Little Black Dress Lifestyle: Living LBD: Blair Waldorf

As part of this blog, I would like to start off each week by looking at a woman who I think is living a LBD lifestyle. This person may be real, fictional, deceased, or alive, but possesses certain qualities that we all should admire and use to inspire our own journeys.

First up is Blair Waldorf from the TV show Gossip Girl (the book series Blair is completely different so we're going to stick to the show).

Blair Waldorf | Gossip Girl S-1 When Blair and Serena posed in Blair's mom's Stolen Dresses

(via Pinterest)

Perhaps one of the things I love most about Blair is that she's a deeply flawed character that is going after her dreams. On the show, Blair really did a lot of scheming that ended up reflecting poorly on her, but at the heart of it, she had important principles and philosophies she lived by that helped her finally achieve a LBD lifestyle. Here are some of Blair's qualities we should all strive to have:

1.Confidence & Self-Awareness: Blair is extremely self confident and knows what is important to her. She pursued her dream to take over her mother's fashion label, despite many set backs, and eventually used what she knew and loved all her life to redefine her brand. Superficially, she knew what her style was like—always decked out in lady-like dresses and killer pumps. She looked like she could take on the world and often did.

2. Phoenix-Rising-From-The-Ashes Syndrome: Maybe I've seen Harry Potter one too many times, but I always think of people reinventing themselves as a phoenix rising from the ashes. Because the show ran for several seasons, we were able to see Blair's vulnerability, which often appeared when one of her plans didn't go according to plan. Many times, it seemed like Blair wouldn't be able to repair her life after the latest disaster, but through her perseverance (and the magic of television), she manages to pull through and become a better person in the end.

3. Romantically Aware: If you're at all familiar with the plot line of Gossip Girl, you know about the relationship between Blair and Chuck. While their love is certainly crazy and a little unrealistic a lot of time, Blair shows strength of character in how she handles the ups and downs of their relationship. Even after Chuck tries to sell her for a hotel (outrageous, I know), Blair doesn't come running back to him, but instead distances herself and works on being the woman she wants to be. Later on when all is forgiven between the two, Blair still refuses to jump right into a relationship with him again because she wants to define herself as an independent woman and get to know herself before being Mrs. Chuck Bass.

4. Fantastic One-Liners: If you still think Blair is a horrible example of living a LBD life, you certainly can't deny that she has fantastic quotes. I think we could also use a few more quips and witticisms in our lives!