what you wear for a meal at home with the kids and not at all at odds with Dan's v-neck and chest hair running wild and free. With the heavy sequins adding a bit of bulk, Lily does need the waist definition that the bow sash gives her, but it's a little incongruous with the top and bottom. We'll give this an A for effort, but not much more. However, the patented giant Lily earrings? How many of us would love access to Lily's spectacular earring collection? Her jewelry box must be the most magical place on earth. 

Gossip Girl: Save The Last Chance

Part 1 of 2: The Queen B and The Five Families

I think we need to have a little pow wow with the writers. The end of the series is not the time to start throwing in strange plot twists and weird relationships. Also… microfilm?! Isn't that a touch outdated? Will next week's episode have the cast sending telegraphs and listening to gramophones? I digress… 

Craziness is running rampant on the UES. Serena and Dan appear to be in a committed relationship, but want to "make amends" with all of their frenemies before going public. Serena and Blair become besties (again) and cook up a scheme involving high schoolers (again). At least this scheme ends in Blair's professional success. Dan darts around town asking for forgiveness but he keeps getting in the way of all of the ridiculous scheming going on. Ivy and William vdW are an item and are trying to take Lily down (at the request of Lola). Using the microfilm, Ivy tries to entice Bart and Chuck to turn on Lily. Meanwhile, poor, sweet Nate gets blackmailed by Bart.

Look at these love birds! I'm happy that Dan and Serena are back together and I think their twin bed head is adorable. I'm not sure that I understand why they need to "make amends" before going public with their relationship status. But I guess they can't stay in bed all day. 

If I were going to go groveling back to a friend whom I have hurt, this is exactly the outfit that I would wear (minus the black bra that you can see through Serena's sweater. But what kind of day would it be if S wasn't drawing attention to the girls?). I like the Joseph color block sweater that she has paired with the T by Alexander Wang inverted neoprene skirt. The piece de resistance is the fabulous striped Fendi handbag. Serena looks ladylike and appropriate. **checks sky for flying pigs**

Pattern mixing is challenging, but Blair does it well with her daytime look. The small scale silver dots on her tie neck blouse play well with the large medallions on her A-line skirt. Topped off with a black cardigan and signature headband… someone is getting her groove back!  

More Kate Spade...

Nelly Yuki can suck it.  Blair is not the fashion version of a tween (too old to be Queen B and too young to be an established designer). Dorota clearly agrees with me. 

What's a Serena and Blair reunion without a good scheme? The two decide to trick Sage into believing that S and Steven are back together in order to drive her into Blair's arms for assistance. It works and Sage agrees to get the heads of the "Five Families" together. Once the private girl's school Dons convene, they agree to attend Blair's fashion debut. 

The B for Waldorf collection debut is a sea of preptastic tartan.  I just love it. 

You know what else I love? Blair's Alexander McQueen plaid tiered dress! She accessorizes it well with a red head band, red lip, Louis Vuitton tassel necklaces, and her Christian Louboutin plaid pumps. Coco Chanel once said that you should remove an accessory before leaving the house and I wish that Blair had taken that advice and removed the gold embellished cuff. It distracts from her otherwise amazing look. 

And then the Dons show up. Let's ignore Sage's too short skirt paired with boots for a moment. Can we talk about Don Brearley? The Brearley tuition is over $38,000 a year. Surely the school can spring for a stylist to help the girls wear red (their school hue) with a little more prudence. At the very least they might want to rethink their approach to the "colors" section in art class. I'm not sure how coral, red, pale pink, and magenta go together, but she's sure trying with those cray Pretty Polly tights.

Fortunately for Blair, all the Dons love the collection. Fingers crossed that Don Brearley went home with some neutral garments. 

Maybe B could sit her down and give her some advice on colored tights. 

I'm glad Nelly Yuki was there to document Blair's success and her impressive use of tartan.  

Suck it, Nelly Yuki. We're Blair fans over here at YKYLF.

From this angle, it looks like Serena is offering supportive words to her dear friend Blair. 

But from this angle, we can see that Serena wore her subtle sequined S&M ensemble to the launch of B's junior line. This Peter Pilotto dress is 50 Shades of inappropriate for the occasion. Serena does get fashion points for the high pony and embellished Valentino clutch. Regardless, she still looks like a walking kinky craigslist ad. 

Serena's glittery dominatrix dress seems well-suited to the bedroom. After a long day of amend making, Dan and Serena are ready to relax. Once S leaves to slip into something a little less Barbarella-esque, Dan can unwind with his chest hair baring v-neck and a quick call from Georgina.

Wait. What?

Apparently Dan is actually writing a Serena chapter for his Vanity Fair piece. This relationship is all an act! Dan may have developed an antisocial personality disorder. And I've got a feeling this is going to send S into another spiral of blackmail, drugs, and train rides to upstate New York when she finds out.  

Gossip Girl: High Infidelity

Part 2 of 3 - Antics and Ateliers

I always knew Blair and I had more in common than our keen sense of preptastic fashion and snarky tongues. Apparently we both use sleeping masks to get the maximum amount of shut eye. While not the most flattering color, these pjs are cute too.

And B had better be bright eyed and bushy tailed because it is WWD Day! Which is kind of like D Day, except that instead of in Normandy, this battle is taking place at the Waldorf Atelier and involves an interview with Women's Wear Daily. Godspeed, Blair Bear.

