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May 12, 2023

25 Years After ‘Sex and the City’ First Premiered, These Fashion Trends Remain

By Kia D. Goosby It’s hard to envision pop culture without Sex and the City.

By Kia D. Goosby

It's hard to envision pop culture without Sex and the City. Twenty-five years ago, four characters—Carrie Bradshaw, Samantha Jones, Charlotte York, and Miranda Hobbs—made their debut on our television screens, where they balanced friendships, romantic relationships, professional careers, and their love for fashion, all with New York City serving as a backdrop.

Those four fashionable friends played by Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon, respectively, are indelible in the zeitgeist more than two decades later. Alongside series creator Darren Star, they’re responsible for a slew of timeless references, honing in on relatable awkward situations, and bringing the ups and downs of relationships, including ones with your best friends, to life. And then, there's the fashion, strong and interesting enough to rival any character on the show. Though it was created by Star, and based on the newspaper column by Candace Bushnell, the series's styling by costume designer Patricia Field, truly set it apart and still serves as inspiration for audiences and fashion designers alike. The style showcased on Sex and the City gave birth to a generation of fashion obsessives who like to take risks, are trendsetters, can appreciate the finer things, like a good runway show and sample sales, and will forever cherish the sales at Barney's (RIP).

From Carrie's Dior newsprint dress and oversized bows to sequin panties and designer moments galore, Sex and the City brought fashion to the masses with every episode. Below, revisit five fashion trends that started on the small screen on Sex and the City but went on to have a life of their own.

In "Secret Sex" (season one, episode six), Carrie wears a cream-colored DKNY minidress for promotional images for her newspaper column that will run on the side of a New York City bus. As the dress was gifted to her, she repurposes it for her first official date with Mr. Big (played by Chris Noth). "Oh, honey, it's fabulous. Bravo!" Samantha exclaims. "It's tits on toast baby, but you make it work!" Miranda chimes in. "Let's just say it, it's the naked dress! You’re obviously going to have sex with him," Charlotte quips. And those few lines of dialogue helped cement the dress's status in fashion history. On July 12, 1998, the naked dress became part of our pop culture lexicon. In 2023, ‘90s-inspired minimalism is something that we just cannot escape. It's easy, simplistic, and makes a statement without ever having to utter a word. Carrie's confidence in her naked dress served as inspiration for years to come for those in search of the perfect date-night look. In short, the naked dress walked so that Skims (and any skin-colored minidress) could run.

Sex and the City and a Fendi Baguette were a match made in heaven. The creation of Silvia Venturini Fendi, granddaughter of the maison's founders, Adele and Edoardo Fendi, and the current artistic director of accessories and menswear at Fendi, who designed this It bag in 1997, the Baguette has become synonymous with the series. Fendi was one of the first major designer brands that Field recounted as having loaned to the show, and her wardrobe to come would eventually be created around this distinct bag. First appearing in "The Chicken Dance" (season two, episode seven), Carrie carries the beige cloth Mamma Baguette when she walks with Miranda's interior designer, Madeline, who is planning her quick wedding after a whirlwind romance at Miranda's expense. One of the most seen Baguettes happens to be a gold-beaded brown leather-handle style that Carrie would carry in season two, episode eight, and many episodes to follow. But no one can forget the purple paillette Baguette that would be dramatically stolen by a ruthless mugger down in SoHo who clearly had an eye for fashion in "What Goes Around Comes Around" (season 3, episode 17). If there's one lesson to learn from Sex and the City, it's keep your friend's close, but your Baguettes closer. As Carrie once famously said, "I’ll be a bag lady, a Fendi bag lady, but a bag lady."

Ushering out the ‘90s and into the early aughts, it was all about the going-out top. The answer to an easy recipe for a great outfit—a fun, flirty top, a great pair of pants, and some fabulous heels. Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda even made the case for simple tops in the form of a simple tube top or high-neck tank too because it was the ‘90s and minimalism was au courant. Nonetheless, the era of SATC sparked a moment for revisiting easy ways to look great and effortless.

It's hard to say who Carrie loved more, her friends or her shoes. While Manolo Blahnik had been around long before the show's inception, Field's inclusion of the Spanish fashion designer's shoes made it a household name for those with dreams of lining their closet with designer duds. Blahnik established his brand in the early 1970's and is credited with reviving a simple and sleek stiletto silhouette that made women's shoes fashionable and sexy. It would become Carrie's trusted shoe brand for many episodes to come, from serving looks in season three, episode three, to go toe-to-toe with Natasha at her "Women in the Arts" luncheon; or in season six, episode nine, when Carrie's silver D’Orsay sandals were stolen at a baby shower. It was a bold and smart move to recoup the stolen pair by announcing her marriage to herself and registering at none other than Manolo Blahnik. If only those same shoes cost just $485 today.

Like all great television characters, Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda underwent a subtle style evolution over the course of six seasons. Call it a sign of the times or just the exposure to the fashion world, but there is a distinct difference in how the group started out and how they ended up. Who says you can't be both: a minimalist and a maximalist? At the beginning, there was Carrie's naked dress—it doesn't get more minimal than that—Miranda's chic minimal suiting for her law career, and Charlotte in a long duster coat and blue turtleneck that looks like it could have inspired a collection by The Row. But if you fast-forward to season three, which debuted in June 2000, the style of early aughts is already omnipresent in the form of prints galore, and turning things up a notch with styling tricks. In "Change of a Dress" (season 4, episode 15), Carrie is seen wearing a printed midi Givenchy skirt, a polka-dot belt (worn around her bare waist), and a pink blouse layered over a white tank (both made to look like crop tops). While Carrie still straddles the line, like in "Politically Erect" (season three, episode two) when she goes on campaign circuit with her new beau in vintage Halston, her style, along with the rest of the cast, jumps back onto the wild side with a clash of prints later in the season for "Hot Child in the City" (season 3, episode 15), with a printed Chanel blouse and tie-dye leggings. Between Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda, all of their outfits continue to serve as inspiration for any life event you have going on, or whatever mood you may be in.

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