If you’re a Sex and the City or And Just Like That fan, you likely strongly associate Sarah Jessica Parker with Carrie Bradshaw—but don’t go confusing their personal styles. In a new video, the actor sat down with Vogue to revisit some of her and Carrie’s best looks, and she says the duo couldn’t be more different. “Carrie was a much more courageous dresser than I am,” Parker tells Vogue. “She has a much more fevered relationship with fashion, and much more indulgent. I’m much more of an observer.”
Since she burst onto the scene in the ’80s, Parker has made an impact on the red carpet. Back in 1987, she wore a vintage, sleek tuxedo to a Young Artists United party, along with other secondhand accessories. “I wore that peace necklace a lot. I still have it,” she says. “I shopped at thrift shops a lot, because it was a necessity.” At the 2000 Emmy Awards, we saw Parker adopt a more classic, Old Hollywood aesthetic by wearing a white Oscar de la Renta gown. “My favorite memory is himself,” says Parker of the late designer (who was also one of Carrie’s favorites). “He was always so invested, always cared, and took care of details. He also always smelled good.”
Parker’s life in looks wouldn’t be complete, however, without learning the backstory behind some of Carrie’s most iconic outfits too. The famed tutu she wore for the show’s intro in 1998, for instance, was not a one-of-one piece. “A lot of people claim they have the tutu,” says Parker. “Pat [Field] has one, Michael Patrick King has one, I have one. Filming that sequence probably required 5 or 6 of them.” She also reminisced on the giant bird she wore on her head for the 2008 film’s wedding scene, in which she also wore a structured Vivienne Westwood gown. “When I saw this bird, I thought the colors were so magnificent,” says Parker. “When I came to set [with it on], Michael was like, ‘Why is there a bird on your head?’”
As for more recent style hits from Parker? The star pointed to her many Vogue covers over the years, her latest one being in December 2021, shot by Dan Jackson. Turns out, it was a shoot that earned her some major cool-mom points. “I showed my daughters,” says Parker, “and both of them went, ‘You’re on the cover of Vogue?! That was very touching to me.”
Originally published in Vogue.com
