The Way You Wear That Flowered Dress Time Stands Still

Rose, Peony, Orchid, Passion Flower and Daisy

Floral dresses are symbol of elegance, sophistication and femininity. Floral dresses are appropriate for every season even if they always symbolize the spring, the bloom, the blossoming, the develop, a good and full of beauty growth. They indicate carefreeness and cheerfulness (or at least the hope and the desire to feel that way).

For example, Blair is wearing cowslips on her dresses in episodes 3X01 and 3X03, whit this meaning of spring, since cowslips are the first flower blossoming in the spring and are symbol of "first love", childhood and hope. They well represents the beginning of Chuck and Blair's relationship who, after their "honeymoon" summer, are completely absorbed by each other (also the floreal outfit of episode 3X05). Wearing floral dresses is indicative of a femininity which is sweet and explosive at the same time: Blair has been wearing many floral dresses, floral accessorizes and jewels through these five seasons. To every dress corresponds a flower and to every flower a meaning.

The Rose:

The rose is the symbol par excellence of love, devotion, admiration, beauty and perfection. In mythology, the "rose of the lovers" is the flower sacred to Venus, the roman goddess of love. It's a symbol of immortal romanticism, used to declare the feeling of profound and passionate love for a special person. Depending on the red shade of the petals, the rose can expresses different emotions.

Red roses: The dress Blair is wearing in episode 5X10 is adorned with intense red roses (reddish purple), red fruits, hollies and berries. The reddish purple, which symbolizes the immortality and is "expression of all the true feelings that should never change as time goes by, since they're eternal and unique", here indicates the pain caused by the accident. The holly shaped golden brooch, worn by Blair while Dan is bringing her to Chuck, and when Chuck confesses her to feel ready to be with her and to love her child like a part of his family, is considered as good luck charm and it is symbol of power and prevention from all the evils. Also, according to the legend, its prickly leaves evoke Christ's crown and the red berries evoke his blood. This reference to blood is connected to the tragic accident, but the red berries (maybe pomegranates) are symbol of prosperity, abundance and sacredness and they confirm a future reunion. The gold of the brooch, that represents the preciousness (as the holly itself), indicates the eternity, so Blair's hope to spend all her life next to Chuck and the immortality of their bond.

In episode 5X15 Blair has a red rose on her hair when she kisses Dan in Chuck's room. It indicate the beginning of their relationship, which assumes scandalous tones (the red colour) since it is doubly adulterous: Blair is legally married with Louis and she's secretly still in love with Chuck.  On the dress we find flower similar to

poinsettias

which are good omens.
Blair is wearing red roses also in episode 2X16, on her purse: they omen the scandal that will cost Blair her dream to go to Yale.

Red roses are also present on the Christian Dior dress Blair is wearing in episode 3x15. The matching of scarlet roses whit a black background, indicates an "infernal love", so these roses could be a bad omen (IP after two episodes). Same symbolical meaning for the slip worn in episode 4x09, where there are some embroidered black roses on a red background. Anyway, in spite of this negative meaning, the matching of red roses with black is also symbol of the kind of love Chuck and Blair share, which is definitely extreme and would lead them to do anything for each other, the "all consuming" love that we can't consider as a weakness.

Pink,peach and orange roses:Among the most sweet-scented, the pink rose – of great style, elegance, refinement, distinction- expresses pleasant feelings like admiration, carelessness, happiness, but are also symbol of an innocent love.

We find them at the beginning of

Blair's new love stories

, for example on the hat of episode 2x20 (purple) and on the headband she's wearing in episode 2x21, when she is back with Nate (pink). Beyond the roses, we find pale pink flowers on the dresses of 2x21, worn by Blair for the occasion of Tripp's wedding (Nate's cousin). The pink flowers give the idea of a fragile and melancholic moment for Blair.

In episode 3x21 we find pale pink roses on her bag during her fist appointment with Cameron, while she's wearing a purple and yellow mimosas dress (the mimosa means innocence, freedom, shyness and femininity). In episode

4x01

, for her first night out with Louis in Paris, she is wearing a rose shaped pendent but made of silver.

The peach rose is a symbol of modesty, which also express a genuine appreciation and optimism for the future. Blair is wearing pink and peach roses on a dark blue slip in episode

4x19

in conjunction with the arrival of Louis to Manhattan, and the beginning of her fairytale.

The orange roses indicates the woman's charm and the flame. In episode 5x06 Blair is wearing an dark orange roses dress while she's choosing the bridesmaids for her royal wedding. It's a moment of confusion for her: her relationship with Louis (the orange is the colour of the weddings and the simple and lasting love) seams getting closer to an end, due to his lack of faith, and Chuck, the man she really loves, apologizes to her for his past mistakes.

