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Jen Luby (email) Jen created YKYLF one day when she realized that while many Gossip Girl fashion sites existed, none cataloged the styles with as much wit as she desired. Perhaps this reveals a deep character flaw, but Jen would rather pick on Blair's headbands than tell people where to buy them. Jen is also the editor-in-chief Second City Soiree, and is a contributing writer for several lifestyle magazines and web sites. She lives in Wicker Park, Chicago with her husband and two dachshunds. You can follow her on Twitter @JenLuby. |
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Ann Foster - Editor, Staff Writer |
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Kate O'Leary - Editor, Staff Writer Recently graduated from college with a degree in Marketing, Kate did the only thing recent marketing grads do: get a job in (wait for it) marketing!!. An anomaly in these times to get a "real" job right after graduating AND in one's chosen degree field, Kate is thankful for the big girl income so she can spend her free time shopping, writing about TV fashions, and doing some more shopping. When not poring over fashion mags, reading historical novels (preferably ones about the Plantagenet Kings and Queens), or figuring out how she can become a PGA Tour wife, you can find Kate sharing her fashion thoughts and trying to be funny on Twitter @KatieElisabeth. |
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Lesley-Anne Steelworthy - Editor, Staff Writer When she's not watching/writing about television, L-A is busy becoming a PR professional and writing for her own blog, Fashionable People, Questionable Things with her friend Ally. Living in the chilly, windy city of Halifax means that headbands and coloured tights are actually practical fashion choices for L-A. You can follow her on twitter @hellopineapples and @FPQT. |
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Steph Au - Shopping Editor, Staff Writer Steph's love of fashion began when a no-uniform day was announced in the second grade. Free from the confines of her green-and-gold uniform, she scoured her mother's Vogue for ideas. Unable to decide, she ultimately showed up to class in pants and a skirt. It can be said that her common sense has improved, and her enthusiasm for fashion has flourished. Steph is a student who considers herself a study in contradictions. A ballerina who plays rugby, pairs her grandmother's ruffled blouse with Moschino, reads voraciously, and spends her Monday nights watching Gossip Girl and obsessing over Blair's shoes. |
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Alyson Grauer - Staff Writer Alyson Grauer was born in the wrong time period, apparently, but has a great love of modern fashion as well as that of decades past. She lives in Rogers Park, Chicago while chasing her dreams as an actor, a writer of fine fiction, and a vintage-inspired admirer of pretty clothing. She plays the ukulele and wishes that breaking out into spontaneous but pre-choreographed dance numbers in public places were a more socially acceptable medium for self-expression.She has an on-again-off-again blog about writing and stuff called Comma-Chameleon but you can follow her more frequently on Twitter: @dreamstobecome. |
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Amanda Smith - Staff Writer Amanda loves Gossip Girl like Chuck loves loud scarves. She jumped at the opportunity to write for YKYLF because blogging about the clothes is much healthier than making snide comments out loud while watching the show alone. Her dog just doesn't get her humor. Amanda is the creator, writer, and sole reader of You Want Me to Wear What?, another fashion blog with a lengthy name. You can follow her on Twitter @AmandaRTubbs. |
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Anne Forman - Staff Writer When she isn't daydreaming about being a Waldorf, Anne enjoys entertaining, drinking gin and tonics, writing, and people watching. Anne has a Chicago street fashion blog called El-No Chicago and a stationary design company called Anink Design. You can follow her on Twitter @ElNoChicago. |
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Anthony Casey - Staff Writer When it comes to television, there are not many programs Anthony won’t watch. And if he happens to come across a box set or marathon, don’t bother trying to reach him. Should you ask Anthony his thoughts on television shows like “Pretty Little Liars”, “Revenge” or “90210”, he’ll proudly state that yes, he does watch them and no, he doesn’t think “Mad Men” has anything to worry about in the Emmy department. For a personal style hero, he finds inspiration in longtime secret girlfriend Rachel Bilson, but transferring it to menswear has resulted in a lot of hats, a lot of t-shirts and definitely more facial hair than Ms. Bilson. Anthony is currently kicking it on the west coast in lovely Vancouver BC, working in advertising and generally being a man about town. If you want to see him embarrass himself, check out his website Details Are Always Vulgar or follow him on Twitter @AntonWilde. If you want to be friends, bring an offering of wine or whiskey - he’s easy to please.
