Leighton Meester's Bags and Style

When I saw these pictures of Leighton Meester and Penn Badgley on the set of Gossip Girl, I turned green with envy. Not over Leighton’s perfect skin, or her mustard yellow Fendi Peekaboo that matches her blouse and chapeau just perfectly. Instead, I’m jealous of her cape.

You guys, I’ve bought so many capes. I’ve ordered them online with high hopes. I’ve bought them at stores and vowed to find a way to style them perfectly when I got home. All have been failures, and all have gone back from whence they came. I don’t know what the problem is, but every time I see photos like these, of another young woman looking adorable in a cape, I feel a twinge of envy. This isn’t even the greatest cape I’ve ever seen, not by a long stretch, but for someone who has continued to fail Capes 101, it’s a sad reminder of a garment I’ll never wear. Pour a little out for all my returned capes, ladies.

Bag Leighton’s Fendi Style via Neiman Marcus! View the Gallery →

I’m always excited to write about Gossip Girl because it features what I think is unquestionably the best fashion (and by far the best handbags) on TV, but I’m extra excited to write this post because I actually saw this scene happening in person! I live on the Upper East Side, and I set out down Madison Avenue on Friday to shop for a winter coat in advance of what promised to be nasty weather on Saturday. When I was walking toward 77th Street, a production assistant stopped me and asked me to go back up and cross the street to use the opposite sidewalk because of filming. I asked her if it was Gossip Girl, she confirmed that it was, and I crossed the street so that I could come back down and get a better look.

Leighton Meester is quite petite, so I couldn’t see her very well with the crowd that had gathered, but I noticed that they were filming outside of bridal palace Vera Wang. What I didn’t see, though, was the lovely, amazing, beautiful red-orange Loewe Amazona Bag that looks so bold against Blair’s cream-colored coat. That’s a pop of color if I’ve ever seen one; if only my view of the bag had been better in person!

Bag Leighton’s Loewe Style via Matches! View the Gallery →

I always get so excited when we start seeing paparazzi photos from the set of Gossip Girl – it means that filming is underway and new episodes of the show are just around the corner! I won’t be recapping this season of the show on PurseBlog, but I will still be following along at home, even though the show frustrates me sometimes.

But how can I stay away from a program that gives us outfits as great as this high-waisted trouser ensemble on Leighton Meester? And besides, how utterly gorgeous does Leighton look in these photos? Way too gorgeous to be fair, I say. Her neutral tone-on-tone Valentino Aphrodite Small Bow Bag is not only the perfect compliment to her outfit, but it also fits perfectly with her character. Blair Waldorf is prim yet glamorous, just like a structured, bow-adorned Valentino bag in supple olive lambskin.

Bag Leighton’s Valentino Style via Neiman Marcus!

Have I just not been paying attention? When did Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester get bangs? And how do we feel about them? At first I was a little bit conflicted, but now I’m starting to think that they’re a nice alternative to the Blair Hair that we’re all so accustomed to seeing on her. Will she have bangs when the new season of the show starts filming? I wouldn’t be opposed to it.

I’m also not opposed to Leighton’s brown-grey Yves Saint Laurent Cabas Chyc Tote, which has created something of a sensation on the arms of stars young and old. This strikes me as a great bag for a working woman who needs to carry actual stuff in her bag, but for casual or weekend usage, it seems a little big to me. But with a bellhop visible in the background, perhaps Leighton is using it while traveling, which seems like the perfect purpose for a roomy leather tote.

Bag Leighton’s YSL Style via Neiman Marcus! View the Gallery →

Balmain seemed to shine the brightest of any designer at last night’s 2011 MTV Movie Awards, and that’s for one reason and one reason only: Sequins. Lots of them. And beads, chunks of broken mirror, rhinestones and anything else that adorned Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester‘s epically shiny Balmain minidress.

And while the amount of stuff stuck to this frock is impressive and I generally love Leighton, I’m having a hard time getting excited about it. Balmain under Christoph Decarnin has been a one-trick pony, and sparkly minidresses can only entertain us for so long before they all start to blur together into one giant gob of overly expensive glitter. This one doesn’t even take advantage of Leighton’s perfect figure, so even though it’s a lot of fun, I can’t help but feel a lack of enthusiasm. View the Gallery →

Cutouts can be a dicey fashion proposition, but particularly when those cutouts expose some of the most oft-hidden flesh on the female torso. It’s almost always an awkward look but somehow, some way, Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester figured out a way to make cutouts look amazing for the premiere of her new film The Roommate.

