The Fabulous Style of Blake Lively

Blake Lively was born in Tarzana, California on August 25, 1987, with a destiny to grow up and become an actress. In fact, both of her parents and all four siblings are in the enternainment industry. She was homeschooled as a young child, and as luck would have it, her future Gossip Girl co-star Penn Badgley was one of her classmates. She then attended Burbank High School where she was in National Show Choir, a cheerleader, and senior class president.

Although Blake was initially interested in attending Stanford University, she was bitten by the acting bug right before her senior year of high school. It was then, after attending only two auditions, that she landed the role of Bridget for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. She was nominated for a Teen Choice Award for this role. Her film career then began to flourish after that when she starred in Accepted, Simon Says, Elvis and Anabelle, and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.

After all of this movie success, Blake Lively landed the role of her life when she was cast as Serena van der Woodsen on the CW's Gossip Girl. Blake does a very good job of standing out among her co-stars on Gossip Girl with her unique fashion sense paired with classic American girl good looks. Here is a photo of Serena van der Woodsen bundled up in a black coat while carrying a Burberry Prorsum Warrior bag.

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And here is the fabulous Blake Lively in a photo shoot for The New York Times, decked out in a Kooba jacket, James Perse sweater, Stella McCartney pants, Chanel shoes, and a Gucci bag.

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Even on the red carpet, Blake Lively manages to look trendy whether she's dressed up, or casual.

Blair Waldorf...Sassy but Stylish

For the past few years, Gossip Girl has been more than an obsession for me. It's been a way of life. It all started when I first read the Gossip Girl books by Cecily von Ziegesar. I think I was in 8th grade or something. Anyway, I was completely enthralled in the drama and intrigue of Manhattan's elite teenagers. I have to be honest, as I was reading the books I hated, hated, hated Blair Waldorf. Now that I'm all grown up, I sorta admire this lewd, spiteful character. Probably because there are many times when I wish I could mouth off to everyone but unlike Ms. Waldorf, I would get in trouble.

Back to my story. I believe it was around January of last year when I first heard that they were going to make Gossip Girl into a TV show on the CW. I almost passed out. I was excited to see this amazing series of stories played out on TV, but most of all, I was excited to finally see the characters' faces. In case you didn't know this, the covers of all of the Gossip Girl novels make it a point to keep the characters' faces hidden. I guess it's supposed to stimulate the imagination or something, but I'm a very visual person and I was just glad to finally be able to put faces to all of the names and personalities.

By now it should be pretty obvious that Blair is my favorite character, and Leighton Meester does not disappoint in her portrayal of this diva. I really think the producers of the show did a perfect job of casting Meester to play Blair because her whole look reeks of the preppy, posh, cosmopolitan persona. After just one look at Meester as Blair, you can just tell how snobby and elitist the character is.

Besides her personality, Blair Waldorf is known for her impeccable style. Everything she wears looks like it's straight off the runways of Milan. For this reason, I must say that the clothes define this character.

Here she is during the Thanksgiving episode "Blair Waldorf Must Pie" in a Marc Jacobs mini dress ($482.00), black pantyhose, Marc Jacobs pumps, and a black leather clutch.

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Here's an example of how contagious the Blair Waldorf signature style is. Notice that Blair's have essentially copied the Waldorf look: prep school uniform, chic jacket, headband, and a cute bag to pull it all together.

...And again, the quintessential Blair look: plaid peacoat, tights, flats, headband, and a trendy bag.

For the Season one finale episode, Blair changes things up a bit and wears color! This could be attributed to the fact that it's finally spring in NYC in Gossip Girl land, or maybe it's because Serena's mother has a floral-themed wedding during this episode. Regardless, Blair is wearing a Diane von Furstenberg jacket ($219.00), Marc Jacobs top ($188.00), Stuart Weitzman shoes ($213.00), and a Gucci handbag ($1,595.00).

Back to classic Blair. This nautical-themed outfit is also from the finale episode, and it features Ms. Waldorf in her favorite colors: red, white, and blue. The dress is Bettie Page ($125.00), the bag is Louis Vuitton ($345.00), the hat is by Eric Javitz($150.00), and the shoes are Yves Saint Laurent. (Photo: JustJared.com)