Yellow, lilac, purple and green roses:The yellow rose  expresses jealousy, misleading, betrayal and infidelity. It symbolizes merely platonic feelings: a fulfilling friendship, affection, greeting, joy of taking care of ourselves.

Lilac rose reveals the enchantment and the first love emotion, while the purple one expresses a sense of majesty, royal splendor, but indicates also love at first sight and desire and, even if it reminds of the magic symbolism, the warning to proceed with carefulness and prudence.

It's no accident that Blair is wearing them,

all together

, on the dress of episode 5x23. On one hand she is involved in helping Chuck giving him the warmth and the support he needs to face Bart's return, on the other hand she's still romantically involved with Dan. Roses, however, are many and little, almost to underline Blair's

hesitation

and

confusion

as well as her contrasting emotions. The rose is also linked to the "secret", due to its many petals, in this case we see Blair outlining tight expedients not to disappoint Chuck or Dan.

The rose which has a shaded corolla from white to green symbolizes peace and tranquility . Blair is wearing an outfit with green roses in episode 5x16 on the occasion of the public interpretation of Claire. Rosebuds are so dark and bristly that they seem artichokes not already bloomed, sign of youth of the feeling for Dan and of the search of a simple reality.

Dark red, Black and white roses:Dark red roses , verging on black, transmit sense of farewell and death, so they are dedicated to defunct but they also signal the end of a feeling, of a relationship or of an idea but also the aspiration to a significant change for the future. In episode 5x11, Blair is wearing a burgundy dress embroidered with dark red roses, similar to the dress she wore in episode

4x20

(in that case they were black). In this case the red shade, verging to marc, reminds of the colour of bruises, of wound's blood, so it represents the maximum point of suffering and racked love to which Blair has arrived. Victim of her fears, she forced herself to remain faithful to Louis, despite her sadness and melancholy that she's living far from Chuck. Her pain seems almost physical and visceral.

The

black rose

, which appears frequently, every times and above every other possible meanings, represents Blair's dark side. Since the first episode she is introduced as the dark queen who fascinates, but whose thorns prick. She's wearing black roses on her dress in episode 1X04 when she works as a model for her mother, showing her dark personality (in contrast with Serena's light and cheerfulness).

With the same meaning Blair's stockings are usually decorated with black roses or black flowers. Also the black roses dress of episode

4x17

,which is conventionally indicated as the start of Dan and Blair's relationship, and the one of episode

2x02

, when she is trying to impress lord Marcus's step mother, both represent her manipulative and dark nature, which lead her to scheme or experience something out of her world.
However, it omen the closure her relationships with Nate and Serena (1x01) or with Lord Marcus (2x04) after the discovery of their cheatings. At the same time, it's an hint of sad and bad moments for Blair, like when she gets dethroned after plotting against Dan's new friend in order to help Serena (

2x04)

.

Even with Chuck, the black roses accessorizes of episodes 2x07, 2x14, 3x07 and 4x04 have bad meanings. On the one hand, they omen the end of their relationship (2x07, 3x07 that hint to the IP, 2x14 that anticipates the difficulties of 2x15) or the beginning of a war (4x04). On the other hand, they indicate that Blair's dark side is a constant input in every crisis: the scheme against Vanessa (2x07); New Years Eve with uncle Jack (2x14); calling Jack behind Chuck's back (3x07) and the immature jealousy that makes her chase Eva away (4x04). (The black rose of episode 3x07 could also be a Peony, even if the meaning of bad omen doesn't change).

In episode 3x09, instead, the black roses on her necklace are related to Chuck, but it indicates their mutual love, where the black metaphorically represents Chuck, as well as her dark side, that comes out while she's plotting against Jenny. We can notice how she often wears black roses or generically black flowers when she's with Chuck: they indicate the fact that, when she's with him, she feels free to be herself and to express her dark side (

4x09

, 6x05 ).

For example, at the beginning of episode 5X23 she's wearing a light blue dressing gown with embroidered black flowers when, after a long period of denial about her dark side and about her love for Chuck, she stars to feel herself again and to get closer to him. As we said before, black flowers also indicate their love and Chuck, who is often referred as "The dark knight". Blair wears black flowers not only when she's physically with him, but even when she thinks about him (

5X09

) or dream about him (

5X07

) of has sexual fantasies about him (

2X08

).

On the contrary, the white roses on her headband in episode 2x01, indicate the purity of her feelings toward Chuck and her sufferance for the 3 words he can't say to her, that push her in Lord Marcus arms.

