5 Gossip Girl mistakes that the reboot should fix

SPOTTED: The cast of the Gossip Girl Reboot getting cosy on the steps of the Met. Already swapmed with criticism and online hate from just one look it seems that they have a lot of cold hearts to thaw. I'll be honest, after eight long years I'm more than ready to get back into the game... our new scandalous teens have already proven that no one is safe. Xoxo Gossip Girl. 

I'll never forget the day that I decided to start watching Gossip Girl. Posters promoting the show had been plastered all over buses and billboards throughout my childhood but I had always written off the series as one of those boring programs for adults and my Disney Channel obsession wouldn't quite let me venture out into the world of The CW, even as a teenager. 

The day that I gave good old GG a chance was in a sense the day that everything changed for me. This might sound very dramatic but that's because it is. I've realised that so many of the things that I love and want now, I love and want simply because a TV show inspired me to and I know that I'm definitely not alone in this. My devotion to the Gossip Girl universe doesn't, however, prevent me from recognising that the show had some major flaws and along with other fans of the series, I hope to see these rectified in the upcoming Reboot. 

1. The complete erasure of BIPOC New Yorkers... 

Did the writers of Gossip Girl seriously expect us to believe that Isabel Coates was the only black high-schooler on the Upper East Side? It seemed that when the show was seriously lacking ethnic diversity a token black character was haphazardly thrown into the mix *cough - Raina - cough*. The creators of the TV series have expressed that they regret not incorporating more BIPOC and LGBTQ+ characters but viewers like me are not prepared to let it slide. 

NO Eric's storyline was not enough to represent gay teens and don't even mention that Asher dude. 

The truth is that everyone was watching Gossip Girl when it aired and everyone wanted to be in it; non-white and non-straight viewers deserved adequate representation then as much as they do now. 

2. That Chuck Bass 'redemption' arc

Now to unpack the Chuck-Jenny storyline that makes my skin crawl. In Season 1, Chuck attempts to rape Jenny. Chuck was undoubtedly introduced as one of the more malevolent characters in the pilot but I do feel that viewers were encouraged to forgive him way too quickly. Perhaps Chuck's redemption arc was purely intentional and existed to expose the fact that the world is skewed to benefit wealthy white men; the Chuck Basses of the world will do the crime and always avoid doing the time. 

There is one quote from Blair that will always stick in my mind: "Chuck likes to brag about his conquests, not his victims". To me, this has always insinuated that he often took advantage of girls and everyone knew about it but no one seemed to care. At least this storyline did raise awareness for the issue of rape culture in high schools and colleges. 

3. Absolutely no closure on the whole college thing 

If we're made to sit through three seasons of Gossip Girl 2.0 that revolve around the characters competing to get into their dream schools just for the whole concept of college to be subsequently erased from the entire plot... I'm gonna lose it. One of the most frustrating mistakes that the original show made was underestimating the intelligence of its viewers (a large portion of whom were young people with a pretty sound understanding of how the college process works). We didn't even get to see them graduate! The study blogger in me was very disappointed that we didn't get more nerdy shots of them cramming for exams like we did in Season 1. 

4. Vanessa.

 As someone who actually read the Gossip Girl prequel, I was heartbroken to discover that we were tricked into hating Cecily Von Ziegesar's best character. In the books, Vanessa is a badass bald filmmaker who lives with her sister and actually attends Constance! 

Vanessa in the TV show was just plain annoying which seriously irritated me as a black female viewer! Vanessa just felt like an afterthought and her character was never really explored in depth or developed. She was just in love with Dan, hated rich people and did a little scheming (what was even the point, right?). 

Jordan Alexander is the baddie in the photo whose character arguably has the most interesting aura about them. I mean just look at those boots! I'm predicting that her style might be loosely based on the original Vanessa, which would be awesome.

5. Gossip Girl's Identity 

If you're anything like me, you tend to forget that this even happened. 

I fundamentally disagree with the entire notion that Gossip Girl's identity had to be revealed in the first place, it literally just ruined all the fun! In the books, we never find out and it's better left that way. 

Now that Gossip Girl is all around us thanks to social media hopefully we won't have to deal with another terrible ending. 

With all the complaining that you've just read you might find it hard to believe that Gossip Girl is my favourite TV show but despite any personal qualms that I may have with the series, I'll always romanticise the lives of the "Non-Judging Breakfast Club" and day-dream about living in Manhattan. 

Until next time, 

Ranyechi xoxo 

Lily-Rose Depp: Celebrity Style Guides

A guide for those who can't decide if they prefer bagels or baguettes.