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Bella Hall - Staff Writer While Bella would like to say she's more English than a cup of tea, she actually despises the beverage, so she'll settle for being more English than most and leave it at that. A YouTube misstep led her to Gossip Girl back in the summer of '09, and since then she's transformed from a rucksack toting oddity to a Waldorf in training. She adores stockings, despises leggings and wishes Ed Westwick would sing her Happy Birthday a la Marilyn Monroe. She can usually be found writing, reading, staring fixedly at her favourite shoes or on Twitter as @thevlv. She loves you - really. |
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Bethany Boulden - Staff Writer When Bethany first started watching Gossip Girl, she discovered her alter-ego in a "95-pound, doe-eyed, bon-mot tossing, label-whoring package of girly evil." She and Blair share a fascination with headbands, Louboutins, social destruction and bad boys. Bethany is an aspiring fiction writer, as well as a dedicated disciple of all things fashion. In her spare time, she manages the payroll department at a small CPA firm. Follow her on Twitter at @bethaboo555 and also @ggwatchalong for live comments on current episodes and also for scheduled non-live watchalongs. |
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Carla Borderies - Staff Writer Carla was born in Paris, France, and is currently living in the enormous New York City. She enjoys macarons from Ladurée, looking at designer's new collections online, and loves flipping through Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Marie Claire. She is still a sophomore in high school, but she has huge dreams of attending a European college and becoming a journalist in fashion. |
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Esther Chung - Staff Writer Growing up in Vancouver BC, most of Esther’s life lessons came from Degrassi, which has taught her everything from teenage pregnancy to hoarding. She currently works in Los Angeles in movie advertising and spends her days online shopping and making television references to her male co-workers who don't know what she’s talking about (i.e. signing XOXO Gossip Girl or A on emails). She believes she was Peggy Olsen in another lifetime. When she’s not dreaming of Sweet Valley as a real city, she can be found buying and returning clothes at the mall. |
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Kim Humes - Staff Writer Kim wishes she could say she got hooked on True Blood because of the clever concept and witty one-liners, but it is really because of the yummy line-up of men who are a combination of dreamy + dangerous + muscular (the female-attraction-trifecta). However, Lafayette's pretty scarves and saucy mouth also keep her interested. She is hooked on too many other tv shows to name, and is also hooked on fashion and bluntly sharing her opinion. Kim is a writer and aspiring event-planner/professional communicator based in Halifax. As the other Hali YKYLF writers can attest to, one must be well-versed in fashion snark in order to survive the constant rain, wind and humidity (the threat-to-cuteness-trifecta). You can follow her adventures on her blog Gathers No Moss or on Twitter @KimHumes. |
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Kristina Alto - Staff Writer This is Kristina’s first foray into the blogosphere and she’s excited to dive right in. Her love affair with fashion began when, at the tender age of 6, she preferred to go to a shoe store instead of a toy store. To this day, she’s convinced she has red Louboutin soles running in her veins instead of blood. |
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Lauren Harari - Staff Writer Lauren’s minor girl-crush on Blake Lively may be what initially drew her to Gossip Girl, but she stayed for the long haul to live vicariously through those Upper East Siders. A not-so-self-proclaimed hippie/geek, she loves all things 60’s (especially the Beatles), Star Wars, and can recite any Friends episode you’d like. |
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Lauren Viscomi - Staff Writer Lauren’s love for all things Blair, fashion, and devious antics developed after she began reading the Gossip Girl series in High School. Since then she has graduated from Villanova University, and is currently working in New York City, where she has ample opportunity to people watch and silently (or not so silently) critique the fashion choices of those around her. |
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Matt Solyst - Staff Writer Matt was born in Severna Park, Maryland (a suburb of Annapolis,) and is currently living in Lost Angeles. A pop-culture addict, his favorite TV show is "Mad Men" and his favorite film is "American Beauty." While you may ask why Matt, the frat-boy heterosexual white-boy, is writing for a fashion blog...it helps that his alter ego is the love-child of Blair Waldorf, Chelsea Handler and Mindy Kaling. Matt can reasonably argue why Carrie would've been happier if she had married Aidan, instead of Mr. Big, and then turn around and dissect every tracking shot from, "Goodfellas." Matt is an aspiring writer of TV, film and fiction. Even though he's not famous, you can follow him on Twitter @OldPastureLane |
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Ritchie Po - Staff Writer Ritchie was born the year Annie Hall won the Best Picture Oscar and has tried to dress like Diane Keaton from that movie ever since. He has a penchant for fedoras, pinstripes, vests, chunky boots and big belt buckles over low-rise trousers, all of which he tops with a smart trench. His stylistic choices are also informed by Nikolai Gogol’s classic novella The Overcoat, and his eternal query on questionable couture choices remains, “is that on purpose?” Ritchie likes to feed people and lists 14 of his friends on Facebook as his children, even though most of them are older than he is. When he grows up, he wants to be Tilda Swinton. When not doused in fantasia, Ritchie is a lawyer (yup) in Vancouver, takes language lessons in Spanish, German and Russian, swims, practices Bikram yoga, and writes the arts blog The Artful Blogger. |
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Terry Beasley - Staff Writer Terry is from Boston, Massachusetts. She currently lives in New York City where she works as a teacher. Terry realized she had a small (tiny, really) J.Crew shopping addiction when she began recognizing entire outfits from her own closet on The Mindy Project and New Girl. Terry loves her cat, Dexter, a-line skirts, blue and white stripes, Ryan Gosling, and all things New England. |
