Talking about Gossip Guy

When I interviewed Blake Lively for our December cover, our chat covered the waterfront from whipped creme “carburetors” (a total foodie, she actually owns one) to the fact that she’s now being tapped for indie films alongside the likes of Alan Arkin and Julianne Moore.

Though Blake’s obviously got a lot going on, I couldn’t resist asking about my favorite Gossip guy: Ed Westwick, aka the sinister Chuck Bass. Sliming his way through every episode in one insane, prep-run-amok ensemble after another, he’s emerged as the show’s true fashion scene-stealer.

“It’s so much fun,” Blake said, chuckling over Westwick’s out-there get-ups. “This is when I knew it had hit an all-time high level of craziness: Something happened with my outfit for the White Party episode. We were on location and it was five in the morning, so we couldn’t go to any local stores. We were trying to find different pants because something was happening with the seams on mine. And they pulled out a pair of Chuck’s shorts to try to get me to wear those. It was summer time, and they were these tiny, tiny little shorts. And they actually kind of fit me, which was the sad part.”

According to GG executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, Chuck’s peacock persona draws on input from costume designer Eric Daman and Westwick himself. “Peacock is the operative word–he’s strutting with the brightest feathers,” said Schwartz. “It’s a great fusion of Eric Daman’s sensibilities and Stephanie’s incredible supervision, combined with Ed Westwick’s utter fearlessnesss. The man will rock a headband and a crazy basketball jersey, or like a bowtie and a seersucker suit, without one ounce of self-awareness. Or fear.”

All photos courtesy of CW.