Style Lessons from Gossip Girl.

STYLE LESSONS FROM THE QUEENS OF THE UPPER EAST SIDE.

and..um, Brooklyn.

I recently decided to start watching Gossip Girl again as something easy to "pop on" in the evenings while I got dinner ready and stuff..and obviously I got really obsessed with it again and watched all of it back to back, much to the annoyance of my poor boyfriend. 

I mean even though it annoys me that *SPOILER ALERT* stupid Dan Humphrey is Gossip Girl and they're all instantly ok with it (and ignore the fact that he reacts to posts when he's alone) it's still just so good, and the fashion is bloody GREAT. I think I love it more every time I watch. They've made everyone have such individual style, while all the outfits tie together so well.

So in the spirit of making more of an effort (because half of the outfits they wear to bed are nicer than my best clothes) I thought I'd put together a post of lessons we can learn from them.

BLAIR WALDORF

Ohhh QUEEN B (the original, sorry Bey) Now I know this might be controversial, as Serena is generally deemed the queen of fashion, and hair, and pouting, and everything else really, but Blair was always my favourite and I'm so inspired by her wardrobe (headbands aside). The "dictator of taste" mixes colours and prints perfectly, and always hits just the right level of clashing co-ordination. When I'm wondering if a combination is a bit too "out there" I often find myself thinking WWBWD. 

And I mean..let's bow down to the Elie Saab Couture wedding dress. And don't forget that TIGHTS ARE NOT PANTS.

LILY VAN DER WOODSEN/BASS/HUMPHREY/BASS (the woman can't control herself)

This is a woman that knows how to ACCESSORISE. The rules that you shouldn't wear necklaces with earrings, or with busy tops, or any other jewellery rules you think you know? Throw them out the window. Layer like Lily.

JENNY HUMPHREY

Now our Little J is a bit of what not to do, in my eyes. Sure, she teaches us to show off our assets (when did those legs appear?) and that you should keep your style no matter what the occasion, but she also looks like she needs a good wash, and the less said about those extensions the better. I almost have to skip the scenes where she appears because they (and her bratty attitude) make my head hurt. I was relieved she got banished to Hudson, not only because she nearly destroyed my favourite fake couple ever.

VANESSA ABRAHAMS

Couldn't really find many of her outfits that I liked to be honest..let's say she teaches us to stick to our heritage and what we know.

GEORGINA SPARKS

Not only does she let us know that it's ok to be pale, she manages to not looks boring in a wardrobe of mainly black and grey, down to some sparkle and killer accessories. And was it just me that was really pleased that she ended up with Jack Bass? Sort of happy for them even though they're both sick in the head?

*DRUMROLL PLEASE..*

SERENA VAN DER WOODSEN

HERE SHE IS. What can I even say? She knows exactly how to make the most of her figure (not hard, with a figure like that) and has the most unbelievable array of STUNNING party dresses, most of which are probably nicer than my wedding dress will be. She also knows the power a great jacket has to change an outfit, and that you can get away with most things if your hair looks great.

And then because I felt SO INSPIREDD I put together some outfits with our gals in mind, if they were still going strong today.  

Rules to live by seem to be clash your prints and textures, don't be afraid of colour, be brave and ALWAYS WEAR HEELS (because who doesn't look better in heels?)

Toss up for my favourite outfit is between the one with the leopard print top, and the sequin midi skirt. I wish both of them were in my wardrobe!

Who was your favourite style icon when you watched it? Are there any style tips you take from them?

Bloggers Photoshopping Their Images.

BLOGGERS PHOTOSHOPPING THEIR IMAGES.

Ok controversial topic, I've just got to address all the outrage about bloggers photoshopping their pictures.

Of course they do.

Who isn't guilty of pulling in a bulge, straightening out a line or getting rid of a spot (or in my case, a nose bump) before making an image public? I'm honestly really impressed if you can resist doing that, you're a better person than me. I don't have control of my nose bump in real life, but hell if I'm going to let it ruin a picture that I really like without it. Because it seems that sort of the point of the internet is to present the best, most shiny parts of yourself and your life. I'm not saying that's ideal, but it's the way it is. No one posts pictures when they've had a shit day, taken off their makeup and their underwear and are sitting at home feeling lonely and sad and binge eating biscuits in toothpaste stained pyjamas. So of course you want to make the bits you do show look the best you can. Hell, it's why the filters were even invented.

I'm not condoning people making themselves look four stone thinner (Danielle from WeWoreWhat has a tendency to take it a bit too far) and it is obviously bad that people feel that in order to be popular and successful they have to be a certain size or weight. But come on, these girls are known for their images, and are under constant scrutiny. It's understandable that they want to look their best, as this is what makes their blogs and brands more successful. 

