When we first saw photos of Sarah Jessica Parker visiting her New York shoe boutique last year, we thought that she was just popping in to say hello, potentially in the hope that the resulting paparazzi shots would give the shop a publicity boost. But as the weeks have gone on, it’s become clear that the acclaimed actress and style icon is genuinely pitching in at a time of uncertainty in the retail industry.
Last summer, the woman who made Carrie Bradshaw one of TV’s greatest – and most divisive – characters was regularly spotted at SJP, her flagship boutique on Manhattan’s 54th Street. Photographs showed her visiting the site, holding boxes, speaking to staff and customers. It seemed like it could be a gimmick, a publicity stunt. But it was no such thing. That’s right: Sarah Jessica Parker is working in her own shoe store.
32 Things You Didn't Know About Sex And The City - Grazia (Slider)
1 of 321.
The tutu that Carrie wears in the opening credits cost $5 from a showroom bargain bin. It's now framed and hangs in Michael Patrick King's office.
2 of 322.
Even if she was filmed from the waist up, Kim Cattrall – who played Samantha – insisted she wore heels as she said it made her feel more like her character.
3 of 323.
MISTAKE ALERT! In the opening credits, the bus that goes past Carrie with her picture on it is full of people in the first shot, then totally empty once it splashes her.
4 of 324.
Sarah Jessica Parker was the only one of the four ladies to have a nudity clause in her contract stating she would never appear naked.
5 of 325.
Mr Big's second wife, Natasha, always wore white because her character was meant to be 'vanilla'.
6 of 326.
Remember that politician Carrie dates in Season 3? He only went on to play ROGER STERLING in Mad Men.
7 of 327.
Carrie's 'Newspaper Dress' was designed by John Galliano for Christian Dior and would have set her back $1,500.
8 of 328.
Cynthia Nixon, who played Miranda, didn't have pierced ears. All her earrings were clip-ons.
9 of 329.
When Trey (Kyle MacLachlan) proposed to Charlotte (Kristen Davis) outside Tiffanys, it wasn't the real Tiffanys. The store wouldn't let them film for security reasons, so the set designers had to design a fake Tiffanys window. A Tiffanys employer still okayed it though.
10 of 3210.
No outfit was ever repeated twice – except Carrie's fur coat in the final scene of the last series where she's on the phone to 'John' (you know who that is!).
11 of 3211.
When Miranda's cat steals Brady's umbilical chord (hard to forget that bit) the 'umbilical chord' was actually some beef jerky tied to a piece of string.
12 of 3212.
The scene where Carrie and Miranda ate a cupcake outside Magnolia bakery was credited for the global boom in cupcakes sales which followed. Yes, GLOBAL. The shop also later had to hire bouncers to control the crowds.
13 of 3213.
Why was Mr Big called Mr Big? Sex and the City author Candice Bushnell told New York Magazine in 2004, 'He was one of those New York guys with a big personality — you just notice him as soon as he walks in the room.' She also said, 'I called him Mr. Big because he was like a big man on campus.'
14 of 3214.
Carrie's 'Carrie Necklace' came from costume designer, Patricia Field's, East Village shop – often frequented by students. 'That name necklace was something that black kids, Puerto Rican kids, borough kids, ethnic kids had been wearing forever, that was just a statement,' she said. She had one made up especially for Carrie.
15 of 3215.
Jennifer Aniston's hubby, Justin Theroux, appeared twice in SATC. First as Stanford's pal in Season One's The Monogamists, Jared, who Carrie flirts with at New York Magazine's '30 coolest people under 30' party. Second, as writer Vaughn Wysel in Shortcomings, who has a very close and open family, the mother of which Carrie felt was the person she ultimately had to break up with when the relationship with Vaughn collapsed.
16 of 3216.
Who was Mr Big based on? Publishing executive Ron Galotti, former publisher of GQ and Talk. Wanna see a pic of him? Ok...
17 of 3217.
Mr Big was originally described by Carrie as 'the next Donald Trump'... WHAT A RELIEF she was wrong.
18 of 3218.
The first dog to play Aidan's pooch, Pete, was afraid of actor John Corbett. It loved SJP though. In the end, they had to find another dog for the role.
19 of 3219.
When Carrie falls into the Central Park pond to avoid a kiss from Big, Sarah Jessica Parker cut her foot on the bottom and had to have a tetanus shot straight after, even though the pool was dredged prior to filming. Luckily the scene was filmed in one take – but still... WHAT a palaver!
20 of 3220.
Sarah Jessica Parker was once set-up on a date with Willie Garson. Who was he, you might ask? Only Stanford Blatch!
21 of 3221.
Season 5 was created to be shorter than the other series' because Sarah Jessica Parker was pregnant.
22 of 3222.
Carrie never calls Mr Big 'Big' to his face – only behind his back. In fact, she doesn't call him anything at all in the ENTIRE series. It's only in Sex and the City: The Movie that she refers to him by his real name, 'John'... and that's just the once when she gets home and asks where he is.
23 of 3223.
The four girls' family are rarely mentioned because the show's creators didn't want family issues to detract from the friendships and characters.
24 of 3224.
When Carrie goes to LA to talk about a film version of her book and ends up having that #awkward chat with Matthew McConaughey about his take on the 'Mr Big character', Matthew wasn't the first actor approached for the cameo. Originally it was Alec Baldwin, who turned it down. As did George Clooney. And also Warren Beatty.
25 of 3225.
Candice Bushnell only made $60,000 from selling the film rights to her bestselling book Sex and the City.
26 of 3226.
The most expensive dress Carrie wore was the Atelier Versace Couture 'Mille Feuille' gown in the penultimate SATC episode, when she was in Paris awaiting her date with Aleksandr Petrovsky. It cost $80,000.
27 of 3227.
Carrie's apartment – 245 E 73rd Street, between Park and Madison – doesn't exist. It's actual location was 66 Perry Street, between Bleeker and 4th East 73rd street.
28 of 3228.
All the ladies 'lobbied' for more diversity on the show, 'no one more than Sarah Jessica', Cynthia Nixon once revealed.
29 of 3229.
Kim Cattrall only decided to play Samantha after a friend convinced her. She turned down the role twice.
30 of 3230.
Carrie Bradshaw's apartment was sold in 2012 for $9.65million. In the series she said she paid just $750 per month in rent for it. OH THE DAYS.
31 of 3231.
The book Love Letters Of Great Men from SATC
32 of 3232.
When Carrie bumps into Aidan carrying his baby in Season 6, the child was actually Sarah Jessica Parker's. That's why the baby looks so pleased to see her – CUTE!
She acknowledged this on August 6th via Instagram, where she posted from the brand’s second New York store in the downtown Seaport District.
Ready to help and planning to be here once a week moving forward’, she wrote. But she’s done much more than that. She has been seen at one of the two stores since then, on August 18th, 19th, 25th and 26th, and was there again on September 9th, October 7th and October 19th. It is not clear how much time she spends on her shifts - we don't think it's a classic 9 to 5 - but she is, at the very least, doing her bit by helping customers try on their choices, carrying boxes from the store room and welcoming guests to the boutique. She has carried - Carried, get it? - this forward into 2021, working there several times already in January and February.
Hats off to the star for taking a hands-on approach to her brand’s success, especially when the high street is struggling to overcome the pressures of lockdown. Can you imagine asking for a size 5 heel in blue and having Sarah Jessica Parker herself return with a shoebox? We honestly think we’d faint.
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