Channel post-Y2K prep in 2025 —without the nepo baby price tag
Blake Lively knows how to drop a nostalgia bomb. Case in point: her recent Instagram post with never-before-seen “Gossip Girl” photos.
“The summer ‘Gossip Girl’ turned 18…” she writes, calling the show her “college”—with six years of hard work, long nights, and formative experiences in New York and Paris to show for it. For viewers, she’ll always be Serena van der Woodsen, the golden-haired It-girl who defined a certain brand of prep.
Of course, “Gossip Girl’s” glossy world of private schools and penthouses was a fantasy far removed from realities like corruption in places like the Philippines. But the series framed fashion as escapism through a playful lens still worth revisiting, without the wealth-gap undertones.
Lively has been navigating a string of controversies, from disputes over her beauty brand “Blake Brown” to legal battles over a supposed smear campaign by her co-star Justin Baldoni in the 2024 film “It Ends With Us.” A former co-star’s TikTok also went viral, claiming she was “horrendous” on set, describing her as rude, condescending, and unwilling to speak directly to extras.
So her anniversary post may feel like a PR move to reclaim the glow of her Serena years. But whether calculated or sincere, there’s now a renewed appetite for “Gossip Girl’s” structured style and color, especially after trends like “quiet luxury” and “recession core” have tamed down wardrobes to shades of beige.
Post-Y2K prep
If Y2K nostalgia (low-rise jeans, rhinestones, and baby tees) has dominated recent years, then “Gossip Girl” represents what came right after. Aired in 2007 and running for six years, the show reflected a shift away from the chaotic Y2K maximalism toward a more structured, designer-heavy preppy, chic aesthetic.
If your style in the 2010s was that hipster-flannel look or indie sleaze (millennials, back me up here), “Gossip Girl” inspired the preppy side of things, which was structured and collegiate-inspired. Think tweed blazers, argyle sweater vests, pleated skirts, and pearl studs you probably could’ve thrifted (or even borrowed) from your parents’ closets.
Blair Waldorf was the poster girl of this aesthetic: wearing headbands, tailored blazers, pleated skirts, and cardigans layered just so.
The 2025 return of prep
Eighteen years later, the “Gossip Girl” lookbook still resonates. But in 2025, the style goal isn’t to exactly imitate Serena or Blair, nor was it to emulate mid-2000s Manhattan privilege.
More realistically, these preppy style touchstones can be translated into something contemporarily wearable.
Headbands, sleekly evolved
Blair Waldorf’s crowning glory is back, but now sleeker. Satin, velvet, and even leather headbands are seeing an uptick in popularity, now paired with sleek hair looks, from stark middle parts to tight ponytails. And it doesn’t need to be Prada or Jennifer Behr, either. Today’s versions are everywhere, from department store finds to Shopee hauls.
Layering (with restraint)
Where quiet luxury favors understatement, “Gossip Girl” often embraced statement coats and jackets. The chunky Chanel tweeds of 2007 now give way to boxy tailoring and slouchy blazers, dominating many runways around the world. Other trendy ways you can layer with restraint are through cropped vests, fine knits, and sheer layers.
Loafers with ankle socks
Quite frankly, this is one trend I can’t pull off, as a fun-sized girl. The socks make me look short. But they are all the rage, especially with Gen Z kids, who wear loafers paired with ribbed, sheer, or slouchy ankle socks. While Blair’s were Ferragamo, you can grab local Marikina-made brands like Andante, and still get that polished nod to prep school uniforms.
Ballet sneakers
Channeling that “Gossip Girl” post-Y2K prep, when Tory Burch and Roger Vivier reigned, we’re seeing flats back in fashion. This time, big brands are weaving it into the comfort of sneakers. Luxury houses are cashing in, but affordable versions are already trickling down through posh yet practical iterations from brands like Onitsuka, Adidas, and Puma.
Coquette accessories
The Manhattanite prep world of the original “Gossip Girl” series sparkled with pretty pearls and bows, especially during the characters’ high school era. Pearls and bows are back, but now styled with a sense of irony, from a pearl choker over a T-shirt to a black satin bow in messy hair. Pearls and bows don’t need to come from Tiffany or Dior, either; ukay finds and DIY ribbons do the trick just as well.
Are we really looking back at “Gossip Girl?”
Well, it’s as Karl Lagerfeld once said, “Fashion… is always changing, and trends are merely a reflection of a moment in time, returning when the moment feels right again.”
One might even say that “Gossip Girl” predicted the peak brand-crazy influencer era, with high logo visibility and designer-heavy styling. But in 2025, that same energy is being reinterpreted, now achievable without a nepo-baby allowance to tap into.
Channeling the practical, understated, and durable essence of the “recession core” aesthetic, more and more people are thrifting pre-loved designer items or raiding their parents’ and grandparents’ closets, while putting their own, budget-friendly twists to that look, not without some irony and a lil’ pizzazz, too.
Because in the true “Gossip Girl” fashion, the thrill is in knowing how to wear it your way.
XOXO.
