Queen 'B' Syndrome Style to The Art of Fashion | Gossip Girl - Blair Waldorf Analysis

Blair Waldorf is a main character in the show Gossip Girl airing from 2007-2012, hailing from old money on her father's side and her mother being a prominent designer in the fashion scene. Remarried to a lawyer, Blair holds high status and power as a birthright. This isn't enough for her though as Blair is one who strives for beyond perfection and covets to reach an untouchable regency status both figuratively and at other times literally. She is dubbed the Queen Bee of the Upper East Side and best friends with It Girl Serena Vanderwoodsen. In spite of her own brilliance and beauty, Blair often sees herself in the shadow of her best friend. But even in the novel, Blair is defined as a striking brunette and in the show her image is the most well-known as well as emulated partially as a result of her connection to the fashion world as well as her own codes of dress that visually manifest or directly depict her place in the world and lined with her own self-fulfilling prophecy amongst all the drama and designer fashion. The very first look sported by Blair in the series sets the tone for her identity and the foundation of her development. She is wearing one of her mother's designs, an Eleanor Waldorf dress, very classic, very Audrey Hepburn, paired with sheer elements adorned with floral lace embellishments. A sexier component, very toned down, finished off with black opaque tights, a simple heel, and of course a headband, the iconic accessories. Her look is much more curated and traditional, an approach to common themes throughout the series. Besides Serena, there is a great sartorial contrast as she is more formable and dramatic in a contained manner while Serena is highly bright and effortless, a contrast that also sets tone for the show. Her most well-known and favorite looks are rooted in seasons 1 and 2. Blair's signature codes of dress with preppy style as her foundation are traditionally girlish accents such as bows, headbands, tights, upscale loungewear inside and highly cultivated looks outside. Blair's traditional and classic mindset is eminent, but she is much more dimensional. This prim and proper style hides away the more mischievous side. With her mindset on Yale, her looks mirror the Yale woman through a young girl's interpretation, but she also has this environmental influence that places value on high-end fashion. She embellishes her uniform with designer pieces such as bags, contrasting textures, patterns, and pops of color to create her own form of visual dominance. As she does not have this effortlessly, she does have a captivating and demanding demeanor in order to exert this unattainable image. If you're interested in learning about preppy style, the history, sociology, and how to curate this wardrobe, I have an entire in-depth video dedicated to this fashion. In sociology, the queen bee refers to a female leader of a group, mostly applied to a teen clique, but this term is also present in other social settings and age groups. In media and culture, this is a stereotyped character who is conventionally attractive with charismatic qualities, but manipulative and power-hungry, usually with a background of wealth and high status that wields influence and power over a group that will closely follow suit, no matter how ruthless. When she is very young is that she dresses to conduct control and give the illusion of true extroversion through ways of dress correlated with goals. Blair's extroversion is moderate according to the psychology of fashion, of cognitive function, of extroverted sensing. She possesses a primarily extroverted personality and desires, this sensory focus remaining so outward, give space for a deep appreciation, and evident by Blair's need to remain in environments that she finds suitable where the most stylish ensembles and craft herself as if she were a piece of art on the romantic side, but on the logical, curates to adhere to objectives. This means that she is extroverted in specific settings to achieve a goal and socialize with rather than wanting new life experiences or meeting people outside of her world. She is closed off to anything that doesn't match her worldview, this is present in her wardrobe as she is someone who loves quintessential ensembles, but will be sure to strategically include an extroverted garment such as a highly saturated coat, patterned headbands, or eye-catching jewelry to give this accent of access. When she doesn't do this, she comes off very rigid. Psychologically, this will give her control of social perceptions. It is a form of self-objectification that manifests performance of her goals. Her dubbed minions mirror these components of her looks. This creates a greater social strength in the inner circle through ritual and visual unity and impression formation by using clothing as not a display of status for herself, but a tool to transform the status of others in the image of her own which then produces a greater success in conducting control of a social ecosystem due to the salience of the garments worn by the inner group. Blair is highly aware that her social standing is a product of her ruling with an iron fist and is willing to do whatever it takes to remain queen. Traditionally in storytelling the natural opposition to her rule is someone who threatens the order, however, the larger threat is her character foil which is the It Girl, someone who is just as gorgeous, popular, but has a natural influence over force. This is why Blair feels so inferior and highly sensitive of Serena's presence in spite of their friendships and she is a danger to her throne who can take control if they truly wanted to. Why would I try to steal something from you that I pushed you to do? Because you take everything! It's who you are. Through the use of relational aggression, Jennifer Power Lunder states, Relational aggression is a specific non-physical brand of aggression. It is most often associated with mean girl behavior. The perpetrator attacks their victim by ruining their relationships, often with the aim of destroying their social status. Queen bees use this approach to keep their minions in line. Buzzing around the hive, queen bees rely on emotional abuse and psychological control to maintain their own social status. Blair is the one creating this dynamic, honing it and utilizing it since she's the one who made it. She understands that this is a very fragile social structure. For example, the style of the social circle shifts when Serena takes the position of queen. The headbands once smearing crowns, rigid with regality, are replaced with scarves soft and breezy. A tangible depiction of the power struggle between these foil characters. In season 3, her style begins to evolve as she moves on from high school into college. Her silhouette matures out of that schoolgirl look that she takes