Groove and the City

"I like my money where I can see it, hanging in my closet" ~ Carrie Bradshaw

SPOTTED: Storage for over 400 designer shoes, handbags, clothing and accessories find their new home in a massive walk-in closet (pic above).  Look familiar??  Why was this 400 sqft guest bedroom transformed for $175,000? To become the identical twin closet of the one and only, Carrie Bradshaw and Big hubbie, John James Preston, from Sex and the City.  Is the fashion and franchise really that influential? Read on, my SATC maniacs, because I'll never tell!

          XoXo,

       

If you're like me, you've seen every episode of "Sex and the City" so many times you can recite almost every line from all 6 fashionably amazing seasons (and majority of both movies).  In honor of our 15 year anniversary with the fabulous foursome, I am going to show you how influential SATC really has been in the fashion world (and to reminisce all of the amazing fashion moments over the years!).

The main reason we all love Sex and the City is that we all relate to a character, or bits of each.  Admit it, you're guilty of taking a 'Which Sex and the City Character are YOU?' quiz and giggled as you agreed with the entire description.  Conservative women, progressive women, single women, married women, divorced women, professional women, high school and college women, and everyone in between have been relating to episodes for the past 15 years.  Along with their personalities, women can also relate to the galpal's style too.

I think it'd be fun to break down the fashionality of each inspiring woman's style...and a little background too!  Before I do, I feel it necessary to introduce the woman behind it all, Patricia Field.  Field was presenting costume designs for Miami Rhapsody in 1995 when Sarah Jessica Parker saw the designs and fell in love.  SJP asked Field to design some of Carrie's clothes and from there on, the clothes became a focal point of the show.  Field began getting invites for front row seats to top designer's fashion shows in hopes that she might pick something from their collection for Carrie!

"The clothes are like another character in the show.  They help make it real" Cynthia Nixon, or as we all love her, Miranda, told People Magazine.  So, without further adieu, let's break. it. down.

Carrie Bradshaw, played by SJP, is fearlessly fashionable.  She has such a range of styles from uptown chic to sex kitten to fanciful.  Fields incorporated designer labels with flea market finds in order to create Carrie's unique fashionality.  She loves to mix it up and keep it interesting, claiming she gets 'bored' when things get too repetitive.

Charlotte York, played by Kristin Davis, is almost played off to be opposite from Carrie.  She shows off her sweet, preppy and conservative style, and always following the rules, by pairing the appropriate bags and shoes with her picturesque outfits.  She really lets her character speak through her clothing, bows, headbands, pearls, and other classic feminine styling.

Miranda Hobbes, played by Cynthia Nixon, is similar to Charlotte in the conservative sense.  Miranda plays up the conservative look in her very well-dressed, career oriented outfits.  She plays with chic corporate suits and neutral, androgynous styles that symbolize her being a strong woman in a man's world.

Samantha Jones, played by Kim Cattrall, is more like Carrie in her fun, fearless wardrobe. Her sexy styles exude confidence and courage.  Since Carrie's teenage years (if you've been watching The Carrie Diaries or read the books by Candice Bushnell), Samantha has made it loud and clear that she is a Woman (with a capital W)!  Her refreshing and invigorating personality definitely comes across through her strong styles, bold colors and accessories.

Now that we had a quick refresher on each of our gal's fashionalities, lets get a little deeper into the SATC trends and designer labels from our fictional, fairytale NYC!  So what was so amazing about the series that enticed a woman to drop $170,000 on her copycat closet?  Let's take a look at the influential trends and brands that the show has showcased over the years. I mean, making Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo household names was definitely a momentous feat.  If you are a true SATC fan, you will be checking off participating in the majority of this trend list.

