Take Inspiration for your Fall Wardrobe from These 'Gossip Girl' Characters
Fall is finally here, and these Upper East Siders' wardrobes are rife with style inspiration for the season.
While the Gossip Girl reboot provides timely insights and cautionary tales, some of the show's most valuable takeaways are derived from the quality of the costuming and styling. Eric Daman, the costume designer for both the original series and the reboot, has invigorated the new generation of Upper East Siders with a fashion sense all their own. Across the board, the show has been meticulously modernized and has broken new ground, while also remaining intimately in conversation with the Gossip Girl of before.
With the first installment taking place at the beginning of the school year in early fall, now is the time to look to the students of Constance-Billard and St. Jude's for fall dressing inspiration. While all of the principal characters bring a unique sense of style to the show, there are three particularly excellent standouts: Aki, Max, and Julien. With fits and colors that simulateneously communicate personality and style, these three characters embrace trends in distinct and aspirational ways.
The fashion icon of the reboot is Julien Calloway—the queen of Constance who carries on the legacy of Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf—played by Jordan Alexander. Julien’s wardrobe is the epitome of 2021 It girl. Featuring a constant play with proportions, Julien’s dress is at once classic and feminine while incorporating elements of athleisure and streetwear. Throughout the first installment of the series, Julien's wardrobe posesses a balance of proportions through large trench coats, varsity jackets, and overshirts, with tailored sweatpants, bike shorts, and mini dresses. Paired with chunky sneakers and boots, the styling of Julien’s wardrobe creates a uniform of proportional rules that help inform her distinct personal brand.
Thanks to the clarity of the guiding principles behind Julien’s mode of dress, it is not difficult to incorporate these same rules into dressing this fall. Blending summer and winter pieces by pairing large jackets or shirts with shorts and large sneakers or boots is a great way to respond to transitional weather. As far as color is concerned, sticking to neutral tones as the foundation of an outfit and adding selective touches of vibrant color creates a sense of elegance as well as a canvas for showing off more unique pieces.
Evan Mock, who plays Aki Menzies, is a skater and model with a significant following whose personal style has struck a vein in the fashion world. His character, Aki, shares his streetwear-informed style and interests, creating a fantastic lookbook for fall. At the core of Aki’s dress is a blend of skate and workwear—often oversized—that creates a sense of comfort and genderless expression. Often sporting baggy pants and layering, Aki is always dressed for maximum functionality and is prepared to be on the move.
Whether it's pairing a wool overshirt with thick denim or a large cotton hoodie with substantial khakis, weight and durability are one of Aki's signatures, as well as key elements of a complete fall wardrobe. Additionally, using similar color tones in an outfit creates a sense of cohesiveness. Wearing khaki and yellow—or light brown and light purple—in the same outfit takes the symmetry of formal suiting and brings it into street style. Paired with Converse or all-white Nike Air Force 1s, it's a casual style that suits comfort and mobility.
Max Wolfe, the charming and stylish twenty-first-century bacchanalian played by Thomas Doherty, elevates convention and tradition, taking classic American wardrobe staples and adding a sophisticated twist. Sporting a wide variety of looks from casual to formal, Max is always appropriately dressed for the moment while prioritizing self-expression. Taking the classic school uniform of a navy blazer, button-down, and khakis, Max adds a twist with each individual piece. A striped jacket, subtly pleated pants, chunky-soled Alexander McQueen sneakers, and a Gucci fanny pack create an outfit that is uniquely his own.
Furthermore, Max’s wardrobe shows significant tonal trends of the fall season. Yellows, blue stripes, and reddish oranges paired with darker anchoring shades like navy combine to create outfits that are both colorful and seasonal. Even dressed down, Max adds his own touch to a sweater-denim combination with a zip-up AMI Paris jacket in a windbreaker cut and a mock turtleneck, continuing the practice of enhancing the best of classic dress.
Each of these three characters in the Gossip Girl reboot infuses their own individuality into the uniformed prep of the Upper East Side, resulting in three creative and unique aesthetics that set the tone for fall style. At the core of each of their ways of dressing is to take something expected and flip it on its head while also playing with proportion, color, and seasonality, all with a personalized flair.
