Blake Lively
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At a screening for her new movie The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee in New York, Blake Lively wore the kind of ensemble only she could get away with.

Seriously ... this is a new one, even for her. She's kind of like a delicious, decadent wedding cake with cleavage, you could say. Or you could say wow ...

Only Blake Lively can wear an outfit like this.

It's as if she's heeded the call of one of our Round Table panelists, who has been distraught by the lack of Serena cleavage for the past several episodes.

She shows a lot more than cleavage in The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee, interestingly. We haven't seen it ourselves, but there's a Blake Lively nude scene.

 “I think it’s uncomfortable, laying in strategically placed clothes taped on your body, in front of some strangers,” said Blake Lively of that part of the film.

Her co-star in it? Oscar winner Alan Arkin, 75.

“We’re all actors, we’re all professionals and we all understood what was happening. Everybody is uncomfortable with those scenes. You’re not going to be comfortable being half-naked in front of anyone. But, it was fine. It was short.”

Yes, you read that right. According to the N.Y.Times, on an average day at the Robert G. Salon in the West Village in Manhattan, Robert Gioria fields many different requests, but fueled by the same goal: to have "Blake Lively hair."

In the '90s, there was the “Rachel,” named for Jennifer Aniston’s character on the TV show Friends. Before Rachel it was the “Farrah,” for Farrah Fawcett.

As we know, Lively, 22, who plays Serena on Gossip Girl, has extra long, ultra-shiny blond tresses with a mussed-up tussle frolicking through the ends.

In other words, the woman and the tresses combine for "aspirational hair,” said John Barrett, whose salon sits atop Bergdorf Goodman in Midtown Manhattan. His clients “don’t just want the hair, they want the lifestyle.”

In the last six months, Lively’s cut - an exercise in studied dishevelment - has been his most requested. “I didn’t really realize the extent of it,” Blake said of her hair’s popularity, though she says she gets a lot of questions.

“It's always kind of odd, but unbelievably flattering.”

On Gossip Girl or in real life, Blake Lively's hairstyle is a popular trend - even an aspirational one for many women in New York City and beyond.

In fact, a Google search of “Blake Lively Hair” produces 713,000 results, many of them “how to’s.” Whether it works on just anyone is another story.

Some say Lively's look only works for tall, slim women, but clearly her hair appeals to all demographics. “Textured and Tousled," or "Curled and Swirled” styling is rising in popularity, rather than the flat-ironed look of seasons past.

This is attributed in large part to Blake Lively.

“I was born with a head full of hair,” said Blake, who maintains her look is mostly natural - no extensions, but some blond touched up by her stylist.

The only problem? "Some girls are born with amazing hair,” said one stylist, adding that hair like Lively’s “may set some unrealistic expectations.”

Hard to argue with that.

Gossip Girl star Blake Lively is featured in the new issue of Marie Claire this month, and needless to say, the 22-year-old looks stunning as always.

Below are some excerpts and photos from Blake's interview ...

On acting: "As a character, I get to be this wild, outgoing person that I’m so not. It comes from being the youngest of five. I was always observing my siblings and hearing stories about their lives that turned out to to be helpful as an actress."

On Gossip Girl fashion and expression: "Living in New York, I feel stronger and more like a woman than ever before. In high school, it was like, what power do I have - I have long blonde hair, you know? But working as hard as I do now, I feel a sense of power and respect, too.

I’ve learned an incredible amount about fashion on Gossip Girl. For me, clothes are a personal expression, and my style is as ever-changing as I am: I’m at a point when I am growing, maturing, developing, I’m going through new things in my life, and with that, what I choose to wear changes."

On being a Southern girl at heart: "I grew up in L.A., but I was the only one in my family born there. I have a tight-knit Southern family, so whenever I tell people I’m from L.A., they say, 'Yeah but you don’t count.'

I guess it's because of the Southern values I was raised with, and the way I eat - the more sugary and cheesy and fried, the better.

On her early school daze: "When I was only 3 years old, my mom enrolled me in the first grade. My older brother was supposed to start school, but he didn’t want to go alone, so my mom told them I was 6 since I was so tall. But after a few weeks, they said they would have to put me in mentally disabled classes because I wasn’t up to pace with the rest of the kids.

They thought that I was slow because all I wanted to do was sleep while the other kids were doing their projects. [laughs] So my mom took me out of school.”

Click to enlarge more Blake Lively pictures from Marie Claire ...

What's the best complement to the season's super-bold lash look? Decidedly pretty, sweet rosy lips, as seen on Blake Lively at a benefit hosted by Chanel.

