Written by Tiffany Lauren Jamero
(Warning: This contains spoilers)
Sex and the City being added to the Netflix catalog has re-entered the show into the public zeitgeist, especially among 2024 twenty-somethings. I am currently on season four and much of the discourse is around Carrie as a character are her relationship choices, which are mostly bad. Knowing this, this piece may be seen as biased and you would be correct.
In my belief, Carrie is not only unlikable as a character, but even though she is the official “fashion girlie”, she is not the most stylish character in the show. Carrie is the most fashion oriented character ($40,000 on shoes, Carrie?) but that does not make her the most stylish. Before I begin my analysis, I would like to preface by saying Carrie is by no means NOT stylish. Carrie as a character and the show as a whole inspired fashion for a generation of women and Carrie herself had iconic looks. Everybody say, “Thank you, Patricia Fields”. However, I am characterizing the term “stylish” in relation to authentic personal style and how cohesive outfits are in general.
Why do I think Carrie isn’t the most stylish? It’s not the pattern clashing, it’s not that her style was “too loud”. Carrie wasn’t the most stylish character because Carrie’s style felt inconsistent and inauthentic, which makes sense for her character. Based on everything I’ve watched so far up to season four, Carrie is indecisive, flaky, and insecure. Chasing after a non-committal situationship with a mediocre man and cheating on your boyfriend with said mediocre man who is married at the time of the affair. To top it all off, you feel entitled to your friends’ care and attention even though you demand money from them and send your boyfriend to help a friend who called you when they were physically incapacitated. These characteristics really play out in her costuming. She can go from loud, intricate prints to the famous plain, gray tank dress. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being versatile but it’s also realistic that she went into debt for her closet instead of owning her own apartment. To have that many looks with designer pieces, there’s no way she wasn’t broke.
Carrie’s style, which again has produced memorable, iconic looks, reeks of designer label worship without any real thought behind it. If I were to compare Carrie’s style to a contemporary idea, it reminds me of the Tik Tok microtrends. Like, if Carrie was Gen Z, she definitely would have bought the House of Sunny Hockney dress in 2020. Carrie would probably be wearing Adidas Sambas, a jersey, and jorts as I write this. She balked at the jeweled duck purse that Big gifted her but she also wore a dress with newspaper print and a pink cowboy hat to the beach… Carrie, what do you mean you don’t like the purse? It was perfectly on brand for you.
In contrast, I will compare her style to the two characters who were the most secure in themselves: Samantha and Charlotte. Although not without their own flaws, both characters have a specific style and personality that are authentic to themselves(also, neither makes me yell at my TV in frustration). Through most of the episodes I’ve seen so far, both characters are tested throughout the show, but both characters are mostly true to themselves without being caricatures of stereotypes. Charlotte is an upper east-side princess and Samantha is a sexually dominant, savvy businesswoman. Their styles can be seen as typical for their archetypes, but throughout the show, both characters evolve and show vulnerability without compromising themselves. Their styles evolve with them and we watch them gain life experiences that change them as people, but who they are at their core doesn’t change. When I think of the two characters in my head, I have a clear picture of both and both characters are stylish and unique in their own way. Samantha’s style is sexy and sensual without being garish. She sticks to solid, bold colors with gold jewelry and accents. Charlotte is preppy and feminine. When I think of Charlotte, I think soft colors paired with black and white neutrals. I can’t do that for Carrie, there’s no way to briefly describe her style other than all over the place.
There’s nothing wrong with following trends and changing your look, but in order to be considered stylish, I think you need to be authentic to yourself and your clothes can really indicate a sense of self. Carrie had great clothes but she never had a great sense of personal style. The outfit she is known for in the opening credits is a ribbed tank top and a tutu (which, honestly, speaks to her childish nature).
Nothing is more stylish than being yourself and not using clothes to fill a void that only self-actualization can fill.
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