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Blake Lively might’ve played Serena van der Woodsen on the OG Gossip Girl franchise, but in real-life the actress is turning into more of a Blair Waldorf when it comes to her style. During her return to the red carpet after giving birth to her and Ryan Reynolds’ fourth child, Lively took inspiration (even if unbeknown to her) from her on-screen character’s best friend.
Heading to the Upper West Side for Barnard College’s annual gala in New York City — an event Waldorf and van der Woodsen would most definitely have attended — Lively wore a floral, off-the-shoulder gown by Carolina Herrera from the label’s recent autumn/winter 2023 collection.
The dress, as Vogue noted, which Lively paired with feminine pink pumps, could have been taken directly from Blair Waldorf’s wardrobe. It’s similar to an Oscar de la Renta gown the character wore in season four of Gossip Girl and reminiscent of the floral-patterned looks she continually was seen in throughout the show, most notably in season two. Later, on Instagram, Lively revealed she paired the tea-length dress with a neon pink and yellow Sergio Hudson trench to brave the New York spring streets, adding a little of another stylish New Yorker’s energy, Carrie Bradshaw, to top off the look.
Lively also mentioned her iconic role during the night, speaking at the gala about almost attending college herself. “Zero acting jobs later, I decided to go back to college, and two weeks after that, the producers of Gossip Girl called me like an ex-boyfriend, and they said, ‘Listen, will you please do the show?” she quipped.
“And if you do, we promise you can go to Columbia one day a week as long as it doesn’t interfere with our seven-day-a-week shooting schedule.’ Who doesn’t want to earn a bachelor’s degree in 77 years? So needless to say, I think I have to accept that tonight is the closest I’m going to get, so I’m just going to pretend that this is me graduating tonight. So thank you! I made it.”