 

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A post shared by Lily-Rose Waldorf ✨💗 (@lilyrosewaldorf)

I first became a fan of LRD when British Vogue featured her on their "In the Bag" YouTube series. Conversations surrounding fashion and makeup around that time seemed to be wholly centered around a 'more is more' attitude. Contour and lip kits took center stage at every drug store, as did endless eyebrow pomades, powders and gels designed to help you get that perfect fade. As a 16-year-old who loved wearing shimmery eyeshadow and already liked the shape of her natural eyebrows, it was reassuring to see a famous teen embrace her natural beauty and just wear makeup how she wanted to wear it. The thing that I like best about Lily-Rose's style is that it feels authentically her, you can see both her french roots shining through her laid back outfits when she's strolling around Paris, and spot when she's keeping up with those super cool New York trends. 

Street Style

Lily-Rose's outfits always emanate an air of effortlessness, which is down to their simple nature and her tendency to re-wear a selection of gorgeous staple items. Let's start off with my most favourite piece: the Loro Piana Leather Horsey Jacket. 

This jacket is so incredibly versatile and it's length and fit makes it perfect for almost any occasion. Pre-owned versions of the jacket were being sold on the internet for $1,010.00 and similar cheaper jackets can be found at high street stores such as Mango. 

Now onto an entire outfit that I adore! During a spring trip to LA, Lily-Rose was spotted in her Loro Piana jacket, an Athenia Knit Top by Brandy Melville, Vintage Levi straight leg jeans and Chanel Beige Slingbacks. Kitten heels seem to be a very divisive shoe amoungst our generation... you can either absolutely love them or detest and want to burn them. I identify with the former and think that pairing kitten heels with straight leg jeans not only adds a bit of height for us shorter girls, but creates a perfect middle ground between looking put-together and an effortlessly casual look. Lily-Rose's bag of choice was the Hermès Suede Plume Bag which match her stunning slingbacks. 

The next staple item that Lily-Rose wore a lot this winter/spring were the Chanel Brown Patent Leather CC Logo Chain High Boots. Knee-high boots have such a sophisticated vibe about them and I remember the first time that I was given a pair to wear. I felt girly and powerful at the same time and I still feel as though they add that sense of youthful maturity to an outfit.  In a similar way to the jacket, these boots can be dressed up and worn on a glam night out, or slightly dressed down for an elegant outfit during the day.  

Just a few days ago Lily-Rose was spotted in this casual summer ensemble. Honestly, you can't really go wrong with a white bodysuit and a pair of jeans, it might as well go into the bible of effortlessly cute outfits! Lily-Rose's bodysuit is from Brandy Melville, her jeans are black vintage 80’s Levi's and the look is brought together by the Chanel Oval 5416 Sunglasses. 

Hair & Makeup

Any Lily-Rose Depp fan will know that she sports mostly natural makeup looks which accentuate her existing facial features. I too prefer these sorts of makeup looks for everyday wear and think that a nude lip really brings it all together in such a subtle glam way.  

I'm personally not the hugest fan of lipstick but my favourite nude gloss is Hot Chocolit by Fenty Beauty!

Lily-Rose has expressed that she doesn't dye her hair as she loves her natural hair colour, but finds it fun to experiment with wigs from time to time. She also prefers to wear her hair down rather than up and tends to save intricate hairstyles for special events. 

Accessories

I couldn't do a Lily-Rose Depp style guide without including the famous bright pink cowboy hat! There's not much that needs to be said about this one, it just passes the vibe check.

During the warmer months, Lily-Rose is rarely sighted without a pair of sunglasses (Chanel to be exact) and these simple rectangle sunglasses were super popular last year. 

Lily-Rose also does not use airpods... do with that what you will I suppose. The starlet either uses standard Apple earphones or the Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones II. 

I hope that you enjoyed this post and be sure to look out for future style guides!

Until next time, 

Ranyechi 

*Photos are either directly from Lily Rose Depp's Instagram or readily available Pap photos from Getty/Google Images* 

Why haven't our lives always mattered to you?!

So much for going on a social media break.

The last week has been extremely distressing, heartbreaking and traumatic to say the least. Each time that the name of a black person who was inexcusably murdered by the police hits the headlines and goes viral on social media, I feel the world halt to a stand-still, as it just becomes impossible to think or care about anything else. 

Today is #blackouttuesday and amidst feeling empowered by my black friends, I feel slightly confused. It was somewhat perturbing to wake up and see a hashtag, initially created by members of the music industry to amplify the Black Lives Matter movement, being used by my white counterparts who had otherwise chosen to remain silent on this issue. The presence of performative activism has become extremely topical and many have begun to understand that participating in such social media movements without action is futile. I felt compelled to archive my post as I just couldn't shake the feeling that it was enabling others to upload a picture of a black square and think that they had actually taken "a stand against racism". I therefore decided to express my thoughts on the movement and share what I've learned so far as a contribution to 'Blackout Tuesday'. 

