Fans of Gossip Girl have always admired Lily van der Woodsen’s effortless Upper East Side polish: the tailored coats, the immaculate hair and, almost always, a Hermès Birkin or Kelly on her arm. As Vanity Fair Italia reminded readers this week, many of those bags were never costume props at all. They belonged to Kelly Rutherford, the actress who played Lily.
Bags brought from home
Rutherford has explained the story in several interviews over the years. In the early seasons of the show, which ran from 2007 to 2012, the production simply could not get hold of such sought-after bags, so she brought her own from home to complete the character. Speaking to Harrods in 2024, she said modestly that there “weren’t that many”, but confirmed that they were all hers. She told El País the same year that it came down to budget at the start of the series, and that other pieces from her own wardrobe also made it on screen.
She worked closely with the show’s costume designer, Eric Daman, suggesting pieces she felt suited Lily. According to Vanity Fair Italia, the jewellers she put forward included Van Cleef & Arpels, Verdura and Pomellato. Rutherford has said she deliberately gave Lily a classic, old-money style rather than trying to make her look young and trendy, because that is closer to how she dresses herself.
Buy one piece, keep it for years
Her love of Hermès began long before Gossip Girl. During her years on Melrose Place, she treated herself to her first one: a black Kelly 28 with gold-tone hardware, bought in Beverly Hills. She preferred to invest in a single important accessory rather than several bags that would soon date, and built her collection slowly, season by season. Today we would call it investment dressing.
That approach has earned her the affectionate nickname “Birkin Mom” on social media, which she says she likes. One of her bags, a cognac ostrich Birkin seen on the show, was even offered at auction by Heritage Auctions, as PurseBlog reported. Rutherford, who now lives in Monaco, has also said that handbags and jewellery are the pieces she plans to pass down to her daughter.
It is a lesson worth borrowing whatever your budget: choose fewer, better things and wear them for years. Browse our bags collection, from structured women’s bags to practical crossbody bags for every day, and finish the look with a pair of classic earrings.
Sources: Vanity Fair Italia (21 October 2026); Harrods, “In Conversation with Kelly Rutherford” (2024); S Moda, El País (8 June 2024); WWD; Luminaire, “The Influence: Kelly Rutherford”; PurseBlog. Featured image: AI-generated illustrative scene, not an actual bag from the show.