Makeup artist Angela Levin, who created the look, tells Us Weekly she wanted something to match the stunning simplicity of the star’s diamond brooch.

She thus opted for dark, sexy eyes, but the rest of her face light and fresh.

To get the look, Angela said she lined the Gossip Girl actress' upper and lower lashes with shimmering black liner and stroked on three coats of mascara.

She then created the perfect pink shade for lips by blending two shades - first, a nude shade, followed by a slightly darker one to get the perfect pink hue.

The result? A gorgeous Blake Lively ....

In real life, Blake Lively may not be very similar to Upper East Side vixen Serena van der Woodsen. Well, except for her Gossip Girl alter ego's style.

“I dress just like Serena!” Blake admits in the November issue of Nylon magazine. “I own half her wardrobe, so it’s far too similar to how I dress!”

“I feel ridiculous at times with her, because I’m, you know, killing someone or marrying someone, but I look like me. I’m like, ‘Oh, this is absurd.’”

Having her Gossip Girl fashion mesh so seamlessly with her personal signature style, however, isn’t something that happens with most of her roles.

Blake Lively and Serena both look amazing.

“When I’m doing a movie, I hide behind the character’s hair or makeup or clothes. If I can transform myself, then people will believe that’s who that is," says the 22-year-old Blake. "And I need to believe that’s who that is.”

One fringe benefit of trying out a persona? Getting in new products that she might not try on herself, including her latest beauty obsession which she picked up on the set of her next movie, The Town: press-on nails.

“They’re really amazing,” she says.

Today's best gossip from the set of Gossip Girl? An update on Blake Lively and Penn Badgley, whose characters, as we know, used to date on the show.

Blake and Penn have dated for a good length of time now (May 2008 was our first report on the couple, who may have been together prior to that).

Is it looking like this could be a (gulp) forever thing?

According to a close pal of Lively's, it very much is. The couple are expected to announce their engagement soon - at least their friends think they are.

There's a lot to love about Blively. Possibly for life!

Sunday is Badgley's 23rd birthday, and while some speculated they might have something else to celebrate then, engagement talk is premature.

A little.

''I think if November 1 was Blake's birthday, he might have surprised her with a ring,'' quipped the source. ''But my guess is over the holidays.''

Hard to believe one of our favorite Gossip Girl couples could be making it official. We certainly wouldn't object! You two kids have our blessing!

This is random, but we think you'll have fun with it anyway. We often debate the merits of Gossip Girl couples, but which real-life pairing is your favorite?

Not that there's a wrong answer, really.

You have to love the fact that three different pairs of co-stars are currently dating - and not dating who their Gossip Girl characters are (at least right now).

Blake Lively and Penn Badgley have been an item since way back when Dan and Serena were a thing. Ed Westwick and Jessica Szohr are a couple, as well.

Rounding out our survey are Leighton Meester and recurring guest star Sebastian Stan (Carter). All seem happy and more stable than their GG alter egos!

There's still hope for you (age appropriate) single guys and girls: We think Chace Crawford, Michelle Trachtenberg, Taylor Momsen and Connor Paolo are single.

As for the three aforementioned pairs, who's your fave? Vote below!

Who's your favorite real-life Gossip Girl couple?

Gossip Girl co-stars and real-life couple Blake Lively and Penn Badgley attended the 2009 Angel Ball, benefiting Gabrielle's Angel Foundation, last night in NYC.

The attractive youngsters been together for a long time now, and certainly seem very happy every time we see them together. Aren't they just the cutest?

Derena may be done, but it Plake is going strong!

The 2009 Emmy Awards Sunday evening did not feature our favorite show nominated in any major categories, but Chuck and Blair were named the TV's #1 hottest couple during E!'s Emmy pre-show at least. Goooo Chair!

Also, the Gossip Girl cast's two leading ladies were on hand for the festivities, looking totally fabulous on the red carpet as you might expect.

Here's Leighton Meester in white and Blake Lively in red. Whose dress do you like better? Vote in our fashion survey below and let us know!

Which Gossip Girl star looked better at the 2009 Emmys?

You may not look like Blake Lively, but you can dress like her.

Semi-affordably, too! At least sometimes, thanks to Anna Sui.

The Gossip Girl star turned out at Fashion Week to celebrate Anna Sui's Gossip Girl-themed line for Target, which tops out at under $100.

Not a bad deal for something a glamorous gal like Lively would wear out.

Here's Blake in one of the line's offerings. What do you think?