I’m excited to see the girl-on-girl horror flick in a totally campy way, but I’m excited about Leighton’s black Michael Kors dress in a way that is completely serious and genuine. She’s very small-framed and this look makes the most of it, and the leather bodice and dark color acknowledge the fact that the event celebrates a movie in which she clearly plays the villain. I’m a fan of Leighton’s quirky style in general, and this dress may be as good as she’s ever looked. View the Gallery →

I couldn’t be more pleased that our ragtag gang of Upper East Siders is back on the job and filming new episodes of Gossip Girl. My Monday nights simply aren’t complete without them, and the knowledge that new episodes come back next week is singlehandedly keeping me going. What will happen? Who will hook up? Was all that Dan and Blair innuendo just a joke? Please let the answer to that question be “yes.”

Anyway, paparazzi recently caught series star and all-around awesome fashion person Leighton Meester filming with Dorota on the streets of New York City, looking very, very Blair Waldorf and carrying a red Chanel Quilted Handbag. Matching the handbag to the hat is such a Waldorf touch. We know that this scene has to be from the waist up because Blair would never be caught dead in Ugg Bailey Button Boots. Even if they are really comfy.

Bag Leighton’s Chanel Style via Chanel.com! View the Gallery →

Although Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester‘s dress was not on many best-dressed lists today, I can’t help but love it, and her whole look, from top to bottom. In sharp contrast to Michelle Williams’ daisy distaster, Leighton’s subtly patterned Burbery Prorsum Pre-Fall 2011 dress is exactly how people who love taking risks on the red carpet should be taking them.

Long sleeves were among my favorite fashion trends of the 2011 Golden Globe Awards, and the retro-yet-soft look of this dress is perfect for an actress who has become a New York scene fixture rather than a Los Angeles red carpet party girl. Good for Leighton for staying true to her quirky, cool personal style and not donning something boring and safe just to please others. This look was one of my favorites of the evening. She accented her dress with a Louis Vuitton clutch.

Bag Leighton’s Burberry Style via Saks! View the Gallery →

Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester is perhaps one of the only celebs who appears to actually be naturally gifted when it comes to her figure. (Instead of just claiming to be gifted and then working out with a trained six times per week like most of them do.) Most celebrities seem like they have to strive against their natural genetics and eating preferences to maintain the ideal, but Leighton always looks so effortless and the shape of her body just looks…right. For her, of course.

Dresses like this body-hugging neutral number from Giambattista Valli make her genetic luck all the more apparent; on Leighton, this dress seems like the most natural thing in the world. She was smart to accessorize it with a striking Van Cleef & Arpels necklace and a clutch and shoes by Salvatore Ferragamo. The only questionable part is her pink lipstick, but other than that, it looks like Leighton just threw on this outfit and ended up looking accidentally, effortlessly great.

Bag Leighton’s Ferragamo Style via Saks! View the Gallery →

By far, my favorite part of cold-weather dressing is mixing textures, and it looks as though Gossip Girl‘s costumers agree with that notion wholeheartedly. Because texture can get overwhelming if it’s mixed in bold colors, they did a wise thing and kept this outfit for Leighton Meester‘s character completely neutral.

Not only is her black-and-cream checked Bensoni Military Coat a perfectly bold winter option, but her Valentino Aphrodite Satchel is a gorgeous ladylike compliment. With all the texture going on it the outfit, though (I haven’t even mentioned her snake and patent Giuseppe Zanotti pumps yet), I might have preferred the plain leather version of the bag to this intricate iteration. Gossip Girl‘s styling is purposefully over-the-top, though, and I think that this is one of the costumers’ best efforts.

Bag Leighton’s Valentino Style via Nordstrom! View the Gallery →

It’s hard to pick a favorite Blair Waldorf outfit. After all, Gossip Girl‘s costumers do a fantastic job of putting Leighton Meester in interesting, fun things in nearly every episode. If I had to pick a recent favorite, though, it would be this multi-material, multi-pattern outfit that Blair paired with a Louis Vuitton Alma Bag from Fall 2009.

Her differently patterned Tibi skirt and jacket and printed Milly shirt somehow manage to work together harmoniously, which is likely aided by the fact that they all come from a neutral color palette. The sold-colored bag and Balenciaga shoes also help make the outfit a winner, along with her simple tights. Also, could these pictures be an indication that she and Chuck will soon be on friendly terms?

Bag Leighton’s Style via Vuitton.com! View the Gallery →

I love Gossip Girl‘s Leighton Meester for a lot of reasons, and one of the biggest ones is because she takes so many risks with her personal wardrobe. It has always seemed to me that part of her motivation for her aesthetic must be in an effort to distance herself from her on-screen persona, and I think she does a great job of reminding us that Blair is a character and she is the real girl.

I’m not a huge fan of the Loewe Amazona Bag in general, but this version has totally won me over with its neon orange handles. The color makes all the difference for a bag that usually has such a staid and neutral look, and her choice to match it to her bright orange Yves Saint Laurent sunglasses is absolutely perfect. Her blue-grey 3.1 Phillip Lim Fringe Shorts with grey Balenciaga heels and a loose tank create the perfect background for such an unexpected pop of color. What a totally modern street style look.

Bag Leighton’s YSL Style via YSL.com! View the Gallery →