A particular case, is the silver bracelet of roses and wings worn in episode

3x03

, that represents Blair's inner conflict between her desire of social climbing and the need to step back for Chuck. The

wings

, that indicate ambition and the rapidity to reach a fulfillment, are referred to Blair's possibility to join an NYU secret society. The dress of

4x15

is made of silver roses too. After her decision to stay apart from Chuck tin order to have success on her own, Blair is working hard to establish herself as a powerful woman at W, but she realizes that, in the meantime, Chuck is moving on with his life and falling for another woman (also the coat of episode 4x20).

The Orchid:

For a long time the orchid has been considered the flower of the aphrodisiac power and seductive fragrance, the symbol of refinement, perfect harmony, natural sensuality, beauty and capacity to love. Especially when they're pink, they represent deep love.

In episode 3x18 Chuck gives Blair a gold Cartier necklace with pink stylized orchids as pledge of love, symbols of his deep feeling and of Blair's importance in his life. The orchids fully represent all the characteristics of their love: purity, resistance, sorrow, sensuality and duration. However, as the spots on the flower are traditionally referred to Christ's blood, the necklace reminds also of Blair's sacrifice (the IP-3x17) that leads them to break up at Dorota's wedding. We find the same meaning related to the headband Blair is wearing at Bart and Lily's wedding in episode 1x18, where the orchid tragically hints to Blair's lonely summer after Chuck's step back (as we'll se later in the post).

In episode 5x19, instead, Blair is wearing  a dress with printed pink orchids on deep blue background. Usually the pink-light blue match has always meant for her the will to live in the unawareness and follow her innocence's dreams, infact here Blair refuses to help Chuck and to be involved with his difficoult situation (usually Blair wears this kind of colours with Nate. Also Eva have worn tons of these colours). Anyway, this outfit shows Blair's state of mind, conflicted between passion and rationality (blue rationality). Even if she's sentimentally involved with Dan, she shares an important scene with Chuck, who asks for her help. The orchid's meaning of deep love is shown throughout the scene, as Chuck and Blair seem still deep involved with each other.

The Peony:

Peony is known as the 'Queen of all Flowers' and it's Blair's favourite one. A legend tells that the malicious nymphs used to hide themselves in the peonies' petals, which is the reason why -this many petals fragile flowers - became the symbol of shyness and shame. They adapt to Chuck's feelings in episode 2x25 when he shyly confesses to Blair his love for her.

Sweet smelling and of long life, peony is also known in Europe as the 'thorn less rose', symbol of romantic love stories and used to celebrate weddings, as in episode 5x13.

According to the Chinese tradition, the peony corresponds to the spring-summer season and it represents the positive influence woman wield over man, in order for them to live together and in harmony (1x18 and

3x01

). However, in episode 1x18 the peony represents also the shortness of their idyllic love affair based on the fragility meaning of this flower.

On her peonies skirt (the first outfit of the episode), Blair is also wearing a trench with printed four-leaf cloversin episode 1X18. The four-leaf clover is a good like charm ad symbolize her cheerfulness for the victory against Georgina. She's wearing a clover-leaf also in episode2x01,on her headband. Since it is also a symbol of fertility it's probably connected with Chuck and with Blair's desire to be loved by him. They share a scene in a garden, surrounded by nature, as a hint of their blooming love.

Daisy:

The floral mix  Blair is wearing during Bart and Lily's wedding, in episode 1x18, it's very interesting. The orchid headband matches with the peony dress with golden and colourful daisy shaped earrings and daisy shaped bracelets.

In the flower language, the daisy has different meanings, all linked to the idea of 'truth'. First of all it is the delicate flower of purity and innocence, of simplicity and modesty, but also of faithful love and patience. Blair is wearing a broderie anglaise lace dress in episode 1x02, embroidered in openwork in a daisy shape. Due to its shape with halo petals around the central yellow disc, the daisy is able to bring the sun in people's lives, to cheers up. It opens in the morning and closes at night.

In the case of episode 1x18, if the big orchid emphasizes Blair's elegance and royalty, the daisies are symbol of her being sunny and bright due to the success of the scheme against Georgina. Those daisies are also positive in the reconciliation with Chuck: in fact, they are composed by

lilac and green stones on gold

. If the lilac colour can be referred to Chuck , the green indicates something blossoming - in this case the union with Chuck. The earrings are flower shaped, with golden stem and leafs.

The gold's value, whit its characteristics of incorruptibility and resistance, can anticipate the

long-lasting

and

indestructible bond

between the two of them (symbolized by the flower) during all the seasons long .

In episode 3x05Blair is wearing a black and

gold

bracelet with daisies . Even here, the match of black and gold is representative of her relationship with Chuck and of the love she feels for him, while the daisies indicate loyalty and joy.

