Spread the Word: Achieving the "Gossip Girl" Look

It's 8:30 p.m. on a brisk Monday evening in New Jersey. I haven't eaten dinner yet—it will have to be something quick and simple. Instead of watching the season premiere of the revamped “90210” right now, I am instead writing this blog about another CW show coincidentally airing its season opener tonight as well: “Gossip Girl.”

Here's what I know about the show: It was based on a novel series; it's an American teen drama even though some of my 30-something-year-old friends watch it; and it's produced many stars. Oh, and one of those stars, Blake Lively, married actor Ryan Reynolds just last month.

This is what I learned from reading Wikipedia (yes, I know): It is now officially in its last season (consisting of 10 episodes); it revolves around the lives of privileged young adults on Manhatten's Upper East Side in New York City; and its scandalous nature has incurred the wrath of groups like the Parents Television Council, which launched an “OMFG” ad campaign in April 2008 that I vaguely remember.

So, for the life of me, I can't imagine why New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited the set on Jan. 26, 2012 and proclaimed the date “Gossip Girl Day.” It made New York a central character. Who hasn't done that? Hello, “Sex and the City.” Even more puzzling, New York magazine deemed the show as the “Greatest Teen Drama of All Time,” citing that it has opened the door for scripted dramas to be effective social satire. New York magazine: Have you ever heard of a show called “My So-Called Life” and the great love story of Angela Chase and the dreamy, and misunderstood bad-boy-who-acts-like-that-because-of-an-undiagnosed-learning-disability, Jordan Catalano?

All kidding aside, the show has had a MAJOR impact on retail. In 2008, The New York Times reported that “Gossip Girl” was “the first [show] to have been conceived, in part, as a fashion marketing vehicle.” In honor of this achievement, and perhaps in an effort to say “goodbye” to the end of an era, The Washington Post has published a slideshow of “Gossip Girl” fashion highlights entitled, “'Gossip Girl' fashion: From school uniforms to couture.”