Shoes and the City

By InStyle.com
Jul 17, 2014 @ 1:19 pm
Shoes and the City
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Shoes, Glorious Shoes

PacificCoast
"Carrie: It's really hard to walk in a single woman's shoes-that's why you sometimes need really special shoes."

Years ago, Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw led a shoe revolution; she gave shoe fanatics worldwide not only a voice, but also the courage to bring their well-soled selves out from behind boxes and boxes of former shame. Spoiled by six seasons of incredible footwear, we headed into the movie screening with high hopes.
We were not disappointed. "I wear the Dior Extreme a lot in the movie, and those I just love," says Sarah Jessica Parker. This brown pair is the Python version and she wears a black pair as well.
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Strap Happy

Humberto Carreno/Startraks
"Stanford: Ooo, Gucci and Dolce and Dior... Carrie: Oh my!"

The movie takes place over the course of a year, so viewers get to see everything from sandals to sandals over socks to peep-toes to booties. Of choosing brands, costume designer Pat Field said, "It's really about the piece, how it incorporates into the scene and with the character herself." This Proenza Schouler pair fit right in as Carrie returns books to the library.

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Sandals Over Socks? Carrie Can!

INF Goff
"Carrie's answering machine: I'm not home, but my shoes are. Leave them a message."

Shoes have always played a starring role in the series. Think back to the episode in which Carrie splurged on a pair of Christian Louboutins to wear on her last date with Big before he moved to Napa. During the date, Carrie gets the call that Miranda's in labor, so she and Big, via horse-drawn carriage, race to the hospital, where Miranda's water breaks all over Carrie's lovely shoes. Thankfully, there are always more shoes in the closet, like this Dior Extreme Python which Carrie wears with over-the-knee argyle socks.
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Through Thick and Thin

James Devaney/WireImage
"Carrie: I realized I was in the throes of an existential crisis. One that not even the sight of this season's Dolce & Gabbana strappy sandals could lift me out of."

Carries fashion picks tend to reflect her mood, so it's no surprise that Carrie's feeling a bit down in this October scene wearing black from hat to Alaia-booted toes. In the best of times and worst, Carrie's shoes have been there. Well, except when she got mugged in season three and the thief took off with the strappy pink Manolos, the ones she bought for "half off at a sample sale!"

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Snow Boots

Alex Heining/INF Goff
"Carrie: I've spent forty thousand dollars on shoes and I have no place to live? I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes!"

Snow shoes for the average woman are a bit different than the pair of Sigerson Morrison booties Carrie wears during fashion week. Hopefully this pair is weatherproof, as we know how much sentimental value her footwear holds. When Aidan's dog, Pete, gnawed on a pair of Manolos in an old episode, it was "not good," as Carrie might say.

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Fresh Wardrobe Perspective

INF Goff
"Carrie (referring to the politician she dated): I figured we made a good match. I was adept at fashion; he was adept at politics. And really, what's the difference? They're both about recycling shop-worn ideas and making them seem fresh and inspiring."

Costume designer Pat Field is also a recycling master-one need only look at the way she reimagines Carrie's Dior Extreme sandal, here again for the third time.
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Shoes as Symbols

Humberto Carreno/Startraks
"Carrie : I tried the trapeze yesterday for that piece that I'm writing.
Charlotte : I could never! I have the most terrible fear of heights.
Carrie : Well, I do not. You've seen my shoes."

Leave it to Pat Field to create a new shoe by putting mesh around a Dior pump. The decision to broaden Carrie's label collection was a conscientious decision by the movie's director and writer, the incomparable Michael Patrick King. "In the series, Carrie was all about Manolo, which is still a mystical word for the audience, but we didn't want them to think that Carrie holds onto one label," explains King. "And we decided she should be in a lot of labels, but the Manolo does have a big part." One blue style, in particular, is the shoe of the movie, custom-made by Mr. Blahnik. "I love what Manolo made for the movie," says Sarah Jessica Parker. "It's a beautiful shoe."
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