Serena van der Woodsen is a main character in Gossip Girl which ran from 2007 to 2012. She is known as the “it girl” of the Upper East Side because she is a happy, carefree, fun-loving, and vibrant beautiful girl who everyone can’t help but adore. Her return to New York from boarding school serves as the story’s beginning point. She notices that a lot has changed since she returned from her trip. Her pals are not delighted with her reappearance, notably her best friend Blair Waldorf. She then meets Dan Humphrey, with whom she develops a romantic relationship and soon falls in love. Serena’s stories typically focus on her poor romantic choices and her search for a place in the world outside of the Upper East Side.
Research reveals that both biological and environmental variables play a part in developing our personalities, therefore I’ll be utilizing the Big 5 to examine Serena’s personality. We’ll start with Serena’s very high Extroversion. Serena’s easygoing, cheerful personality and colorful past give the impression that she is an extrovert by nature. As a mysterious girl with a preppy tourist style, this is how she initially appears to us at Grand Central.
Her distinctive long, undone blonde hair and the caramel leather jacket, striped blouse, and patterned kerchief she wore here foreshadow the type of carefree 2000s off-duty supermodel style she would have in future episodes. Since she’s coming back to New York after being gone for a year and the ones who decide to spontaneously visit Ibiza the following year. Serena is the life of the party, a fun-loving free spirit who may have her head a bit too much in the clouds, but is also actually a good person who does whatever she wants, whenever she wants.
Her clothes reflect these qualities; they are usually vivid in color and often include voluminous shapes that draw the eye. Dominance is established in this way because it is a symbol of superiority to grow one’s body larger and taller than that of others. One of the most basic and effective ways to assert leadership dates back to our caveman ancestors: make yourself seem big and powerful.
Because a silhouette highlights the outline, clothes may help achieve this effect. The silhouette is also a term used in the realms of fashion and fitness to define a person’s physical form or the shape produced by a certain type of clothing. That Serena may disregard norms of conduct is graphically shown here.
Serena’s fashion is eye-catching, she is never one to settle for a boring look, she often sports boho looks which is a style that is inspired by the lifestyle of free spirits and hippies of the 1960s and 1970s. This aligns with Serena’s attitude towards life as she tends to embrace the carefree, relaxed, and unusual. She wears a lot of earthy and warm hues.
Serena’s signature color is gold, which she often wears in her hair and dresses. Gold is associated with and represents success, accomplishment, and victory in the field of psychology. The psychological connotations of this hue suggest richness, extravagance, and opulence because of its association with such concepts as abundance, prosperity, luxury, quality, prestige, value, and elegance. Serena, who hails from a wealthy family and attends prominent elite schools, would feel right at home in this outfit.
Serena’s nature is impulsive and disorganized like how she is more frequently shown arriving home in the morning, to the relief of a frantic Lily, still wearing the cocktail dress from the night before. She puts off dealing with her consequences and gets into the habit of this since is easily forgiven by those around her. She carries a lightness to her that gives her an allure, but also a na·ive·té. This plays into the Light Feminine vs Dark Feminine trope. This is a character contrast trope where two female characters are decidedly feminine but in different ways.
Serena, the light, is heavenly and loves, whereas Blair, the dark, is diabolical and enjoys playing with desire. Dark characters are usually aloof and brooding, but light characters are usually lovely and can appear innocent even when they do something wrong. Serena and Blair’s qualities play off each other as character foils, as they do in every two-character cliche. Blair is the Dark, and she is the Light. Blair and Serena share an undeniably sister-like connection, despite their regular takedowns of one another.
Because of her high openness, she is naturally inquisitive, creative, spontaneous, and open. She tends to wing it rather than make plans, and is always up for an adventure or spontaneous get-together. Free spirits value individuality and want diversity. Serena has made it a priority to broaden her horizons beyond the Upper East Side. So she puts herself out there, is quite sociable, and is excellent with people; as a consequence, she often has things and chances given to her based on her looks and charm rather than her intelligence and skills.