While Blair was off being fabulous in Paris, Dorota to decorated and staffed Waldorf Designs. I didn't realize that Dorota had such a discriminating sense of interior design. She channeled Dorothy Draper with a little bit of Jonathan Adler thrown into the mix. Does Dorota have a Pinterest account? If so, I'd like to follow her. 

Oh, but the staffing component fell to the wayside. Time to call in the Minions! Do you think the Waldorf Designs employee manual requires staff members to wear headbands at all times? It's the only way I can figure why the Minions and Blair are straight-up vintage GG.  

Do not adjust your screens. These ladies are doing neon, pattern mixing, embellishments, and statement jewelry… all at the same time. I think they got loose in the sample closet at Marie Claire. While their looks are totally overdone, I really like the necklaces.

Especially this Assad Mounser mega necklace. Stun-ning. 

Enter Nelly Yuki. 

Nelly, the Minion who got away, is crushing it. She graduated early from Yale, has a fabulous job at a coveted fashion daily, AND has shiny hair. Everything a girl could want! Except for the wee case of Blair induced PTSD and night terrors re: "tights are not pants." 

Nelly was sent by WWD to write an article called "Society Goes Sartorial" that will feature Blair and socialite Poppy Lifton. Unfortunately for Blair, Nelly seems to be shooting daggers through her oversized glasses and Poppy used the same fabric for her debut collection. Blair has 99 problems and her love life ain't one.

You know what is one of her problems? The fact that Eric Daman hates her. What is this outfit?! 

I want to love the cream colored cap sleeve peplum jacket. The fit is very current and I think it would look killer if paired with the right bottom. Sadly, the pastel Alice + Olivia pleated number is not the right accompaniment. Blair looks like she is headed to an afternoon rendezvous with the Easter Bunny. The multi-colored metallic Louboutins only make it worse.

And then we have the headband. The embellished headband that looks like product of a crafternoon at JoAnn Fabrics. Blair deserves better than that. She practically invented the headband!

This is all just wrong... and so is Chuck's new haircut, but I'll get to that in part 3.

After her scheme to destroy her competitor's pieces went south, Blair was forced to fight clean. She hired an actual team of designers and seamstresses and tasked them with creating a new collection in ten days. Quite the task, but I can tell B is up for the challenge. 

And look! She's so much more much more savvy and sophisticated in this Marc by Marc Jacobs dress. The neckline and waistline proportions are perfect for her frame, and her hair even looks more professional. Ladies and Gentlemen, it's a new day chez Waldorf!

Con Heir - Part 1 of 2 - The Good

Chuck invites Jack to town to thank him for saving his life, but finds the trip doesn't go exactly as planned (does anything ever go as planned on the UES?). Blair and Dan attempt to consummate their new relationship - but unexpected roadblocks get in their (oh-so-young-and-sexy) way. Meanwhile, Chivy finds an unlikely ally in William van der Baldwin in her quest to be accepted on the Upper East Side, and Nate (who yet again has a terribly boring storyline) is hopeful a new investor will save his newspaper.

Ok gossip boys and girls, time to draw a line in the sand. We've drawn it before and it must be done again.

What line is that you speak of?

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

What side did our Gossip Girl characters end up on? Let's start with the good...

Here is Blair is a Studio54/Georgina Sparks inspired bronze raincoat. That raincoat is so fabulous, that rain just doesn't fall and splash on it - it DANCES on her. She literally has thousands of rain drops doing the Hustle on her raincoat. Game. Set. Fabulous.

Wowsers! While I could dedicate an entire post to this one outfit, I'm going to focus on the smaller things, like the black lace on Blair's hips - very Immaculate Collection Madonna and loving it.

Her outfit is getting Dan so hot under the collar, that his plaid shirt's about to catch fire (which, to be honest, is something our staff room would often like to do - burn Dan's wardrobe and start from scratch). We just went from Lonely Boy to Horny Boy!

Instantly, Dan's attire improves with his newfound confidence.

That blazer and unbottoned dress shirt says, "Have you seen Blair? Yeah, she's mine. Bam! Take that Chair fans!"

Drunk!Blair, sporting a classy black top, is also brimming with lingerie-confidence.

They say opposites attract. Apparently so do 20-something UES hormones.

Chuck always gives such great face! Almost as good as La Ricci.

This falls under the "Good" column due to the matching purple tie and handkerchief. His committment to purple never falters and we salute him for it. 

Dorota's apartment!

Loving the bowl of green apples on her table, very motherly. But what's up with that interesting looking vase and wall-print? Is Darota's apartment the unknown final secret resting place of King-Tut? He was, afterall, born in Arizona and then moved to Babylonia (aka, the UES).

Can Lily seriously ever do wrong?

I think if she wore a potato sack, you would see it in Saks Fifth Avenue the very next day. And loving her three-piece necklace and sequined gown. Too bad it clases with the exposed brick chic of the Brooklyn loft. Also, dig the ring that's almost the size of the kettle.

And for extra points in our "Good" column, Lily does the near impossible - making the dull and boring color that is grey and turning it into a classy and chic top.

I think we found the original inspiration for the racy novel, "50 Shades of Grey." If Dan ever decides to go back to his monochrome grey days, he should talk to Lily first.

And now that you've seen the good, it's time for the bad and ugly...