A Pleasant Surprise

Ok, so I will admit it. While I am frolicking around my kitchen every Monday night in my monogrammed Anthropologie apron and chopping up my father's home-grown organic garlic in preparation for a fantastic feast (naturally complemented with a glass of good wine), in reality I am prepping for "date night." Yes, at 8 o'clock every Monday, I prepare a feast fit for kings (although I usually enjoy it alone) and spend time admiring the love of my life (and fictional character) from afar, Chuck Bass, while over-analyzing the wardrobe selection during each new Gossip Girl episode.

To be perfectly honest, I never thought anything could get much better than Sex & the City. While most women love SATC for the Mr. Big/Carrie romance or getting the opportunity to drool over Smith Jared's perfectly chiseled body, I love it for everything that most people don't: the underlying, subliminal themes carried throughout the episodes and movie that unite the characters and make everything fantastically consistent. Like the fact that Carrie always wore some stand-out piece for a season (the gold pretzel necklace or the wrist corsage) and how the girls' style reflected their personalities in every way. If you haven't got it by now, I tend/love to over-analyze. I think that Michael Patrick King and Patricia Field are a magical duo, and their vision for the scenes of SATC was almost always perfect.

Needless to say, I have high standards, and was pleasantly surprised to see consistent, yet subliminal themes laced throughout Gossip Girl, as well. Besides the fact that it is extremely witty and fast-paced (my roommate still has trouble following the action which I find highly entertaining), the fashion is consistent (i.e. outrageous headbands found in every episode, neck ties for Blair Waldorf, etc.) and reflects the scenes, characters, and dialogue. And how could this be? Well, after a considerable amount of research (okay, maybe just a couple of minutes), I discovered the man behind the fashion, Eric Daman, who has also worked with (drum roll)...SATC's Pat Field. Fantastic.

So kudos to Eric Daman. You have been taught well and are doing an excellent job. With that, I have a couple closing comments:

Chuck Bass is looking exquisite this season and sharper than ever. Keep the suits, bow ties, vests, and comb-overs coming.

Jenny made a really drastic transition to rebellious teen last Monday ("Pret-a-Poor-J" episode) as carried out in wardrobe and make up. I am not far from my teen years and have never experienced an overnight metamorphosis like Jenny Humphrey's, so it was not exactly realistic, although production may be to blame for that. Regardless, your "Betsey Johnson meets Madonna of the 80s" look worked out well, but I think it was maybe too much, too soon.

If one of your 25 assistant stylists don't see your vision, I'll be your lady-in-waiting. I love what you're doing.

I will be looking for a new recipe for next Monday. Until next time, Gossip Girl lovers.