For example, it is openly stated that she was sought after at three Ivy League universities not because of her academic aptitude, but because of her celebrity in the UES society. Another example is how she unintentionally disrupts Blair’s photo shoot. Her openness comes out in her body language, face, movements, and style, making her a natural muse. She’s been called the muse of various designers (most notably in the novels, though Dorota also claims that Marc Jacobs named a pocketbook after her in the show), and Dan subsequently demonstrates that he retains some important fashion expertise from his time dating her in a later season.
For instance, it is stated outright that the three Ivy League schools actively pursued her not because of her academic abilities, but rather because of her fame in society. Another instance is when she accidentally takes Blair’s place in the photoshoot for Waldorf Designs. Her openness radiates from her face, body, and actions, making her an easy choice for inspiration. Dan eventually proves that he maintains some crucial fashion acumen from his time with her, and she is considered the inspiration of numerous designers (most notably in the books, but Dorota also states that Marc Jacobs named a pocketbook after her in the series).
On a personality test, a person who scores high on agreeableness is often pleasant, courteous, and sensitive to others’ feelings. They have an optimistic view of human nature and get along well with people of all different types. People who have a high agreeableness score should strive for social harmony, which is something that Serena is very good at owing to the excellent love, affection, and temperament that she has. others who have a high agreeableness level are more cooperative, while others who have a low agreeableness level are more competitive and manipulative. She is the bad girl archetype with a heart of gold, which implies that even when she is behaving badly (as she did mainly before the pilot), she is still a really nice person who is eager to help people, be there for her loves ones, and cares about humanity at large.
Serena has a calm demeanor that persists even when she’s unhappy, which accounts for her low levels of neuroticism. She’s an assertive and confident girl with self-assurance in equal measures to her beauty. She gets frustrated at times, but her anger normally dissipates when she moves on to something else or someone else. She is a damsel in distress at many times who expects others to fix her problems for her or look past her faults. She had all the hallmarks of the archetype, from having her mother frame her for the theft of a bracelet that was truly a gift to having her vehicle crash because of wolves crossing the road during her affair.
The only time we see Serena’s higher neurotic is when it comes to her love life and her need to be loved all the time. Her father departed early on, and she spends a lot of time looking for him and trying to garner his attention – this behavior is a habitual, unconscious attempt to cope with severe worry, which leads to rash and impulsive behavior. Serena tends to fill this emptiness by looking for love outside of herself after this chapter, and from season 3 onwards, she falls in love with love.
Serena, in contrast to Blair who seeks out inner self-development, is driven by the need to strengthen her relationships for external development. Serena’s style is distinctly her own; she dresses in a way that complements her personality while still appealing to men. Her outfit contributes to her being the most attractive character in the series. According to studies, certain types of attire actually make women more beautiful. For example, the studies discovered that the length of a man’s heel enhanced his inclination to help a woman, but that the length of a woman’s heel had no effect on her willingness to help. Another case in point is According to some research, the color red promotes males to perceive women as sexually appealing and attractive.
Serena makes her final appearance on the show when she marries Dan Humphrey. Her outfit, an asymmetrical Georges-Chakra-Couture gown with metallic details on the bodice and skirt, is unsurpassed, despite the event’s casual, at-home atmosphere. Serena’s signature colors are gold and glitter, as evidenced by her cotillion gown, thus this final ensemble is just suited.
While Serena does not place fashion on par with other kinds of art, she is cognizant of the fact that the clothes she wears reveal her authentic personality and upbeat outlook on life. Her outfit selection reflects her warm and kind character and helps her reach her objectives of finding her own sense of purpose and staying connected to the world at large. Serena’s aesthetic has been influential because of her laid-back demeanor and her chic, down-to-earth sense of design from the original air to ongoing steaming to this day of the series. Similarly, a whole generation of individuals was inspired by her it-girl attitude, larger-than-life antics, and fashion choices that capture her spirit.
SOURCES: Serena van der Woodsen Bio- https://gossipgirl.fandom.com/wiki/Serena_van_der_Woodsen Gossip Girl Characters- https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/GossipGirl The Light vs Dark Feminine definition- https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine Attractive Psychology- https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gvezeq/the-agony-and-the-ecstasy-of-being-incredibly-hot Gossip Girl Big 5 Personality- http://www.tpof-thepsychologyoffashion.com/decoded-big5/gossip-girl Psychology Big 5 Personality Traits- https://www.simplypsychology.org/big-five-personality.html