HAMPTONS STYLE

 

Get ready for fashionable fun in the sun! The premiere episode of Gossip Girl’s second season is all about drama, scandal – and, of course, clothes. Upper East Side princess Blair Waldorf’s (Leighton Meester) summer style is “old Hollywood glamour meets contemporary couture,” costume designer Eric Daman tells PEOPLE.

TWISTS & TURNS

 

The first season was all about establishing characters like reformed bad girl Serena van der Woodson (Blake Lively) and conflicted good guy Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford), Serena’s best friend’s beau whom she once slept with. This time around, executive producer Stephanie Savage tells PEOPLE, “The fun thing about being able to do a second season is being able to go deeper and twist things further.”

 

MADE IN THE SHADE

 

When he’s not playing preppy hellraiser Chuck Bass, a bow-tied Ed Westwick takes cover under a shade tree with the crew of Gossip Girl on one of the Long Island, N.Y., estates where they filmed the season premiere. Maybe he’s sharing one of his poems?

 

PINKY SWEAR

 

With the help of old friend Eric van der Woodsen (Connor Paolo), Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen) shows up in the Hamptons “on a mission related to her summer internship,” Savage tells PEOPLE. “Jenny is an ambitious girl who doesn’t let much stand between her and her goals.”

 

BEACH BEAUTY

 

Summer’s almost over when the show returns to the CW Monday (8 p.m. ET) – but the drama is just beginning for Serena, who spent the season turning heads on the beach in the Hamptons – without Dan Humphrey. But “Dan comes on a mission to track down Serena,” Savage reveals.

 

TAKE A LOAD OFF

 

Filming all those kissing scenes with his older love interest must be tiresome. Low-key in a T-shirt, Chace relaxes on the set of the white party scene.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

 

Filming in the Hamptons was “fantastic,” Savage says. “We were very welcomed and made to feel very at home.” Will Chuck and Blair have similarly warm feelings when the bitter exes reunite? Find out Monday Sept. 1, when Gossip Girl returns!