The girls of Gossip Girl know where it’s at when it comes to fashion. You wouldn’t expect any less from the top of the rich social elite, especially from Blair Waldorf, daughter of the fictional fashion designer Eleanor Waldorf. Sporting preppy, sleek clothing, the girls of the Upper Eastside know how to make a style statement.

Real life designers have taken note. Fashion lines are scrambling to get their clothes onto the lovely loose-lipped ladies, as big labels on these soon-to-be big stars have started to earn clothing companies big bucks.

According to a recent feature in the New York Times, merchants, designers and trend consultants say that Gossip Girl is a heavy influence on how teen girls with excess money choose what to wear.

“It represents a stylistic departure,” Sari Sloane, the vice president for fashion merchandising for Intermix, told the New York Times. “A move away from a Hollywood look that was very casual and improvised, to something more polished, more big-city chic.”

This preppy, classy style has drawn the eye of many burgeoning fashionistas. Some designers have reported that the day after their clothing is featured on Gossip Girl, teen girls stop by their stores scrambling to procure a piece of the label for themselves. Though many designers don’t pay for the exposure -- the clothing is picked by Eric Daman, Gossip Girl’s costume designer -- some designers are indeed paying for the privilege to be seen by Gossip Girl’s eager young audience.

Fittingly for new style mavens like Blair and Serena van der Woodsen, their respective actresses have been tapped for high profile magazine covers. Blake Lively, who portrays Serena, has been on an impressive three covers this month, including Seventeen, Cosmopolitan and even Vogue.

Not to be outdone, Leighton Meester (Blair) has procured her own cover spot for the August issue of Lucky. Fittingly, she told the magazine, “I love my life right now. The fashion alone is pretty unbelievable.”

Will this Gossip Girl fashion love spread to guys as well, creating armies of little Chuck Bass clones running around in dolphin sweaters and bright orange ascots? Only time will tell. For now, get ready to salivate over the brand new fashion and gasp at all the jaw-dropping drama when Gossip Girl returns for its second season September 1 on the CW.


- , BuddyTV Staff Writer
Source: New York Times, Lucky Magazine
(Photo courtesy of Lucky Magazine)