Carrie Bradshaw: Iconic Looks to Questionable Looks

Ever since its glamorous conception in June 1998, Sex and the City has been a favorite fantasyland of women all around the world. What superfan hasn’t had a moment when she’s watched a messy escapade of Samantha, Carrie, Miranda, or Charlotte unravel on the silver screen and thought to herself, “me too!!!”?

Who hasn’t taken one of those “which of the SATC ladies are you?” quizzes and mentally accepted that she is a total Charlotte even though she swears she is a Carrie? More importantly, who hasn’t let out a lovestruck gasp of outfit envy after watching Carrie Bradshaw strut out onto her stoop in some playfully polished number?

It’s no secret that Carrie has been a style icon from the very beginning, yet it doesn’t take more than a few episodes to realize some of her style choices were so painfully bad that they really call that “iconic” title into question.

I just finished watching the entire series on Amazon Prime, and I am in mourning over the loss of a truly incredible series as well as the daily career and fashion inspiration it gave me. As I wrapped up my addiction with a viewing of the first movie this morning, I couldn’t help but wonder—can Carrie’s outfit magic truly be re-created in real life? More importantly, can we find fashion inspiration from even her most unfortunate looks?

Crop top? Totally trendy. High waisted pants? Classic. Find similar pieces at Urban Outfitters and H&M and top off your look with a simple pair of heels and light jewelry.

I’m beyond obsessed with this adorable look from the show’s title sequence! I smiled way too big when she whipped it back out in the movie:

As wild as some of Carrie’s style choices were, she could have never pulled them off as flawlessly as she did without her glowing confidence and signature strut to match.

You don’t have to wear this with the white gloves and tiara, but who’s stopping you, queen?

As darling as our Carrie is, I truly can’t wrap my brain around some of her outfits. But if you really think about it, some of her basic concepts aren’t the worst…

I want to cut her a little slack here, because she did her best at dressing for an oddly-themed beach party in the Hamptons. But the cowgirl hat makes no sense to me. Bandeau bikini tops are always cute, though!

Honestly I didn’t even look into ways to salvage this poor color scheme, I just wanted to say that she looks like one of those Bomb Pop popsicles!

These individual pieces aren’t that bad if you really think about it! A classic black coat never goes out of style, and a tube top can still work, though I’m not sure how I feel about this pattern.

Bandanas were done around 2002 (I should know, I owned about 15 of those headband/bandana combos they sold at Claire’s), but babydoll shirts are still pretty cute as long as they’re sufficiently flattering.

Shop similar pieces from Carrie’s wardrobe…

What are some of your favorite Carrie Bradshaw outfits? Which ones would you like help re-creating? Comment below or tweet us @theblogissuemag!