Over the past few days, I have felt trapped in what I can only describe as a 'day-nightmare'. I feel like I have to constantly shake myself and remember that I’m wide awake. It's both slightly triggering and slightly satisfying to see white people echo the same words that you were once isolated, shamed and punished for saying in school. It becomes more triggering than satisfying however, when you see the same white kids who once made fun of your natural hair and made racist jokes engaging in the blackout hashtag or posting things such as: "I understand that I'll never understand" or "I’m not black, but I see you".

My personal view is that as young black people we deserve to take a step back and reflect upon what is going on in our own way. We can take to any online platform and voice our concerns but we are not obliged to if we don’t feel that it will be beneficial for our mental health. We can take a break because we will always start again. We’ve been fighting against systemic racism our entire lives, our families have been fighting this fight for generations and we’re going to have to keep on fighting regardless of what social media movements are taking place. 

A lot of activism related jargon has been floating around the internet which I think is majorly positive, as it has encouraged millions of us to learn about concepts and phrases that we were otherwise unfamiliar with. One particular sentiment that I have learnt and will continue to carry with me is that white people are responsible for their own ignorance - it is not our job to educate them. 

It's important to acknowledge that we won't always know what the 'right thing' to do or say is, so in instances such as these I think about what my younger self would have benefitted from hearing. Young Ranye could have avoided a lot of trauma if she recognised that it wasn’t her responsibility to educate the white adults around her. As a child, she shouldn't have had to try and explain why there was no legitimate reason for her jaw-length natural hair to be tied up when her white peers were able to keep their waist-length hair out of an uncomfortable pony-tail. In Year 9, she shouldn't have had to explain to her white history teacher that the western world was built off’ the backs of African slaves whilst learning about the triangular slave trade. 

If you’re younger than me and you’re a black girl and you’re reading this: every time I speak up, I speak up for you. "Your voices matter, your dreams matter, your lives matter. Be the roses that grow in the concrete". - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. 

As a final note, I must add that as much as I feel the need to protest, I might not be able to due to the current threat of COVID-19. If you’re in the same situation as me please carefully consider what you’re going to do next. 

We are still in the midst of a pandemic. 

For now, this is a part of my protest. I am certainly not done and neither are the rest of us. 

No justice? No peace. 

Resources:

• https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
• https://blacklivesmatter.com/resources/
• https://www.theblackcurriculum.com/action

Personal recommendation for younger readers:

• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas 

The comment section for this post will remain open so if you have any other resources that I haven't linked, please share them!

RIP George Floyd. 

We don't have to peak yet

One thing that I particularly hate about quarantine is that we're all left with a little too much time to think. 

I've uncovered secondary school memories that I thought were permanently exiled to the 'DESTROY' folder of my brain and now I can't quite keep the recurring cringe attacks at bay. Alongside constantly questioning my existence and why on earth 13-year-old Ranye decided to do THAT with her hair, I've been having the odd breakdown about why I'm not a published Vogue journalist and how on earth I'm gonna get there... and that ladies and ladies gentlemen is what today's post is all about. 

As a generation we're often accused of wanting to get rich and famous without ever having to do any 'real' work, but the truth is that we're just a bunch of over-achievers who've been told that if we don't study economics or STEM we're essentially done for. According to The Economist: Generation Z is stressed, depressed and exam-obsessed and yah that's pretty much spot on. We're not 'hungry for fame' but instead we're hungry for approval, validation and success, and the gut-wrenching feeling of never being good enough is worsened by the realisation that theoretically all your dreams could come true in a finger-snap.  Overnight anyone can become a total internet sensation and subsequently have the agency to do whatever the hell they want, there's no age limit and it's all down to a sprinkle of luck and dab of strategy - that's a pressure that no other generation has had to deal with. 

We don't have to peak, yet. 

I have this serious panic every month or so that if I don’t immediately get my sh*t together and start working on some master plan to be Anna Wintour by the age of 25, then my life will be over, and I'm sure that no matter what industry you've got your eye on breaking into you've had a similar internal crisis. 

me whenever I remember that we're entering a recession bc of corona

It's taken me being quarantined in the midst of a pandemic to realise that actually, I'm not going to be at the peak of my career by my 25th birthday and that's not an expectation that I should put on myself, or something that I should even want.

I'm literally just nineteen. 

I’d only just experienced what freedom felt like, as I'd finally busted out of the confines of my conservative Christian home and moved out for uni (sorry Mum & Dad but newsflash - not allowing your daughter to wear shorts is not all that progressive and would probably cause an uproar in the American Bible Belt, even the Mormons would think that’s going a bit too far). 

