Jenny Humphrey a.k.a Little J's style had a lot to speak about her development and involvement with every character on the show possible. Her style was an indication of her powerful identity and it resulted into something much more than meets the eye!
Does it ever happen to you when you aren’t in a desired zone you make sure you are watching or listening to something that puts you back on track. Back in the summer of 2020 (Hello, pre-covid world), when I was actually buried in the preparations of my collection I longed for a feeling of rush. I wanted to experience walking around cities, riding in trains, taking coffee in hand (though I don’t drink coffee) and push my glasses aside and stare at the imaginary sky rise for absolutely no reason. Yes, I was longing for that Manhattan meets Mumbai rush and that’s when I started to search through movies/series that would provide me that feeling. The list was quite good honestly (If you want to know about that list, let me know!). So, my answer came in two simple words- ‘Gossip Girl’
Much like the whole world, I got hooked to Gossip Girl instantly. Spanning for a good 6 seasons (I expected the show to have a longer run), GG is media, fashion and psychology’s secret best friend. So, what made this show evidently popular? Well, the answer is simple- bunch of teenagers indulging in the adult world and a surveillance of a gossip blog makes up for a good premise (Trust me, even if you disagree here, try watching the season 1. The character built up is irresistible). This way GG added to the mid-2000s hullabaloo in the age of transforming technology, the show became a part of this development and the rest is history.
Before we delve into more of GG and how it has been penetrated into our culture- let’s shift to little J; Jenny Humphrey. Jenny is introduced as the baby of the series, spunky with her ‘I-want-to-be-a-fashion-designer’ determination and adoring (or rather obsessing) Blair Waldorf’s intimidating persona, seemed like a good charm to the show. She was everything that a narrative longs for- a sweet teenager bent on the road to self-destruction (sort of). Pretty with her headbands and yellow jackets as Little J updates herself into a spunky haircut accompanied with clothes that breathe into a color palette that is more towards punk/rock and with that, the makers take liberty to put her through a series of events that would make her into an unstoppable force to reckon with. Jenny later adorns the permanent fixture of black, whites and grey with silhouettes, more or less, making her into a personality outlined perfectly with what her character was bending towards; rebel but without a cause. Stylish, I must say. This transformation or growth, as one might differ, added a sense of power to Jenny and we make peace with the fact that she might never be the same. This was the tempo that was set for Jenny in the Upper East side that we, as viewers, got used to. Though, I will argue to the fact that she was the odd one out, she was just two to three steps ahead of everyone on the Upper East Side. Her style was a result of how she took her simple adoration of Blair’s power and channelized it into her own way. So, if Blair is the queen of preppy university style, Jenny made sure she got it done in the same way with her black, whites and greys. That was Jenny’s response to the Upper East Side.
One thing to observe were Jenny's handbags. They were always bent towards an edgier mood with bulk, rhinestones and rexine.
The biggest takeaway that Jenny takes from everyone from the upper east side is courage to act in a certain way and to react much louder than intended, though not dramatic. The becoming of Jenny was a landslide for everyone. She tried to hold on to some of the UES (Upper East Side) but that disappointed her. Her disappointment adds fuel to her fire and makes her drift further. At this point, we witness Jenny Humphrey, becoming the character that is connected with every character (Imagine Eric’s presence without Jenny). This was little J becoming Jenny Humphrey as a person with opinions and a mind of her own. It made Jenny successful and gave her a sense of power, which most of the characters hadn’t achieved in 3 seasons *cough Nate Archibald cough*. In this process her growth, her credit and her way of dealing with situations and dragging her consistently in everyone’s life belittled Jenny to not to enjoy her own moments or give her a second to introspect where she stands in her own life. Rather than switching multiple characters to develop sub-plots, it sadly resulted into her narrative just spinning out of control and finally being too chaotic. Now, after all the chaos has been used upto a level, I knew the show couldn’t drag or tell us Jenny’s journey (actual journey to her dream and not to whom she kisses next). This was Jenny undone, in the loop.
This was a result of me quitting the show mid season 4. Few weeks back I wanted to figure out the reason and this was what I could confer- the key character, Jenny, was connected to all the central characters and when a link breaks, a sense of continuity gets lost and believe me, after that (Vanessa Abrams character too went into the same “typical teenage plot”- girl gone bad) the characters were left running around the bushes.
Spotted: a new wave of teenagers sitting on the steps of MET? Look closely, can you spot Queen B, Serena, little J, Chuck Bass and Lonely Boy? See you soon, xoxo, Gossip Girl
Xoxo, //P.
tags:
#gossipgirl #jennyhumphrey #littlej #characterstyle #costumedesign #characterstudy #taylormomsen #black #punkrock
Comments