There are many differences between the original Gossip Girl and HBO's current 2021 reboot — some of them subtle, others not so much. Cast diversity, woke-but-still-rich cool teens, and character dress codes are all prevalent in the contemporary spin on the cable TV classic. An early scene even includes a symbolic torch-passing headband removal (OG Queen Bee Blair Waldorf’s signature accessory) by the new and improved popular girl Julien Calloway.
When the show first came out in 2007, fashion was an integral part of the character’s lives — especially for the girls on the show. Female characters sported personal touches to their school uniforms such as colorful tights, huge handbags, and ridiculous jewelry. Outside of school, they wore designer clothing along with their overindulgent early 2000s accessories and sipped martinis at hotel bars. Dan Humphrey, the Williamsburg transplant on scholarship, was always wearing vests to show his outsider status, differentiating himself from preppy Upper East Siders like Nate (who always looked like he just jumped out of a J. Crew catalogue) or Chuck (who had an impressive wardrobe of paisley ties).
When it comes to the 2021 version of the school uniforms there are still all the makings of a classic preppy ensemble including oxford shirts, khakis, and plaid, except this time, streetwear has infiltrated the preppy style of the characters. Evan Mock’s Aki Menzies wears his uniform with skater style pants and a hoodie with the school’s crest on it. He also has pink hair and an ever-present skateboard at his side. The other boys in the group, Obie and Max, opt for more subtle forms of anarchy with untucked button downs and bow ties simply draped around the neck as if to say “I go out on school nights," — perhaps in a nod to the OG Gossip Girl’s Chuck Bass and his silk scarf from Season 1.
The female characters update their uniforms with loose ties, bike shorts, and crop tops — imagine your favorite influencer doing off-duty model style at their private school. Another prep-meets-streetwear element in their looks is the layering that plays with proportions. Audrey Hope, played by Emily Alyn Lind, is a master in the art, utilizing oversized sweaters and vests, pussybows over blouses and a variety of mini skirts and opaque tights.
As in the original, the students spend time socializing outside of school over martinis in dimly lit lounges after shedding their preppy layers and switching to something tighter and sexier. Max Wolfe, the character most compared to the OG’s Chuck Bass, wears a women’s Paco Rabanne lace blouse in a scene where the friends attend a Christopher John Roger’s fashion show. This is after he insists his friend Aki borrows his top, saying, “Sies Marjan is for everyone”. When the group attends their favorite members only hang, Dumbo Hall (NOT House), the girls wear their tightest dresses, including a Mugler mesh paneled number. Did you catch all those fashion references? We’re only on episode 1!
The OG Gossip Girl was able to gain the respect of the fashion world during its six season run featuring some awkward cameos from designers and other fashion world elites. One of these iconic moments is the scene where Jenny goes to show her collection to Tim Gunn at Parsons only to find out her dresses had been defaced to spell out “WHORE” while showing them to the Admissions board. There were also cameos from Tory Burch, Michael Kors, and *squints* Ivanka Trump? Yikes.
Whether credited to simple nostalgia or HBO show-power, the fashion world has already jumped at opportunities to be involved with the 2021 update. As mentioned before, Christopher John Rogers has a whole fashion show that Julien Calloway walks in and the main cast attends right out of the gate. At the show, we see Creative Director of Interview Magazine Mel Ottenberg sitting front row sandwiched between fashion TikToker Marc Sebastian and Gagosian curator and fit god Antwaun Sargent.
Despite the differences in style between the two series, the same mind is behind both. Stylist Eric Daman brought both the early preppy style to life in the 2007 version of the show and the streetwear-infused version for the 2021 show. The first time around, Daman’s styles immediately influenced the shopping habits of Gossip Girl fans.
“Although the series has had only middling success in the ratings, in stylistic terms it ‘may well be the biggest influence in the youth culture market,’ Stephanie Meyerson, a trend spotter for Stylesight, told the New York Times in 2008.
The show’s original website also contained a feature where viewers could see the brand name for all the hot items worn in the show with links to buy them online. While this seems like the norm today with Instagram’s click-to-shop feature, the catalog was a digital, affiliate link breakthrough for 2007-era shopping. In a recent interview with Fashionista, Daman mentioned that social media’s powers have already created sales for some brands just from the paparazzi pictures taken during filming. Does this mean we’ll all be wearing argyle and ties this fall? (I hope so.)
While the show is only one episode in, we'll be keeping one eye on @gossipgirlstyleguide for more incredible fits and another on the lookout for some more buzzy cameos from the fashion world.
