Carrie it Off
Sex and the city is loved by the world's female population in part because of the sassy characters and in part because of Carrie's clothes. The Manolo queen is renowned for her sense of style and her fashion forward and innovative clothes. Carrie is as famous for her ability to kick start and 'burn' trends as she is for her sexual exploits and ponderings, the popularity of prom style dresses, peep toe shoes, corsages, and flip flops are all partly attributable to her.
Carrie is described in last month's Vogue as a 'girl's girl' she adores clothes and shoes and part of her appeal is her experimental way of putting things together. In the name of fashion Carrie has sported thick grey knee socks, traditionally the preserve of Britney and school girls, belts high across a bare tummy, tied silk scarves around her arm and a coat accessorised solely with underwear and death defying shoes. Don't say this woman hasn't suffered for her art - but is she divine or disastrous?
Multi coloured
Carrie's daring use of colour sometimes gets her into hot water with the fashion police. This natty number could be considered one such piece. The eye assaulting combination of hot pinks purples deep reds and turquoise does nothing to remedy the 'interesting' choice of shapes. This billowy top drowns her petite frame. The horizontally stripped leggings are a cardinal sin, doing absolutely nothing to flatter. The horizontal stripe makes her thighs look wider and the cropped length shortens her leg which makes her perennial heel wearing seems pretty pointless. Furthermore where on earth could you wear such a creation without being mistaken for a circus act?
Granny dress
It seems that Carrie really is beyond all fashion rules, wearing granny clothes seems to be perfectly justifiable behaviour for this style icon. Carrie's ill-fitting dress really does nothing for her apart from question her style status. The repeated brown pattern and demure shape is a frumpy take on '1940s make do and mend romance' better suited to hillbillies than the Hamptons. The dress swaps her and makes her look like a lost little girl, perhaps a dash too much vulnerability to attract that elusive Mr Big.
So Carrie is not always a fashion goddess, occasionally her clothes are unwearable and hideous but never let it be said that they are not bold. Carrie only gets it wrong because she experiments and you have to admit most of the time she gets it horribly right, leaving those surrounding her seething with jealously at her fashion acumen. It is much more fun to laugh at her disasters than to acknowledge your own. So long live the clownish colours, the knee socks and the peculiar accessories; it makes us all feel less fashion inadequate!
23rd Oct 2003