In episode

4x07

Blair is wearing a blouse with little daisies and other wild flowers, to point out modesty, simplicity and fragility, but also peace and hope for a "return of the sun" in her relationship with Chuck ( which will become concrete in episode

4x08

where Blair is wearing a light blue dress with pink hydrangeas.)

In episode 2x25 Blair is wearing two daises shaped necklaces with the meaning of sincerity, which associates with the

melancholic meaning of the pearls

. It's interesting to notice how different the flowers' shapes are. The daisy of the first necklace has acute petals and remind of Blair's desire to come back with Chuck, but also all the insecurities that keep her "weak". According to the first scene with Serena, it could also indicate the truth about Chuck's feelings "he loves me, he doesn't love me ". When she finally finds the courage to get close to him again, she wears a wonderful daisies necklace with rounded petals . In fact, Blair confesses Chuck that she loves him so much that it consumes her, even if, at the end, he refuses her. At the same time, during that episode, she appoints Jenny as her new Queen, choosing her without any second thoughts or malice.

The daisy has always been appreciated for the beauty of her simple features, it also symbolizes youth's innocence, it frees from sense of guilt, sin and corruption. It reaches the full seasonal bloom in summer when storms are more frequent. It's also common thought that the daisy protects from thunders and lightings. Blair is wearing a white swimsuit with little yellow flowers in episode 2x01 (summer, simplicity and elegance) while she's admitting that she has waited in vain for Chuck's arrival all summer, so showing herfels as defenseless and genuine. On her swimsuit there are also

black berries

which could be bad omens.

In this episode there are

different kind of flower

s on Blair's dresses, like the iris , which means hope and faith and the camelia , which indicates sacrifice.

Another outfit with flowers is the one in episode 5x12. Blair uses this dress to go to Church to confess. The background is blue, so it symbolizes the spirituality and desire to be freed from sin.

The daisies necklace of episode

5x24

, in addition to the sincerity, reached after a long tortuous journey, it's also the symbol of the patience. Blair tells her mother that she has realized what she wants and that she's ready to fight for it, never backing down again.

Passion flower

Even though the ' passion flower ' evokes erotic's thoughts and images, the name comes from Jesus' crown of thorns and symbolizes the cross's nails and the "sacrifice". We suppose that Blair is wearing an overcoat with this flower in episode 3x16. In fact the pattern isn't well defined. The outfit is total grey while there's an animal pattern on the skirt that shows aggressiveness. This flower-animal combination that is so unique and ambiguous predicts the dramatic IP scheme of the next episode in all its aspects (twist and sexuality). Lily will wear a similar pattern in episode 6X05, whit the same meaning, since the whole storyline is a parallel with the Elizabeth\Chuck\Blair\Jack storyline of season three.

Lei:

In episode 4x21 we find another floral jewellery, symbol of a love link. The colourful chain necklace with flowers she's wearing while she's organizing her engagement party for her future wedding with the Prince, reminds of the Lei Hawaiian necklaces that represent the union between a man and a woman.

They are symbol of the couple's ability to take care, love and mutually respect each other.

Since her first meeting with Louis Blair wears many floral dresses to indicate her femininity and her period of 'happiness' and "simple love" (4x01,  5x01). However it is interesting to notice how the presence of the leafs on her outfits reminds of the

circle of life

.  During her second appointment with him in Paris, in fact, Blair's wearing a pink dress with dead woods , almost to indicate Blair nudity  in front of him after the fiasco of their first appointment, and at the same time it omens the future end of their relationship.

In fact, if at the beginning of 5x01, when they are planning their wedding and expecting a baby, Blair is wearing a dress with green leafs, in episodes 5x12 she's wearing a dark floral dress and in episode 5x19, in the occasion of their divorce, she's wearing a chain composed by dead leafs (which symbolizes also the beginning of her "official" relationship with Dan). Both the dress and the chain give the impression of death (of the baby and their relationship) and sickness.

Blair is wearing a dress with printed anemones in episode 5X03. They are symbol of ephemeral and fragile feelings and they indicate the inconsistency of her relationship with Louis. She's pregnant, but she's hiding it and she isn't sure about the paternity. The anemones on the dress are white. The white anemone, also called the " Wood's Anemone " symbolize the sickness, so it's well connected with Blair's state of mind: she's lying to both Chuck and Louis and denying the fact that the simple love she claimed to want is not making her happy.

CREDITS:

WRITERS:

This analysis is composed by the union of two different works. The dresses part was made by NathanielBass and ~Tuccin and translated by And I'm Yours. The accessorises and jewels parts heve been written by bowties and isabella21. We also added a few more flower dresses to complete the writing.

GRAPHICS:

zimmermanyounfelf.blogspot.com

Source: https://colourfulchair.livejournal.com/6954.html