Sex and the City Fashion
The Extreme and Expensive Looks of the Show's Stars
Sex and the City became a cultural phenomenon in the late 90’s and in early 2000. The show ended a six-season run in 2004 but the impact went far beyond the series finale. Women wanted to wear the fashions and buy the high-end labels the girls in the show possessed and a fashion phenomenon erupted.
A show based around four fabulous women living and working in Manhattan cannot have a simple wardrobe. These four women go to the best clubs, hottest restaurants and the most posh art galleries. Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha, and Miranda must wear the best and latest trends. They stay ahead of the curve and become the trend.
Merrill Greene, vice-president and creative director of Stylesight, says Sex and the City is key to what now drives fashion. “Patricia (Fields, costume designer) is always on the edge, mixing things up, mixing highbrow and lowbrow.”
Sex and the City Trends
These four women made Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo household names and would spend outrageous amounts of money on shoes and outfits and not blink an eye.
Some of the fashion trends the four gals started are:
- Large fabric flower pins
- The curly bob haircut
- Pairing silver stilettos with cargo pants or jeans
- Large 1950’s style skirts with tight, modern tops and accessories
- Gold name necklaces
- Vintage dresses with expensive bags and shoes
- Large belts
- Extensive strands of pearls
- “Ghetto Gold” jewelry
- Multiple Horseshoe necklaces
Individual Fashions
Each character brings a unique twist to fashion. Whether it’s Samantha’s sexy attire or Charlotte’s Park-Avenue-proper attire, each woman has something different to offer.
- Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker)- Carrie is the funky fashionista who isn’t afraid to take chances. She wears everything from fur coats and tie-dyed leggings to sparkly 1940’s dresses and vintage clothing with fancy extras. She’s always in a pair of stilettos regardless of the occasion or outfit. Her favorite designers include Dolce and Gabbana, Christian Dior, Manolo Blahnik and Prada.
- Samantha (Kim Cattrall)- Samantha is the epitome of sexy and “va-va-voom”. She wears bright colored outfits that make her stand out that are tight and low cut. She has a great body and isn’t afraid to let everyone know it. She’s also a big fan of chunky earrings and bracelets that are bright colored, if not neon.
- Charlotte (Kristin Davis)- As Carrie says in season one, Charlotte is a “Park Avenue Pollyanna” and definitely dresses the part. Charlotte sashays down Park Avenue in her Burberry raincoat, crisp white button-up collard shirts and navy blue capri pants. Charlotte is a fan of Coco Chanel and gravitates towards anything Jackie Onassis would’ve worn.
- Miranda (Cynthia Nixon)- In the early seasons of the show, Miranda was very androgynous. Her masculine cut suits were accompanied with extremely skinny ties and her short hair was slicked back. Miranda loosened up around the second season with more feminine fitting suit separates and showed a little more skin. However, when Miranda is not at the office she wears curve hugging dresses and flaunts her strappy shoes and matching bag.
With the Sex and the City movie coming out, fans can rest assured that the fashion in the movie will be bigger, better and more outrageous than ever. The show’s costume designer has the four ladies traipsing around town in the same eye catching, sometimes questionable, fashions they wore in the show. It’ll be a feast for the eyes and pocketbook.
For more Sex and the City:
