Fashion-forward Blake Lively explains why she won't use a stylist

Gregg DeGuire, AP

Blake Lively said she refuses to define herself by 'the public's opinion or what I'm wearing.'

Blake Lively is often lauded for her stunning sense of style, but the starlet isn't really looking for kudos.

Instead, Lively, who doesn't have a stylist, hopes the designers shine through whatever outfit she chooses to wear.

"I like it to be easy," the actress said to her interviewer, singer Florence Welch, for Glamour's July issue about her pre-red carpet prep work.

"I don't feel like I have to do so much with hair and makeup, because I'm the mannequin for these beautiful clothes," she explained, "so I never want to do anything too distracting."

Lively's "appreciation for design" dates back to her childhood, when her mom "modeled and made clothes," but it was her hit CW series "Gossip Girl," that propelled her to the top of best-dressed lists and into the arms of some of the most revered designers of all time

"'Gossip Girl' completely blew open the door to fashion for me," the 23-year-old told Welch. "I'd go to fashion shows and call my publicist and say, 'Can I wear that?' "

Though she often found inspiration on the runway, Lively said she became her "own stylist by not knowing any better."

"And once I was told it was time to get one," she recalled, "I thought, 'This is one of my favorite hobbies! And I'm going to pay someone to steal my hobby from me? That's a terrible idea!'"

Lively seems to save her best gowns (l. in 2009; r. in 2011) for the annual Met Costume Institute Gala. (Stephen Lovekin/Getty; Gregorio T. Binuya/Everett)

Yet, to this day, the blossoming movie star can't even describe her own look.

"There's no one thing I would say, because like me, my style is growing and changing," she said, adding that her fashion sense is "very moody."

Case in point: Lively's teal Versace dress from Metropolitan Museum of Art's 2009 Costume Institute Gala.

"I loved that dress, but I am far too shy to walk around in a dress like that with a slit up to my neck," she explained to Welch. "So I thought, 'The only way I can wear this is to pretend I'm someone else. Who is somebody who completely owns her sexuality?' I thought, 'Marilyn Monroe! So I'm going to be Marilyn Monroe tonight.'"

Source: http://feeds.nydailynews.com/~r/nydnrss/gossip/~3/nOiAKmttEvg/2011-06-01_blake_lively_on_why_she_refuses_to_use_a_stylist_im_not_going_to_pay_someone_to_.html

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