If you're preparing a post about a lovely new top you've bought, and in all the pictures it's bulged out funny at the side, why wouldn't you tuck it in a bit? If your arm looked fat and (in your eyes, at least) it ruined the overall picture and took attention away from the focus (the clothes, this is probably a fashion blog after all) wouldn't you slim it down a bit? If you had a following of 150,000 people waiting to analyse your every inch, and had experienced how vicious people on the internet can be, it's understandable that you'd preempt the nasty comments by fixing the image a bit. It only takes one thigh bulge for the bile to start rolling in. Everyone has seen Heat's "Circle of Shame" and the internet is riddled with countless articles gleefully posting pictures of celebrities looking terrible without makeup. Is the next step that a magazine cover appears and there's loads of articles about it because the star is wearing make-up? Or Spanx? Or false eyelashes?

It's the same as all fashion shoots and imagery, there's backlash because this cover or that spread has been photoshopped (coughJustinBeiber/KimKardashian), but in a way I feel like the publications are almost reassuring us. It's sort of like "Not even the models are good enough, no one looks like this in real life so everyone needs help to create the perfect image that we want to represent our brand." They're relatively open about the fact that images are photoshopped, and I'm not entirely sure why everyone always seems so surprised by it! Almost every image we see these days is Photoshopped, and I'm pretty used to it by now.

Just take it all with a pinch of salt, and if you don't have a blog yourself to be photographed for, a helping of biscuits.

What are your opinions? Is it just me that thinks this?

Dressless.

DRESSLESS.

Some Christmas party outfit ideas for when you don't fancy wearing a dress. (LET'S TALK ABOUT THE CLARET LOUBOUTINS). 

I want everything on this list so much that I'm getting stomach ache. Although that might be the four mince pies I ate at lunch. 

Do you know what I got for Christmas? Fat. I got fat.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT I GOT FOR CHRISTMAS? 

FAT. 

I GOT FAT.

THERE'S FOOD EVERYWHERE AND IT'S GREAT. Although, not for our waistlines perhaps. So here's 20 reaallly good and wise (ahem) pieces of advice and key points to remember for eating around Christmas that I've gathered from across the internet. Hell Christmas only comes once a year. In the words of Elsa..let it go.

1. Eat at night - calories can't see in the dark so they won't be able to find you

2. Pandas are proof that you can just eat leaves and still be fat

3. Drink alcohol while eating something fattening, the calories will get drunk and forget what they're there for

4. Dieting is easy. It's like riding a bike. And the bike's on fire. And the grounds on fire. And everything's on fire because you're in hell

5. Use superglue instead of lipstick

6. Eat whatever you want. If anyone tries to lecture you about your diet, eat them too

7. It's a commonly known fact that diets can only start on Mondays. If you've screwed up by Tuesday, the rest of the week is guilt free as you can't start again till next Monday

8. If you start a diet and aren't skinny by lunch time, give up

9. Eat with water so the calories drown

10. If you can't get thinner, become a good cook and make your friends fatter

11. Nobody wants to hear about your diet. Just eat your lettuce, shut up and be sad. And stop side-eyeing my cupcake

12. It's the thought that counts. So if you thought about going on a diet and doing exercise, then ate a whole cake and took a nap, you're halfway there

13. Go on a seafood diet. You see food, you eat it

14. Wine does not make you fat, it makes you lean..against walls, chairs and peculiar people

15. Regret is a terrible thing. You don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that"

16. If you are what you eat then you may as well be delicious

17. Juice cleanses are only worth it when you add Vodka.

18. If you need to start being healthy, first make sure you've eaten up all the junk food in your house so it's not there to tempt you

19. Have fruit salad for dinner. Make it mostly grapes. Ok, all grapes. Fermented grapes. Have wine for dinner.

20. If you think you're losing weight at Christmas, double check..your tracksuit bottoms have probably become untied.

Winter Uniform.

WINTER UNIFORM.

Winter tends to bring laziness in dressing because it's cold (who else stares at their wardrobe in the mornings and thinks "Oh I can't be bothered to come up with an outfit, I'm cold, I just want to wear a jumper and jeans"? Just me?) Good news is, this season that is the perfect lazy day uniform for stylish girls everywhere. According to Pinterest and Instagram, anyway.

Just add slim trousers (extra points for leather) + cozy knit + long coat + great shoes + a couple of well chosen accessories (stacked rings, crossbody bag, brushed cotton scarf etc) = an easy, warm outfit, that looks like you made a bit of effort. I won't tell if you don't.

All pictures from my Pinterest.