You can’t tell the story of “Sex and the City” and its revival/sequel “And Just Like That” without spending an inordinate amount of time discussing the fashion. Over the course of the original HBO show’s six seasons, Carrie Bradshaw became a universal style icon, inspiring generations of women to waltz around New York City in tulle dresses, carefully dodging potholes in their Manolo Blahnik pumps. Styled by the inimitable Patricia Field, Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) delighted in getting dressed. Her style was immaculate, quirky, vibrant, romantic: she’d stop by McDonald’s in a pink Oscar de la Renta dress, or go wedding-gown shopping with a printed belt tied around her bare stomach. Throughout the series, as well as in the three “Sex and the City” movies that followed, Field and Parker carved a sartorial path for Carrie Bradshaw that set trends; launched design careers into the stratosphere; and created an endless stream of iconic looks, from the newspaper-print dress to the Dior T-shirt and ball skirt. Now, the “And Just Like That” outfits carry on that legacy.
With costume designers Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago on board, Carrie Bradshaw still enjoys fashion on “And Just Like That,” but the writers also use it as a mechanism to communicate her state of mind. When she wears a stunning tulle skirt and black headpiece to Big’s funeral, it’s to make her late husband proud. As she throws Big’s blazer over her shoulders before heading out in a cocktail dress, her outfit suggests she’s healing from his sudden death — and finding space for his memory (and belongings) in her new life. Later, as she starts to date and feel like herself again, she’s back in a Norma Kamali ruched blue dress that fits impeccably well; it’s so quintessentially Bradshaw that fans dub it the “Carrie dress.”
Fashion is sacred to Carrie Bradshaw, but other characters have memorable style moments, too. Miranda Hobbes’s colorful halter dress, Seema Patel’s head-to-toe leopard look, and Lisa Todd Wexley’s red Valentino gown could’ve been right at home in the original series. At times, their looks also carry a greater significance. Think of Rock Goldenblatt’s unconventional styling of their Oscar de la Renta dress as they explore their gender identity. Or Miranda Hobbes’s uncharacteristically sexy halter jumpsuit as she steps outside a stale marriage to flirt with Che Diaz at the bar.
Ahead, check out the best “And Just Like That” outfits in the series so far.