A green polka dot belt? On a bare midriff? Only Patricia Field, the famed costume director of the original "Sex and the City," would think to make such a chaotic choice.
And only Carrie Bradshaw could pull it off.
"Nobody else is going to wear this — but on her, it just makes sense," says vintage fashion expert and "SATC" historianOlivia Haroutounian. "The skirt was Givenchy and the top was XOXO, a little mall brand. That's so Carrie."
The original series felt like a six-season fashion show. Every episode, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) showed up wearing some now-iconic outfit we all still think about and reference today, dripping in accessories that are now rare jewels on the resale market. There was color, there was pleather, and there was many a pair of sky-high Manolos. The women of "SATC" laughed in the face of sartorial practicality. And while that dedication to larger-than-life style is absolutely present in the costuming for "And Just Like That" — helmed by Field alumni Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago — the fashion of the first season, which just ended this week, felt tonally different: more sophisticated, more mature and more expensive than ever before.
"I don't see any outfits I could emulate in my own wardrobe in the reboot," says Haroutounian. "I think Carrie's original styling felt like everybody could take something from it, whether it's a little black dress or her casual moments wearing children's sweatpants with a tank top."
In the HBO Max reboot, money is clearly of no issue for Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte, nor to some of their new friends. Everyone is wrapped in big-name designers at all times, which does scratch the itch of every "SATC" fan's fashion sensibilities. Still, the choices are more lavish and grown-up: Lisa Todd Wexley (Nicole Ari Parker) shows up to paint a women's shelter in a full Moschino safari look, Charlotte buys both her kids matching Oscar de la Renta gowns for a children's piano recital, Carrie tours downtown apartments in a corduroy Saint Laurent suit.
The scrappiness of the original (the one that would see Carrie stepping out in baggy cargo pants and a tube top) has been replaced by extreme elegance (remember, Carrie's rich now — most, if not all of her vintage is archival runway). That's true even when there's a callback to an outfit from back when: The white tulle skirt is now maxi length, the Versace gown doesn't leave the apartment. It feels like the end of an era and the beginning of another.
"And Just Like That" does have moments of true genius: Charlotte using a $480 Burberry bag charm as a doggie bag dispenser; Carrie going full babushka, smoking cigarettes in a Batsheva dress with a headscarf and some fuchsia latex gloves; every one of LTW's oversized accessories. There's certainly less of the ridiculousness of the original series (we've yet to see a single belly button), but "And Just Like That" finds our group of ladies in extremely different circumstances than the original: Carrie is grieving the loss of her husband, Miranda is unhappy in her decades long-marriage and Charlotte is trying to find her way as a mother. With such heaviness hanging in their air, it only makes sense for the fashion to mature and meet the moment.
"It's not so much of an 'evolution' in [the characters' established] style — the girls still are who they are, as people," Rogers and Santiago told Fashionista about their work on the reboot. "It's more about bringing them up-to-date to what's going on now and introducing them to new fashion designers. Undiscovered designer."
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The radical ethos of the original series saw girls in their 30s never once caring about what was "age-appropriate." Miranda had a lock on professional power suits, but would occasionally slip into some mesh Gaultier to lounge around in. Samantha was sex incarnate, with a "the tighter, the better" mantra supported by Michael Kors-era Celine and a lot of Mugler. Carrie wore whatever the f*ck she wanted — oversized flower pins, strange little capris, slingback heels and vintage short shorts. Field, who collaborated with Parker on many of Carrie's looks, was able to tap into timeless fashion statements by boldly ignoring the trends of the time. What's more, this eclectic mix was gathered organically, by literally studying the downtown it-girls on their wild nights out. (As the story goes, Field and her team of trusted assistants would go out to the clubs and ask strangers what and whom they were wearing.)
Now in their 50s, there's, naturally, been a shift. "And Just Like That" was most likely never going to be putting them in midriff-baring going-out 'fits and cowboy hats.
"There's still that playfulness to [the reboot]," says Haroutounian, "but I think as you get older, you feel differently about your body. You don't want to share what you did."
Where "And Just Like That" has truly shined is its ability to call back to each character's unique sense of style, while updating it for current day. Even without Field, the show has found a way to exist in that same spirit of timelessness, refusing again to adhere to today's most popular trends — Y2K-reboot be damned.
With rumors of a second season circulating, it's exciting to think about the fashion possibilities that come with Carrie stepping back out on the dating scene and Miranda moving her life to sunny LA (where many of the show's most iconic, glitter-filled looks took place).
"I love a lot of color, a lot of weird shapes," says Haroutounian. "[Those elements] feel reminiscent of the old Carrie."
Though their lives are starkly different now, you'll still find Charlotte walking around the Upper East Side in a crisp high-collared dress, and Miranda reaching for a power suit. And as for Carrie? She'll always find a way to walk around Paris in a sweeping ball gown. Some things never change.
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