Whenever I start to punish myself for my financial irresponsibility after an ill-advised purchase or £12 lunch that tastes like cardboard, memories of Carrie Bradshaw exclaiming “I’ve spent $40,000 on shoes” ring in my ears. Suddenly, a Whole Foods splurge doesn’t seem quite so dramatic. Indeed, there are few characters in television history so synonymous with a love of expensive footwear; where Carrie ends, the Manolos begin, merging into one fiscally compromised Manhattanite. After 28 years portraying our hapless heroine, though, it’s sometimes difficult to separate Sarah Jessica Parker from her on-screen counterpart; every so often, we must be reminded that they are, in fact, two distinct entities, with, crucially, two distinct wardrobes.
AKGS
While Carrie’s flat-shoe repertoire barely extended beyond the occasional Hamptons flip-flop, SJP is a little more grounded. This afternoon, for example, she was spotted traversing the New York streets not in a pair of Jimmy Choos or a classic Manolo pump, but rather a more understated choice: heeled ballet flats, beloved by Gen Z favourites Kaia Gerber, Olivia Rodrigo and Lily-Rose Depp. Taken from the toes of Jane Birkin, the block heel ballet flat has quickly become the it-shoe for those looking to dabble in a bit of Left Bank chic. Casting my mind back over six seasons of SATC (let’s not bring And Just Like That into this), not a single pair of ballet flats springs to mind. That said, Carrie’s Francophile tendencies did take her to darker places, e.g. berets and the occasional musing on “le French fry” and “le Big Mac”.
Back in the real world, SJP’s choice of footwear may seem a little disorientating to fans more used to seeing her in a bedazzled sandal, but it’s proof that the actor still has her finger on the pulse of It-girl style culture. Accessorised with Beats by Dre headphones and a copy of The Newer World by Sebastian Barry, this distinctly SJP look confirmed that while Carrie is a work of fiction, both her on and off-screen personas share a common ground of sartorial eclecticism.
