Blake Lively – from bulldog to catwalk queen
Her blonde Californian-head hasn’t disappointed Blake for the last few years. Not only fell all the Gossip Girl-hunks for her at some special one-on-one time, designers also discovered her beauty. Karl Lagerfeld snagged her as the face of his Chanel – Mademoiselle-handbag line. Blake in an interview: ‘When Anna Wintour introduced me to Karl at a dinner, I grabbed my camera the save the moment. I didn’t know that I would be in front of the lens a couple of months later’
Blake, you are a true fashion-icon these days. Did Gossip Girl made you more aware of your fashion-sense?
What do you think (laughs). No, I wouldn’t know, actually.
Well, on set we see you strut around in the most wonderful creations of Burberry, Ralph Lauren and other top-designers. And also in your private life, you’re doing fine without a stylist.
You know, my love of fashion has always been within me. I think I have a very good view on it. Fashion is a form of self-expression. You’re the only one who can give a personal touch to it, and that’s why I don’t use a stylist.
How would you describe your style?
Layers a totally my thing. Clothes don’t have to be expensive to me. I can get really happy from Topshop, for an example. A world opened up to me when that [shop of big brand] came to New York.
You’re saying your passion for fashion has been within you for always. Where did that came from?
I’ve always been very aware of the way I dressed. My mother is a model and my sisters too. My mom used to [make clothes yourself with a machine], and took me to secondhand-shops to buy clothes, and make them into new ones. I always like to be busy with fashion, although it was way different than with Gossip Girl. I didn’t dress anything like I dress now. It was good the way it was, I only lived in LA and was just a teenager.
How different is New York?
New York is a whole different world; we wear in the show all sorts of designer stuff and get the chance to build a personal relationship with designers like Karl Lagerfeld and John Galliano. They’re also a big fan of GG. A while back Valentino came to me and said; ‘O, could I please take a picture of you?!’ it was so unreal. And being asked to join tables with Karl Lagerfeld, Zac Posen and Michael Kors... just bizarre. It is an incredible honor to be so appreciated by such icons, and that they ask you to wear their clothes.
Long story short, you’re in heaven?
Oh yeah, big time.
How many pairs of shoes do you have?
I have a complete walk-in closed filled with shoes. I guess I have about 300 pairs, and they’re all lovely. I threw the collection shoes I had before them away, ‘till I had only four left, and collected the rest since I moved to New York, in about 1,5 year time [Jeez, 500 days and 300 pairs of shoes]
What do you remember from High School?
I led a very different life. I doesn’t look a bit to what I’m experiencing right now. My experiences are easy to compare to a very bad Prinze Jr-movie. I was cheerleader and class-president. I went out for charity every Friday night in a local hamburger shop. And I was dressed as a bulldog for the school-mascot.
I went to school from 6 in the morning till 4 in the afternoon, because I spent so much time outside the regular program. I was also in an extremely competitive school-choir. I loved school. I look back to it as a very all-American high school experience that you don’t really think is real. Well, what do you ask for? I lived in Burbank. That takes place in LA but is actually a small village in a big city. The Hollywood Studios are there, but apart from that you don’t notice you are in showbiz city LA.
What do you think of the New York-lifestyle when you compare it to the West Coast?
De city of New York itself. The architecture, the art and culture, the restaurants, the rocks on the pavement. It’s just a fantastic city to live in. In LA everything is closed at night, you can’t go out for a bite in the evening. But in NY you jump into a cab and get anywhere at 11 o’clock. Perfect!
Do you have a good shopping-address?
Of course. But I don’t have that much time to shop, so the best place for me is the closet in the GG-studios. I walk in, make notes, take a couple pictures with my IPhone, and mail them to our personal shoppers to buy it for me.
What is the best beauty-trick you learned from the GG-[people who put on make-up]
You have to take care of your hair. I swear at Kerastase, it’s the best hair-product ever. Kerastase saved my hair when I took extensions for my first movie. My hair already was long, but broke to it. And hot rollers and irons didn’t help. Kerastase made it grow. It’s thick and healthy.
So you don’t have fake hair anymore?
No, it’s all mine.
Do you work out a lot?
I used to do nothing, but I started. It happened when I met VS-model Isabel Goulart in a plane. She told me about her personal trainer who trains all the VS-models, and I thought, if I have to, this should be the best way.
Heidi Klum has one in NY.
Yeah, but he seems really strict to me. I can’t deal with a trainer who tells me I can’t eat cupcakes our brownies.
Did you live change since GG?
I changed very much. You should never forget that acting is only a job. You shouldn’t try to change it into a lifestyle. I think a lot of people go wrong on that one. It’s strange to see how people outside of NY recognize you. We are in some kinda bubble in here. I go home at 11 every night and am on set at 7 in the morning.
Does the fame affect you that much that you rather stay home and order food instead of going out?
No, you know which places to avoid, so you won’t get bothered the whole night.
Like Roberson Avenue in LA?
Yeah, that god there aren’t such popular street in NY, although there clubs where everyone goes. But I don’t like clubbing anyway. I rather stay home, because I love cooking.
You cook?
I love cooking so much; I’m a really good cook!
So when we wanna have dinner tomorrow?
Uhm well, I’m more of the baking. And nice unhealthy stuff. My whole family is from Georia and food is the thing!
About GG real quick, Serena has a good and a bad side, which on do you rather play?
Both. I think Serena is a lot more serious and wilder than myself. I’m more goofy from nature. I’d love to be more [cool-ish] like her, but unfortunately.
How do you think her relationship with Dan will evolve?
I don’t know. It’s like a ping-pong table with those two.
Do you know what’s in your script?
I think S en D are compairable to Ross and Rachel from friends. You want them to be together. I’d love them to be together, I think they’re cute. And I think the vieuwers think so too. Let’s wait and see..
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