10 underrated Carrie Bradshaw outfits I covet
I couldn't help but wonder: do other people think about these looks?
Whoa two posts in a week. Don’t worry, I won’t do this again. It’s just that I have more SATC-related thoughts.
I know it’s corny to say Carrie Bradshaw is my fashion icon, but there’s a reason her impact is inescapable 25+ years later. She’s totally herself. She takes chances. Her style is playful, sexy, cosmopolitan, sometimes a little kooky.
Carrie’s ability to pull off basically anything (she has her stumbles) is partly chutzpah, partly a great eye for fashion, and partly due to SJP’s body looking like it was carved from marble. Good for her. And us. I like looking at her.
HOWEVER. I see the same five Carrie outfits shared over and over, like her newspaper dress or the bodycon one below. They’re loved for a reason, but I have some underrated faves that rarely get mentioned.
Do bathing suits count?
SATC’s LA eps are fun, right? Cameos from Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Vince Vaughn. I never wear neon, but I love Carrie’s green cut-out swimsuit and lightning bolt necklace (which I kind of want to buy) that she wears to tell the girls about her Brazilian wax experience.
Fish mini dress
I’ve seen every episode a hundred times but just noticed this cute tank fish dress. I need it!! Oh, it’s vintage Moschino? Probably not happening for me. She wears this to grab a little treat with Miranda in one of my favorite eps, Hot Child in the City.
Season 3 is definitely my preferred Carrie fashion era. The exact right mix of thrifted and designer.
A whimsical combo of butterfly AND floral
Carrie wears this to accompany Samantha Jones to Sam Jones’ dorm party (that storyline is so off-putting to me). This outfit is perfect for a hot summer night. Strapless white dress paired with a butterfly belt, pink Fendi baguette, little bit of a tan, and hair in a braid. Easy breezy. Let me steal it all!
Wait, more butterfly 🦋
She wears this to dinner with Miranda and an ex bf, who Miranda just started seeing. He’s an asshole! Now, I have a feeling this butterfly statement necklace is a love-it-or-hate-it accessory for most people. I’m into it, especially with a simple black dress and her hair pulled back.
And look, Miranda has a cute outfit too.
Effortless belted dress moment
Any time I’m in a thrift store, this is the type of dress I hope to stumble across. She wears this to (what else) shop then runs into “cute, smart, sexy, single, smoking alcoholic” Patrick Casey, who gets addicted to sex with Carrie. Flattering.
Carrie’s take on casual dressing
A Flashdance-like gray top with skinny black pants and a red heel, plus a mini champagne bottle? Effortless, chic. And I could actually recreate this, but I don’t have SJP’s aura to make the outfit seem special, and my closet’s missing red Manolos.
This little silver number
Carrie tends to wear more warm-toned neutrals and golds but how good does she look in this silver Calvin Klein. The dress fits her immaculately. I’m obsessed with anything backless. Backs are sexy!

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Staten Island first date look
This Comme des Garçons feather coat over the tight one-shoulder dress. So fun!! Very Carrie. She wears it on her first date with perfect-man-besides-the-pee-stuff, John Slattery.
Her 35th birthday outfit
I’m simple, I love a matching set. I love to see midriff. I even like her big headband. This scene is sad because everyone misses her birthday dinner, but at least she looks cute. Or does that make it worse? When you look good, you want people to see it.
Rainbow stripes
Be honest, is this print ugly? I’d never wear it (reminds me of something Taylor Swift would’ve worn to promote her song “ME!”) but j’adore it on Carrie. She wears it to pop out and buy tomatoes. You should see what I wear to pop out and buy tomatoes.
Of course the show’s costume designer Pat Field picked the perfect contrasting belt to pair with it.
My actual favorite Carrie look
Okay, this one’s not necessarily underrated, but it’s divisive and I think the perfect encapsulation of Carrie’s style. Chic and offbeat. So many people love it from the front, then are turned off when they see the back. I’m here for all of it.
There. Will try not to talk about this show again for several years!
Okay but you might have to do one more post which I think will be even more satisfying: worst Carrie Bradshaw looks. I’m already thinking of the thorny branch thing on her head
The Staten Island look is one of the BEST. The coat is beyond