SuperCaliFashionistic

In typical supermodel fashion, Karolina chose Chanel. After all, how many people can pull off the above dress without looking like they got stuck in a tablecloth? Although it wasn't horrible, it wasn't terribly flattering either. I hate to say this of haute couture, but it looked more like an over-blinged Vegas costume than a runway-worthy masterpiece. Not to mention that her neck looked inordinately long in its Paris Hilton-esque choker, and the sloping cut of the sides was doing nothing for her seemingly scrawny shoulders. Combined with her 6' tall svelteness, Karolina looked more like a cross between a bizarrely clad alien and an oversized avian creature. Compounding the tackiness was a strand of fake-looking, unnaturally white pearls and golden Jimmy Choos that glittered (hello, kindergarten dress up?). And, um, unpedicured toes - we get that it's nice to go natural, but it just looks like you forgot your appointment at the salon. The metallic Chanel bag with vaguely sparkly leather on the sides didn't help matters much, either. Hey, at least her hair was cute!

Despite our initial doubts, Karl Lagerfeld chose well when he selected the Gossip Girl actress to front his handbag line. Miss Lively, remarkably, manages to convey the facial expression she so obviously lacks onscreen. The stunning blonde in the photos is no longer Blake Lively, but a real-life Serena van der Woodsen - beautiful, mysterious, and untouchable. There's an unmistakable undertone of loneliness and melancholy in the empty doors, silvery lighting, and shadowy mirrors. Lagerfeld doesn't show us the fireworks and champagne, but the party girl when the lights are off and the festivities are over. Yet even when stripped of the bright, hard glitter, Lively is nothing if not polished and pristine. There's nothing worn or rough about her perfectly tousled tresses or artfully smoky eyes. Its perfect tragedy only heightens its ethereal pulchritude; there's something exquisitely painful about sadness manifested in beauty, and Lagerfeld captures that to a tee. Forget about Freja and Heidi; this is easily his best campaign to date.