Style Idol: Blair Waldorf

I was about 10ish years older than the target audience when Gossip Girl aired. Maybe more like 15ish. But, I was as big a superfan of Blair Waldorf as any teenager in a headband. I loved her take-no-shit attitude, her confidence-bred-from-insecurity, her hair (that one's on you, Leighton Meester), and her fabulous mix of cutesy, ladylike, preppy, and NYC style. 

I was living in Manhattan when the show first aired, in the Upper East Side, though in an apartment in hospital housing instead of a chic brownstone. I was only a few blocks from "New York's elite" however, and *my* apartment overlooked the East River. I watched the show religiously, in between dashing off to explore New York and my new single life, and window-shopped all the amazing stores from which Blair regularly toted overfilled bags.

A bargain-hunting fashion lover, I had snatched up an adorable Marc by Marc Jacobs Alessandro Bow dress marked way way down. Probably from Gilt.com. A simple A-line dress, but with a bold orange-red color on the bottom, with the huge distinctive bow tied across the chest, it was a statement-making outfit for work but still cute enough to wear out. I had literally owned it for less than two weeks, when Blair crossed my screen wearing my dress. My brother (who was my roommate at the time) was mostly indifferent to this, but it was like being blessed by my style pope. She did look much better than I did, but I wore it first. 

I still love the dress. I wore it in my work ID photo. I wore it again today, 7 years later. It's a rare quirky cutesy dress that doesn't look foolish on a 39 year old. 

Blair+Chuck4Eva