comfort in. She clings to coats of dress from the past to bring comfort though. At her new university, she sports sleek lines and many primary colors on a larger scale rather than an accent or pop. But she still integrates her coat such as a headband or little skirt, just not so overtly anymore. Blair has always had a love for fashion and grew up immersed in it, but here she begins to be a bit lost in the world. We see her as a person trying to find a way to shine in spite of the fact that she is no longer in an environment where the usual behavior will be rewarded in the same manner as it once did. Prior she would never allow for her success to be a result of her own talents or intelligence, but would rather use her talents and intelligence as pure willpower to ensure momentum and accomplishment. When unable to do so, it combats her worldview and she experiences a great loss of control. Into season 4 and 5, Blair's worldview and perspective begins to change greatly. For example, while interning at the fashion magazine W, she initially gets into a competition with Dan, but decides to actually work for the job. Rather than striving to eliminate the competition, we see a large amount of development here. Her style becomes less about codes to harness status into expression through codes and experimentation as a result of appreciation. Hence the image shift from the queen bee into the dictator of taste era where fashion resonates on a new level. Fashion is the most powerful art there is. It's movement, design, and architecture all in one. It shows the world who we are and who we'd like to be. Just like your scarf suggests that you'd like to sell used cars. Blair's core is still the same, but she always had a strong sense of self, but often does not know how to let this shine. Now though, she is much more in touch with the part of her personality that she would not allow herself to explore or feel, her inferior introverted feeling. This is often deemed as a weakness in spite of the fact that it does allow for deeper, meaningful connections. We see her look shift into being genuinely sophisticated of her image rather than what society deems as sophisticated. We also see goals shift visually. During this period, her relationship with Louis progresses and components of the queen bee look are reintroduced, evolved into an authentically regal one to aid with her integration into the royal family. The regulations set for her style upset her but are fleeting as this relationship comes to an end due to her auxiliary introverted intuition. She is forward-thinking and trusts in her instincts even when jumping to a conclusion quickly sets her off. Even though Blair makes many mistakes and keeps straying off her path, the path is becoming more defined and her development is very evident. The reason why her looks evolve on a spectrum rather than venturing out into other styles is that she has a dominant nature even over herself so rather than a drastic shift, she remains in line the same way she sets the world in line as this is how she functions in self-concept. Blair never was one to go off the path, even when she wanted to, she always finds a way back to herself. As a visual person who is now more expressive, during this period she has her greatest range on the spectrum from floral, flowy, feminine, regal ensembles and minimal subtle styling. Her journey for self-recollection ends when she returns to her roots and takes on the CEO position of Waldorf Designs. Still, however, as Blair works on her line, we see this re-emergence of her old high school self being unable to trust herself and succeeding due to her insecurities. On top of this, there is this constant It Girl presence in her life. It's noted that everyone takes style cues from It Girls anyway. The resurfacing of her insecurities on a new venture adds further pressure and Blair spreads herself thin trying to work in this manner. She utilizes old tactics, but develops further in the face of this setback. As she begins to avail herself, the resources, leadership skills, and aesthetic that has spent a lifetime in the making with a new worldview after all that she has been through. This journey is tangibly captured at the pop-up show where Blair comes into her own marrying the two sides of her, finding balance between the person she has become and hand with her inner child. Regardless of the drama and scheming surrounding the event, her dictator of taste and queen bee balance allow for the clothing to breathe new life into Waldorf designs. Her style in this season is beginning to soften, but remains mature. Her sense of self is no longer off-path or in need of protection when she sheds away her insecurities to produce in a manner with a newfound deep appreciation for not only herself, but those in her life. This is showcased in her final look, a taupe sequined dress with bow adornments and her classic silhouette. The dress was created by Zuhair Murad, finished off with subtle fine jewelry, fresh-faced makeup, and an updo, a traditional beauty approach that does not upstage its respectful, collected, dreamy, and romantic. No longer standing in her own way or having her entitlement blind her, she allows herself to shine alongside others, understanding that they do not detract from her. She can create and enjoy beauty, then share it without force or threat. This relates to Carl Rogers' concept by which he states, Man's tendency to actualize himself, to become his potentialities. This is in reference to a person's ongoing journey where they maintain and enhance their self-concept by reflecting and reinterpreting the past to bring it into the future. This is Blair's life journey as she develops, recovers, and grows as a person. The stylistically headstrong journey is the foundation of her aesthetic, fashion, and vision. Every part of her is present, what she loves stays with her, and what she dislikes transforms her for the better. The looks of Blair's lifetime mirror reality as we as people define our own style out of not only our physical self, but the needs of our internal self. Blair has been a character who, both on and off screen, inspire the personal style of many. There is more than just style cues to take from her. Blair shows us that it's our individuality that is so noteworthy and remarkable that we need to recognize this. Even when it feels like the world around us may favor others, it's not a reflection of ourselves. Even when off track, these parts of ourselves can be rejuvenated into a new strong admirable trait through self-assessment, experience, and growth. Blair's rekindling of herself time and time again in hand with her inspirations, loved ones, and sense of self creates the looks of her life as cultivated individuality never goes out of style. I hope you enjoyed this video, if you did please subscribe, like, turn on notifications, and comment. Thank you so much for watching.