Yes, it’s a show about high school kids in New York City. But still, a bunch of 30-somethings tuned in to the Gossip Girl pilot last week—if only to see how the reboot fares against the original.
Based on the series by Cecily Von Ziegesar, the original Gossip Girl aired in 2007, and I daresay it was an instant classic. The titular character is actually a blog that shared stores—mostly secrets—about “the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite.”
I can go on and on about how scandalous the plot lines were, but what I really want to talk about is the show’s true star—the fashion.
Private School Privileged Chic
The original Gossip Girl looks were iconic. Not true, you say? Tell that to the huge collection of bow headbands I had in 2007. These schoolgirls were wearing items fresh off the runway, and cemented Eric Daman as a stylist worth his Upper East Side salt.
And that’s the reason magazines like Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle were doing rundowns of the reboot’s ensembles before the pilot even aired. We wanted to know how Eric Daman was going to bring private school privileged chic into 2021.
Yes, the plot is messy. I don’t even want to go into it.
However, some characters are serving some looks. Yes we do miss the headbands, but the athleisure is so au courant. (That said, I can’t even go into the boys’ outfits—let’s just say, we can sorely feel Chuck Bass’ absence amongst all these Dan Humphrey wannabes.)
So who exactly will we be emulating this season?
Julien Calloway, JC
Photos from Harper’s Bazaar and Teen Vogue
The reboot’s main It girl is, duh, a major fashion influencer. Of course, her style is very on-trend—bringing together athleisure and luxe in a way that made me scream, Blair Waldorf would never.
That said, she throws ensembles together in a very casual-cool way, although it gives off the feeling that the whole effortless chic thing actually requires a lot more effort than people think.
Zoya Lott
Photos from Harper’s Bazaar.
From the get-go, Zoya is established as the series’ morally correct character. JC’s half-sister is a wide-eyed and idealistic freshman, who immediately notices some disturbing behavior from the Constance Billard student body.
With looks that are a lot more down-to-earth than her fellow students’, Zoya’s effortless chic actually does feel effortless—she throws on a hoodie or cozy outerwear over her pleated skirt. She even shows up in the regulation uniform in the first episode, albeit with a headband and Adidas x Beyonce Superstars.
Audrey Hope
Photos from Harper’s Bazaar and Celebs First.
Based on the first episode, Audrey seems like Blair Waldorf 2.0. She’s aggressively clique-ish, and always appropriate, though for how much longer we’ve yet to find out.
Her outfits are a lot more comfort-centric than Blair’s would have been, but hers are the ones closest to the traditional preppy looks—knit vests, stacked heel loafers, and satin bowties abound.
Monet de Haan
Photos from W Magazine, Twitter and Got Celeb.
As JC’s social media manager, Monet runs the show with an iron fist.
She certainly dresses the part of a mini mogul, with structured blazers, miniskirts and pieces worn to make a statement.
Luna La
Photos from Harper’s Bazaar.
To be honest, Luna doesn’t seem to have much going for her in terms of storyline besides being a stylist and following Monet’s lead. But she at least gets to do that looking polished in classic pieces and on-trend designer bags.