Style Icon: Carrie Bradshaw

by Chloe Karaskiewicz

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Even among those who have never seen the show, Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City is a symbol of great style. In the series, Bradshaw – played by Sarah Jessica Parker – is a New York City sex columnist and all-around slave to fashion. The popularity of Sex and the City’s six seasons and subsequent films established Bradshaw as a pop culture icon, but what made her a style icon was her penchant for fearlessly unique outfits.

Carrie is famous for wearing anything from couture gowns with crazy patterns to brightly colored hats and suspenders, clean, pinstripe suits to luxurious fur coats replete with piles of pearls. Her outfits are a striking blend of crazy fabulous – some more than others – and underscore her definitive, if not eclectic, style.

There is no question that many of her outfits are more high fashion than the average person would comfortably wear, and more expensive than the average person could afford. But Carrie is bold, and it is her courage to wear the unusual and extraordinary that is truly inspiring, regardless of their price point or intimidation factor. We’re all familiar with moments of second guessing our fashion choices: can I actually wear this? Am I brave enough to break the rules, to experiment with an ensemble? Personal style is all about having the courage to express our individualism, and although we may easily identify what we like, we may not always be bold enough to wear it.

In an industry where the designers present the trends, and the magazines how to wear them, do we even have control over the rules anymore? To be sure, there are rules of taste, but ultimately we can play with fashion – and we should be having fun!

So your challenge this season? Embrace a little risk, take a chance or two and, like Carrie, always dress to impress.