Battle of the (Head)bands: An Ode to Blair Waldorf

In honor of last night's Gossip Girl season finale, it seems appropriate that today's post pay tribute to the Upper East Side elite, don't you think? After all, it will be months before we can drink the Kool-Aid again (sigh!). Not to mention that GG is riddled with fashion dos and don'ts... So without further ado, let us shift our focus my favorite Blair Waldorf fashion DO, the source the Queen B's power: the headband.

Daily Intel, New York Magazine's fantastically fabulous weekly coverage of GG (if you haven't read it yet, then count your lucky stars that you now have something to do until our beloved show returns), gives bonus points for "this series of three lines in a row, in which nobody is listening to anybody else:

Nelly: What would high school be without hierarchy?

Jenny: Bearable? A nice place to spend time?
Blair: Ladies, I thought we were matching our headbands under our caps."

Ahh, Blair, this is why we love you. Of course, headbands have NEVER gone out of style. Making their first appearance when we are just itty bitty girlies to keep back our unruly--and often unbrushed--locks, they maintain their rule all the way into adulthood, particularly if your fashion sensibilities include even a hint of prep. But if we're being honest, Blair Waldorf has made headbands simply iconic.

Perhaps one of the better scenes last night included the passing on of the crown--and by "crown," you know I mean ridiculously blinged out headband. This was preempted by Blair's oh-so-Blair-ish monologue: That's the thing. You need to be cool to be queen. Anne Boleyn thought only with her heart, and she got her head chopped off. So her daughter Elizabeth made a vow never to marry a man. She married a country. Forget boys. Keep your eye on the prize, Jenny Humphrey. You can't make people love you, but you can make them fear you. For what it's worth, you're my queen. I choose you.

Let's to be clear: it is the headband that is at the very core of all fear and trembling. So if you're looking to rule the social scene--or the world--just like Blair, you're going to need your own signature headband. Allow me offer a few suggestions...

Sadly, some do not appreciate the inherent power of this iconic accessory. Take Little J--now Queen J--whose first royal decree was to abolish headbands?! Shocking. Is a queen without a crown still a queen? Is Jenny just jealous that the headband look doesn't work for her the way it did for Blair?

Regardless, I have a sneaking suspicion that we haven't seen the end of headbands on Gossip Girl. I mean, what would Blair do with her hair at college without her signature headband? I guess we will just have to wait and see. Until then, you know you love me. XOXO...Lolly

Headbands in order of appearance: (1) Valentino Headband on Leighton Meister as Gossip Girl's Blair Waldorf, photo courtesy of the CW, www.cwtv.com/shows/gossip-girl; (2)Taffeta Flower Headband from J. Crew, $22.50 at www.jcrew.com; (3) Ever-Bloom Headband from Anthropologie, $28 at www.anthropologie.com; (4) Plumage Headband from Urban Outfitters, $24 at www.urbanoutfitters.com.