Despite my busy fashion week schedule, I had to find a few minutes to chat with "Gossip Girl" stylist Eric Daman while he hung out at the American Express Skybox at Bryant Park. Like oh, all of America, I'm obsessed with GG and the show's fashion, and may or may not have deliberately loitered outside the Russian Tea Room once when I came across the cast shooting an episode there. (And no, I sadly didn't end up appearing in the background when it aired.) Anyway, let's hear what Daman has to say about the ladies and their style:

StyleList: Who would you say has the best style in real life?

Eric Daman: Taylor, Blake and Leighton all have really grown into their own style. They're really smart about it and they've grown into these fashionistas outside of the show. I mean, Serena's a fashionista, but Blake is also a fashionista.

SL: What about Taylor Momsen, though. She's kind of badass.

ED: She's a rocker. She has a band and, you know, she's 16. When she went on the show she was like 13, 12, I think she was just growing into who she was. She was living in New York City, going to all these parties and having all these other influences...you know, she's a rock star.

SL: Did her real-life transformation into a leather-wearing, hair-bleaching rock star influence her character? It certainly seems that way!

ED:She has a great relationship with the writers and I think the writers were smart enough to know how to write teenage angst. You know when you're 16, you become somebody else. When I was 16, I had, like, 3 earrings and a mohawk. You know it's part of being 16 and discovering who you are. It's very different than being 13 and being known for being Cindy Lou Who!

SL: How's her music?

ED: I saw her in concert and she's phenomenal. Really blew me away.

SL: Totally different style than Leighton's music, right?

ED: Leighton is more showmanship, pop fantasy.

SL: You're telling me! What do you think of her wild stage outfits?

ED: She takes chances. People want her to look like Blair Waldorf and she's not. She really likes avant garde designers and takes risks with her clothing. I think It's great that she has defined herself as her own person. She's great as Blair Waldorf, but outside [of the show], she's not wearing headbands and ballet flats.

SL: Now, I love Serena's wardrobe, but I'm not model thin. Is there anything of hers that works for real women?

Could you see Kate Moss as Serena? Photo: LAURENT, bauergriffinonline.com

ED: What I love about Blake is that she's not model thin. She's a tall, curvaceous glamazon. She reminds me of, like, the Cindy Crawford models in that whole era of women. When I read the script and read the books and that whole thing, she's described much more like Kate Moss. When they cast her I was like great! She's really like an all-American buxom blonde girl. Even if you're a bit bigger, I think it's OK to embrace your form. It's about being confident and feeling great in what you wear.

SL: Wait a minute. Kate Moss? Was she ever in talks to be on the show, or was she just an inspiration?

ED: She's the inspiration. In the book it seemed like Serena was kind of going to be a waify, skinny New York girl, and that iconic thing. To me, Kate Moss was a big inspiration for Serena's style and what I wanted her to become.

SL: And what, specifically, did you want her to become?

ED: To be a fashion icon, but also look like she doesn't really care and kind of throws on whatever she finds next to her bed in the morning.

SL: For those of us without a Park Avenue address, is she maybe finding anything affordable under that bed sometimes?

ED: We use Chinese Laundry, we use a lot of Nine West shoes, the jeans and things we get from Charlotte Russe. A lot of it is the high end but I do try to keep a balance between what's affordable and what's like a dream beyond reality.

Amen.