The Dior newspaper dress Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) wore after ruining Natasha Naginsky’s (Bridget Moynahan) lunch. Her cowboy-chic look in the Hamptons. The white tulle skirt from the opening credits.
When Sex And The City premiered in 1998, it almost instantly joined the fashion canon. The clothes were as outrageous, funny, generous and bold as the women wearing them.
Recently its reboot, And Just Like That, took its final bow, and Parker said goodbye to her character, the sex-columnist-turned-author, once again.
The reboot inspired both devotion and derision, never quite reaching the cultural stratosphere of its originator.
But it also offered something else entirely: a fresh, maximalist approach to dressing that reflected a new era of New York, where logomania, loud prints and costume-like accessorising were part of everyday street style, even as trends like “quiet luxury” were gaining momentum.
Under the costume designers Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago, the series produced its own memorable style moments.
Read more: Fashion on screen: When style nostalgia works (and when it doesn’t)
A touch overdressed
The women often dressed a tad bit much for the occasion. In one snowstorm, Carrie (as she is know to fans) crossed town in a Pierpaolo Piccioli for Moncler coat-dress during black puffer season.
Similarly, Lisa Todd Wexley (Nicole Ari Parker) trekked through the snow with a wig box in hand, determined to make it to an event honouring her filmmaking.
Logomania
Logos made a grand return on the reboot. The characters were not afraid to broadcast exactly where their pieces came from – such as Seema Patel (Sarita Choudhury) in a Louis Vuitton eye patch after an ill-fated lash extension appointment.
Bold prints
The prints were so loud – the seemed to shout. The styling leaned into bold, unapologetic patterns, often layered against equally busy motifs.
Accessories that deserved billing
From Lisa Todd Wexley’s bulbous statement necklace to the hit JW Anderson pigeon purse, Charlotte York Goldenblatt’s (Kristen Davis) oversize bows to Lisette Alee’s (Katerina Tannenbaum) quilted slouch boots, the accessories often stole the scene – even if the gloves worn were for dishwashing.
Do not forget the headgear
The headgear deserves its own category. Turbans, beanies, floppies, visors – and story-driven choices, like Miranda’s detective cap – all added to the show’s visual eccentricity.
Blast from the past
While most looks were one-and-done, a few archival moments returned.
Carrie rewore her Vivienne Westwood wedding gown to the Met Gala, and the Versace gown she wore in the original series finale reappeared in a scene where she was eating Jiffy Pop.
In the third season, she was also spotted in a Chanel top that closely resembled one she had worn in Sex And The City.
Read more: Carrie Bradshaw’s closet: A style archive spanning decades of television
In memoriam
The show might have had only three seasons, but there were two funerals.
One for Carrie’s husband, John James “Mr. Big” Preston (Chris Noth); the other for Lisa Todd Wexley’s father, played by Billy Dee Williams (causing confusion because Lisa said in earlier seasons that her father had died).
But the ladies made the most of even the most dour moments.
Of another city
Carrie is the consummate city girl, so when she ventured into country-esque silhouettes characterized by simpler, pastoral garments, it felt like a deliberate, almost theatrical, departure. – ©2025 The New York Times Company
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
