We might be living through the golden age of small screen fashion, but one '90s show is still in a league of its own when it comes to style: Sex and the City. Which is why news that the long-awaited reboot is finally on the cards - albeit without its resident sexpert Samantha Jones - has sent fashion fans into something of a frenzy.
SATC's costume designer, Patricia Field, was a genius. Her approach to fashion was credited for changing the way an entire generation of women viewed – and still view – clothes. She didn’t follow trends, she made them. And she made them to last. Her philosophy valued ‘eclecticism, creative expression and an understanding of oneself’. It was, and is, eternal. And it went over and above any label-led ‘season’. That is why – a decade on – SATC’s fashion is still in fashion. And so is its most talked about element: shoes.
The shoes of SATC were the most important part of any outfit and we could probably wear each pair quite happily today. Shoes were Carrie’s obsession. Her addiction. Her ‘little substance abuse problem’. Sandals, pumps, stilettoes, Carrie did everything in them. Running, scootering – dragging luggage up the staircase of a countryside cabin – everything. So unsurprisingly, there are a number of unforgettable shoe moments.
Here, we look back at the most iconic…
Sex and the City best shoe moments
1 of 19When Big Proposes With A Shoe
This moment was brought to us via Sex and the City, The Movie – not the series itself, but, errrrr, like that matters. Because when Big kneels down – in that gigantic, empty, excellently lit penthouse walk-in closet – and proposes to Carrie with a blue satin and brooch bejewelled Hangisi Manolo Blahnik pump, engagement rings went straight out of fashion.
2 of 19When Carrie Gets Mugged For Her Manolo Blahniks
When Carrie takes a wrong turn – looking for 'the right shoes' – she finds herself held up at gunpoint. It's not just her bag (sorry, 'baguette') that the robber relieves her of. He also takes her watch, her ring… and her favourite pair of Manolos, purchased – half price – at a sample sale. The humiliation of having to walk barefoot around the streets of New York was compounded for Carrie by the fact she was lumbered with a pair of Miranda's oversized (label-less) white courts to go home in. Talk about bad to worse.
3 of 19When Charlotte Encounters A Shop Assistant With A Shoe Fetish
It's not the most pleasant SATC shoe moment. But it is unforgettable. When a shop assistant gets turned on by the sight of Charlotte trying on shoes, we were horrified. But she got a pair of free heels out of it so we're sort of… jealous. (Is that allowed?!)
4 of 19When Carrie Trips Up On The Catwalk
We wouldn't want to walk down a runway ahead of Heidi Klum either. We'd probably demand a pair of 'big gal shoes' for the moment too. Unlike Carrie though, we'd make darn sure we could walk in them. Like, walk-in-them-like-they-were-Nike-Airs-type walk in them. Because morphing into 'fashion roadkill' on the catwalk is not a label we'd ever want to wear.
5 of 19When Carrie Buys Furry Shoes To Spice Up Her Love Life
What's great about this moment isn't that the 'other shoe dropped' and Carrie has 'kinda hot' sex with Jack Berger. It's that Carrie's style momentarily transitions to a whole new wardrobe – Samantha's.
6 of 19When Carrie Loses A Jimmy Choo In Staten Island
She'd just spent the evening with politician Bill Kelley – aka John Slattery, aka the future Roger Sterling from Mad Men – and for some inexplicable reason she decides she must take the ferry home and not his BMW with a working heater. She arrives at the Staten Island riverside a minute too late and in her mad dash for the boat, loses a shoe. 'Wait! Wait! I lost my Choo!'SATC gold.
7 of 19When Carrie Works Out How Much Money She’s Spent On Shoes
'I've spent $40,000 on shoes and I have no place to live? I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes'.We remember this moment because it's outrageous. Who could spend $40,000 on shoes? But then we remember our own shoe shelves. And the damn fine designer footwear on display there. And then we're at one with Carrie. Who needs a home anyway?
8 of 19Samantha – And Shoes
And speaking of Samantha, there are so many great Samantha-shoe moments we'd exhaust ourselves trying to list them all. The ones that remain at the forefront of our minds, however, are the times where – confoundingly – she keeps her shoes on… When she strips down to all but a pair of gold strappy stilettoes on that rooftop with Richard Wright; when she makes her way through hay to milk a cow in pink sandals; when she falls off a sidewalk wearing Perspex mules yet continues to wear heels on the one foot not clamped in a protective boot… Yes, Samantha's dedication to footwear could almost rival Carrie's. Almost…
9 of 19When Miranda’s Water Breaks On Carrie’s New Sandals
So Big announces he is leaving New York and Carrie goes on a 'final' date with him (ya huh). As part of her master plan to lure him into the bedroom, she purchases an outlandish pair of pink, frilled sandals by Christian Louboutin that she had discovered whilst out shopping with Samantha. The lasting memory we have of them, however, is not the sight of them in the shop window, nor the energy with which they were kicked off in the throes of passion. It's when Miranda's water breaks all over them shortly before she gives birth. Nice.
10 of 19When Someone Steals Carrie’s Shoes At The Baby Party
When we first watched this episode we were teenagers. We didn't get it. Now, we get it.It IS unfair that if you're single and in your thirties you are expected to spend a fortune on coupled-up women's life choices – their hens, their weddings, their baby showers – and get 'bubkes' in return, as Carrie points out.When Carrie arrives at Kyra and Chuck's 'new baby' party – with that gigantic L'il Me chair – she has to leave her brand new Manolos at the door. They get stolen and she gets… nothing. Nada. Actually that's wrong, she gets 'shoe-shamed'. We'd register at Manolos and get that woman to pay up also.
11 of 19When Carrie Discovers Manolo Blahnik Mary Jane’s At Vogue
'Manolo Blahnik Mary Janes. I thought these were an urban shoe myth,' Carrie says to Vogue hotshot Julian in the accessories closet. We thought the same, because at the time (2002) they hadn't been seen around town for eight years. Some of us had never even heard of them (shhh). But when she finds them – and squeezes her size 7 feet into them – we totally got it. Those were a pair of heels worth witnessing Julian in briefs and knee-high socks for.
12 of 19When Carrie Makes a Trip To Dior
Carrie opts for a pair of knee-high stiletto boots for a visit to Dior...which doesn't end up very well for her.
13 of 19When Carrie Dresses Completely Inappropriately For the Weather
Carrie hits the snowy streets of New York City for a New Year's Eve party in her pajamas and a pair of white booties. Not completely weather-appropriate, but at least she's not wearing slippers.
14 of 19When Carrie Left the House in Two Different Shoes
On a trip to LA, Carrie opts to wear two differently coloured heels. Maybe she got dressed in the dark?
15 of 19When Big Leaves Carrie at the Altar
The downside is that Big leaves Carrie at the altar.The upside is her shoes are amazing. Life's about compromises!
16 of 19When Carrie (And Her Shoes) Go For a Swim
Carrie meets Big at the Central Park Boathouse and the two of them, along with Carrie's PVC mules, end up partaking in a bit of impromptu swimming.
17 of 19When Carrie Missed Her School Uniform Days
Dressing as a schoolgirl isn't normally something we'd be into, but this combination of white pumps and nude ankle socks really speaks to us.
18 of 19When Carrie and Samantha Go For a Dog Walk
What, you don't walk your dog in kitten heels?
19 of 19Honourable Mention: When Carrie Wore The Best Rainbow Socks
While Carrie isn't technically wearing socks here, we thought it would be unacceptable for these rainbow-striped knee socks to go unnoticed.