Episode 6, The Verdict: Loving Lively

Last week, I dared to ask you about Blake Lively's hair: love it or loathe it? Well, according to the New York Times article published earlier this month, a Google search of “Blake Lively Hair” produces 713,000 results, many of them “how to’s.” So maybe it was a stupid question, seeing that not one of you dared to utter the word "loathe." When it comes to this stunning gossip girl, we are clearly head-over-heels for her hair.

How to get the lovely Lively look is another story. The Times called her hair an exercise in studied dishevelment, which couldn't be more accurate. Translation: she manages to look like she rolled out of bed totally ready for the runway, a seemingly impossible feat. When it comes to copping her style, most of us are missing one element: the color, the length, the texture, the stylist... One of my friends has a head full of gorgeous blonde hair, but it defies her efforts to make it tussle. Another friend is brunette (like me), begging the question: can you have the hair without being a Blake-blonde?

Apparently, Jennifer Johnson, Miss Lively's stylist on the set of Gossip Girl, creates Blake's signature bedhead glam by letting her hair dry in a simple chignon. Of course, if you're not Serena van der Woodsen, I'm guessing you don't have time to wait for your hair to dry--especially when it's knotted in a chignon. A quick DIY tussle technique that I like to use is, after using a curling iron to make a few big, loose curls, I gently tease my hair at the roots with a comb. Then, I flip my hair upside down and spritz with a light holding spray. I may not be blonde, and I'm certainly no stylist--but I can tussle with the best of 'em.

Though it would be far easier to be Blake Lively, her luscious locks are actually within reach. Such is the beauty (literally) of that "All-American" look. As John Barrett, whose hair salon is located above Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan (sigh!), said to the Times, It looks accidental, but actually it takes work. For a fashionista?--Please! It's all in a day's work.

Quotes and information from: A 'Gossip Girl' Look, Pronto! by Sarah Maslin Nir, from the New York Times on November 10, 2009. To read the full article, click here. Images, in order of appearance: (1) Blake Lively W Magazine Cover, photo thanks to Gossip Girl Insider (www.gossipgirlinsider.com); (2) Blake Lively, photo from Buzz Sugar (online at http://xoxo-gossip-girl.buzzsugar.com/).