Blake Lively, The Interview with a Gossip Girl

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She's the name on everyone's lips and the cover of every glossy in America. Who are we talking about? Why Blake Lively of course, alias Serena van der Woosen, the most happening student of the series Gossip Girl. At nearly 26 years old, this 1.78 metre-tall blonde (in her stocking feet if you please) is setting the fashion tone State-side.  

Comments gathered by Frank ROUSSEAU

[/two_third] [/row] Gossip Girl is set in the New York district of Upper East Side. In what way is the area different from the Bronx, Soho or Little Italy? It's the most exclusive neighbourhood in Manhattan. It's a neighbourhood which brings together the biggest fortunes of the Star Spangled Banner. In the UES there are more banks and lawyers' firms than in the rest of the Big Apple combined. Here money talks. The guys drive in luxury cars and the girls have several credit cards - the Amex Centurion kind - with which to have fun in the boutiques. Some are so rich they manage to get the doors of top brand stores opened for them after hours. It's not unusual in Upper East Side to see boutiques welcoming demanding clients at 11 pm! When you splash out $10,000 on a few pairs of shoes or buy four bags at $3,000 a piece it's true you don't want other customers looking daggers at you because you're monopolising the salesgirl!   Isn't that a bit of a caricature? No. Everything shown in the series has been "experienced" by Cecily von Ziegesar. Before becoming the author of Gossip Girl, a 12-volume best seller, the rights of which have been completely bought up by Warner, Cecily was one of these mega-spoilt young girls. She says so herself - her girlfriends were dropped off at school in a Rolls driven by a chauffeur in white gloves. And at the weekend her best friend could go to Paris on Concorde with a royal suite booked at the Crillon! All that to treat herself to an haute-couture dress from Saint-Laurent. A process of identification will take place with fans. Objectively, do you think you can treat yourself to a Hermes scarf at 13? The problem is that when you are young you don't necessarily have a concept of price. The smart way to go about it would be to go to your mother and say: "Look Mummy I love the pants this actress or that is wearing! I know they are way too expensive but I love the cut. Maybe we could find a similar model much cheaper." The other solution is to not follow the crowd but to say: "Since the dress Serena is wearing is an unattainable dream I'm going to try to create my own style!” I remember at the age of 15, not having the means or the connections to play the fashion plate in the school yard, I resorted to other methods.   Since I didn't have a bank account bulging enough to buy the dress that would turn me into a princess, I borrowed my grandmother's sewing machine and I created my own label. I can assure you I was the only one wearing these one-off creations. Also I would pick up vintage items in second-hand stores and I would alter them, adding my personal touch. It might be sequins or fake fur! What's important is to accessorise. Sometimes a little broach or a little strip of lamé sown on the sleeves or around the collar is enough to give basic clothing a touch of glamour/chic.     Talking of which, what is your definition of good taste in fashion? It's been said before but the fashion that best stands the test of time is the classic. As a child I would raid my sisters' cupboards for the clothes they'd just bought. Sometimes I would come across a dress of my mother's that I really liked. I would beg her to alter it to fit me.  I can tell you we got our money's worth out of the sewing machine in our house! (Laughs) What can I say? From very young I was always drawn to lovely materials. And beautiful fabrics, until proof to the contrary, are not to be found in "casual" clothes!   How would you describe the ideal Gossip Girl outfit? An evening dress from Tadashi Shoji, shoes from Lanvin or Christian Louboutin and to go out a Burberry trench coat and of course Chanel, Chanel, eternal Chanel.   Your parents gave you a boy's name, why? Because they hadn't thought for one second they would have a girl! It's often said that your first name has an influence on how you behave. I disagree. It's not because I have a guy's name that I act like a guy. For example, it's never crossed my mind to go to a hairdresser to get my hair cut off. I'd be more inclined to get extensions - that's saying something. And believe me I wouldn't hesitate for a second choosing between a pair of baseball boots and a pair of court shoes. I spend a fortune on high heels. And the more of a pain they are, the better. My last acquisition was a pair of stilettos with 10 cm heels. I'm 1.78 m tall. I stand out at evening do's and film premiers! (Laughs). In short I've always been girly to the tips of my toes.   It is often said that America's youth is a lost generation. Do you agree? It's all about agreeing on the definition of “lost”. It's true our generation has a lot more difficulty in getting a job. The era when in the United States you could succeed because you had the will to do so is over. Like other countries, we're going through a recession and the future is not looking rosy! Lost, we are in as much as we don't know which way to turn. On the other hand, we are a much more resourceful generation than that of our parents because we understand that nothing comes easy in life.   Since you have become famous, is 'gossip' something that now affects you? I don't read the tabloids. Buying that kind of newspaper is a bit like buying the stick with which you're being beaten!   There has been a little gossip concerning you... Yes - that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt want to adopt me. What else? Oh yes, that I double for Paris Hilton at social gatherings! All because I have a small dog like her and I'm blonde. Sorry, but I'm not that crazy!