Lessons from Sex & the City never go out of date. Here is a blog post from May 26, 2008.
I bought a floral pin à la Carrie Bradshaw in the days leading up to the opening of Sex and the City. It is blush-coloured, and big, not as in Mr. Big, but honking big – almost as big as the one Carrie wears in the opening sequence of the movie. (See picture below.)
What’s more, in tribute to SATC, I wore a black floral pin I already own and have never even tried on to the press screening of the film first thing Monday morning. The TV series that made Manolo and Jimmy household names and objects of desire for so many has made its mark.
Yes, rampant consumerism is one mark, but the lesson – in my consumptive opinion – is about taking chances. That’s how fashion moves forward – by characters, real and imagined, wearing stuff to shock, offend, delight, surprise.
(The corsage is key to Carrie. New Line Cinema.)
Remember when it was not okay to show your bra straps, as if that undergarment was taboo (it was, for a long time), when sequins were for evening only, when everything matched, when ladies wore hats and gloves and stockings and closed-toe pumps?
Not that Carrie’s choices are always bright. Argyle over-the-knee socks with a miniskirt and big blue T-shirt? Nix it. She did have the sense to wear a dark coat over the outfit in the flick. And Samantha’s style choices – in the TV series and in the movie – should be featured in an episode of What Not to Wear.
Charlotte? Well, she’s primmer than ever in white eyelet and floral or polka dot maternity tent dresses. Only Miranda is somewhat down to earth, style-wise.
But the movie is a visual feast of fashion – a fairy tale of floral brocade coats and dresses, sequins sparkling in the night as snow falls, a dream sequence (shot in Vogue) of couture wedding dresses – the fairy princess Vera Wang, the couture queen Dior, the Little Bo Peep ruffled tiered Lanvin, the frankly wacky Vivienne Westwood with witchy bodice.
(The wedding party: Carrie wears the Vivienne Westwood here. New Line Cinema.)
Well, if you’ve read this far, you’ll probably go see the movie. It’s a little cloying, and predictable, but the clothes are worth the viewing. As for my blush floral pin, it’s going back: it’s too honking big to stay aloft on its own. But it was fun while it lasted.