• Stilettos
• Flower Pins...remember the entire 3rd season?! 
• Fun Fact: SJP loves flowers and wanted to accessorize with them, so they started small and they got larger and larger in each episode! 
• Initial Necklaces
• Great Coats
• The Bob 
• Must-have Designer Bags
• Mix High and Low (mix flea market finds with high-end designer fashions, like Dior top and Vintage skirt)
• It's All in the Shoes (the more expensive, the better!) and the perfect pedicure is required gals 
• Crop Tops and High Waists

Curious to know which labels were name-dropped the most? Here are the Field Favorites:

Manolo Blahnik

Jimmy Choo

Dior

Chanel

Richard Tyler

Chloe

Dolce & Gabbana

Prada

Fendi

Blumarine

Vivienne Westwood

Roberto Cavalli

All this talk about SATC trends and designer labels, I think it's time to reminisce about some of the iconic outfits that became famous and copied over the past 15 years.  Experts have praised how the franchise has enhanced the desirability of featured luxury brands.  Fun Fact: In the 4th Annual Brandcameo Product Placement Awards, Manolo Blahnik won 'Perfect Fit', for demonstrating the best chemistry between a brand a film for it's placement in the SATC Movie.  Louis Vuitton's involvement earned it the 'Most Mouthwatering' award meaning it is most likely to prompt immediate purchases due to its placement.

Three words: the tutu dress.

Want the Look? http://inspiredtrendaddict.blogspot.com/2013/03/spring-2014-trending-tulle-skirts.html

 This charming ensemble is arguable the most iconic look from the entire series.  We felt a little jerk in our hearts when it was rediscovered during Carrie's trash-or-take montage in the movie.  This iconic, feminine, chic look is one of the Spring '14 trends to keep in mind; tulle skirts. 

Another memorable outfit is the newspaper dress! Remember when Carrie debuted it when she went to apologize to Natasha for sleeping with Big? Field made sure to bring it back in the movie because it was a very iconic dress from the series.  Field explains the underlying symbolism in using Dior. 

"In the first season, the last outfit of the last episode, when she was in front of the Plaza and she realized that Big was gone, going with Natasha, she wore a white Dior dress.  That was the first time that I used Dior, and when she goes to apologize to Natasha, there's that underlying thing that there's Dior there.  There's something symbolic about that brand."

 One final look, from the 2nd movie, came together in an unexpected way.  The J'adore Dior shirt and purple skirt Carrie wore shopping in the Middle East is a perfect example of the Mix High and Low trend the franchise initiated in the 90's.  Field claims this to be her homage to Galliano, whom SJP and her both love.  The J'adore Dior shirt is a vintage piece that she wanted to use, but didn't know what to pair with it.  Field took a crinoline slip from under a gown because the colors looked so good together and it was beautiful on it's own.  Out of respect for the Middle East, she had to make it a little more modest and threw a little jacket on Carrie.

Field explains that "we mixed up the high and low, because that's who Carrie is, and it doesn't matter if you're 30 or 40 or 50: You'll always express yourself that way, your originality that's your personal style.  And I always fought for that for Carrie.  She's not the rubber-stamp girl like Charlotte."

I hope you enjoyed opening the seams of Sex and the City fashion.  The trendsetting show, and our favorite Sunday night girlfriends, will live on through the iconic fashion, relentless quoting, our beloved pink book of DVDs....and of course the labels!

P.S.
Some fun facts I didn't know where to stick in!

• A very talented costuming team selected up to 50 outfits for each episode of the show!
• The estimated wardrobe cost of Sex and the City 2 was $10 million!
• Carrie Bradshaw has 41 costume changes in the 2nd movie, including the $47,190 silver and gold Chanel lame dress she sings karaoke in. 
• Patricia Field's favorite item from the 2nd movie, a man-tailored Gaultier robe with 10 ft train Samantha wore in her hotel room, but was cut from the movie.
• Have you changed?  See if your still the same character! 
• http://www.cosmopolitan.com/quizzes-games/online-quiz/sex-in-the-city-quiz
• http://www.tbs.com/affinity/quiz/0,,33842%7C%7C,00.html
• Ever see a floor plan of Carrie's apartment? Neither did I...so I had to share!
  

What to look for next week?!?

::: You'll totally feel a little jeally over what our designers are working on!  Don't miss this post about the upcoming trend in shoes; transparent vinyl!!! ::: 

::: Your friends would never consider you a punk rocker at all, but you love the new Street Chic trend?  No worries, girlfriend!  I am going to break down this red hot style of metal and leather so you can incorporate as little, or as much, as you want into your Fall style :::