This is not the only PR photo of her looking this way. There are others, too gruesome to reprint.Photo: Courtesy of the CW

Don't blame Jessica Szohr for her hairstyling missteps as Vanessa Abrams on Gossip Girl. The 24-year-old isn't in control of her hair destiny. "They cut my hair when I first got here and it was shorter — the shortest I ever had it, and I had to get used to that," she told us last night at a Vogue Eyewear celebrity styling event at Bloomingdale's. "When I'm on set and doing that, it's about what's good for her and right for her." Which explains why she was helpless against her own better judgment when she was forced to wear an Elvira-inspired do for a recent promo picture. "I think they just used a bunch of long extensions and just curled it and curled the top to have volume," she explained, adding that a Bumpit was not required, even though the picture looked like at least four were stuffed inside her locks. "It was pretty simple and easy how they did it. I'm actually kinda shocked." But don't expect to see her on the red carpet with this style. "Personally, would I do that? Probably not. But it was Vanessa, and she's a little bit funkified," she said. "I mean, it was definitely for a certain occasion. I don't know if I would do it personally. I would have to do it messy in jeans and a T-shirt or something." Which is when we reminded her that this look certainly isn't casual.