It's honestly hilarious that I've been putting so much pressure on myself to be Editor-in-chief ready when I've only just started to figure out my personal style. 

me to myself

I'm not going to stop working hard and trying to achieve my dreams because why on earth would I do that?!, but it’s also crucially important to remember that our careers don't have to reflect a sprint - they can also resemble an awful cross-country race i.e. you're a bit anxious at the start and it’s painful in the middle, but the finish line is worth it - and I find great comfort in that. 

When you seriously think about it, it makes sense that we're not good enough yet because we're not meant to be. We're not born excellent but we work hard to get there. As young adults, we should revel in the fact that we're not fully grown and don't have wrinkles or sleepless nights worrying about the future prospects of our bratty children.

Essentially, I just wanted to take some time out of my boring quarantine routine to say that we don't have to peak yet, we're okay, we're doing our best and it is enough. 

music for moods

Whilst I have a little more time on my hands due to this terrifying, awful, suffocating, the usa created this disease to kill us all quarantine situation, I thought I'd share my somewhat obscure, somewhat basic music taste and categorise it according to mood! 

 

Hope you enjoy this more light hearted post :) x 

 

LITTY

aesthetic/sparkly

when i wanna scream in my room 

listen to these songs when you feel like you're losing your mind because life is coming at you way too fast

feelin' sorry for myself :'(

vibin'

what i think of uni so far

I wasn't planning for my first post to be about university but as I've skipped my seminar and spent the morning listening to Fine Line instead, it seemed fitting. 

From years ten to twelve at school, I was convinced that I needed to go to a university that was as far away as possible. My initial plan was to go for one of the Australian Go8 universities, apply for various American colleges and even a Scottish university if all else failed. Through some cruel twist of fate, I couldn't have stayed any closer to home. Somehow I ended up choosing to stay in London, which is something that I feared I would regret but luckily so far I love it at King's. It is also however undeniable that sometimes I hate it here and I guess that's what this post is really about. 

So many of us gullible fools skip off to uni expecting it to be this perfect experience where we 'find ourselves', make friends for life and come out with 2:1s even though we never read the books. During sixth form we're entirely consumed with gaining admission into these prestigious institutions, and fail to consider, that what we're meant to be doing and feeling might just become an extremely blurred line. Some may call it character building, I call it a big fat con. 

I can't even blame Hollywood for misrepresenting university because that's supposed to be fake. Instead, I blame all the middle-aged people who had the most incredible time, got paid to go to university and somehow expect us to live up to that. I'm only in my first year and therefore have no choice but to assume that this is the worst part and the rest will only get better. Every aspect of this year has been incredibly tough at times: moving out and trying your best to cook rather than ordering endless ubereats, making friends/maintaining old friendships and the dreaded workload.  

I know that some will roll their eyes and say that the workload isn't that bad but I found having to read 4-5 texts/critical essays (plus extra research) per week a horrendously difficult task!

The best way to describe how I feel about uni so far is to confirm that in Europe one can indeed just feel 'whelmed'. (See Figure 1 below) 

Figure 1
10 Things I Hate About You (1999) 

My first year of university has been so overwhelming that I've wanted to get the tube home and never come back, and so underwhelming that I've turned to my best friend in utter shock and whispered "surely, this isn't what it's really like?". When you take a step back and reflect on it all, you do realise that these experiences just single each other out. 

If you're going to university soon, the one piece of advice that I can give is to not put too much pressure on yourself. Do the best that you can because it's just about staying afloat at the beginning and from my observations, no one actually knows what they're doing anyway. You probably won't feel like it's the best year of your life in the moment, but things will change drastically and I suppose there's a lot of fun in that. 

a fresh start of sorts

After toying with the idea of creating a blog for weeks I've decided to take my own advice and just go for it.

If by any chance you have randomly stumbled across this page, my name is Ranyechi and I'm a comparative literature student. 

At one point in my younger teen years, I decided to swap my regular Popstar! mag for British Vogue and soon realised that I wanted to be a writer and possibly work in the fashion or film industry. I created a blog when I had just turned fourteen under an alias name and loved having my own creative space to publish what I wanted. 

I considered re-starting my old blog for a while but felt more disconnected from it as time went on, and as one can imagine, I'm simply not the same girl that I was five years ago. This blog will therefore feature more mature topics as well as the occasional music playlist and sharing of my current favourites. 

Next week's post will be an exposé of what university is really like, so if that's something that you're interested in you may want to subscribe and stick around. 

Here's everywhere else you can find me 

Until next time,
Ranyechi x 

Clueless (1995) dir. Amy Heckerling