Gossip Girl Style

Guide Note: The term, Gossip Girl Style, is a marketing phrase referring to the clothes worn on, and sold through, the CW network TV series, Gossip Girl. The series, based on a series of novels by Cecily von Ziegesar, features wealthy young socialites on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

The show employs an innovative marketing technique: Its website features a virtual shopping mall with the clothes that the characters are shown wearing on each episode. Featured labels include Marc Jacobs and American Apparel.

Fast Facts:

1. Product advertisements woven into the show's scripts are called "content wraps"
2. To create buzz, The CW organized Gossip Girl viewing parties at 20 sorority houses

Quotes:

1. Students at elite [New York City] schools who are familiar with the "Gossip Girl" books, penned by Cecily von Ziegesar, say that while the series exaggerates the amount of partying and the lack of parental involvement in their lives, it is accurate in its portrayal of shopping — not only in the amount of money their peers spend on clothing, but also regarding their proclivity for designer labels. —Gabrielle Birkner, The New York Sun