Design in Sex And The City

I've done a few posts about design before, discussing the production design of films such as The Truman Show and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Although i intend for production design to be a part of this discussion, it seems restrictive to talk exclusively about this, and it seems implausible to talk about Sex and the City without even mentioning fashion, given that fashion and clothes were such an important part of the show.

Sex and the city exhibits four characters who are defined by their clothing, the way they dress is a huge revelation of their personalities. Our heroine, Carrie, is a woman who lives for fashion, a woman who bought Vogue instead of fashion and who spends more than she can afford on clothes. Carrie exhibits a certain freedom with fashion, she expresses herself through her clothing and she is unafraid of taking risks. Maintaining a wardrobe like Carrie's would be virtually impossible for anyone other than Anna Dello Russo, but the filmmakers give her real persoanlity through her clothes, how she dresses is tailored to whether she is in a relationship, and how happy she is. At times she dresses almost like a child, showing her naivete and her selfishness. Shoes are a huge part of Carrie's life, and she confesses to owning over a hundred pairs, Carrie's wardrobe seems to be highly unaffordable on a writers salary, but with an unashamed lack of realism the creators of the series unapologetically make sure that Carrie is always dressed in something fabulous, whatever the occasion.

The other characters are also defined by their clothing, possibly more stereotypically than Carrie is, Miranda is a lawyer, and her wardrobe is thus slightly serious, rarely seen without her briefcase and palm pilot, Miranda is slightly more body consious than the other girls, and so likes to keep covered up, particularly after she has Brady in season 4, she is also slightly less fashion conscious than the other girls, caring less for fashion than for comfort, wearing ugly shoes whilst pregnant because her feet are swollen. Like Miranda, Charlotte is also slightly uptight, a typical Park Avenue Polyanna, Charlotte keeps to a uniform of cardigans and pearls, reflecting her status as an upper middle class wasp, and her hailing from Connecticut. Like Carrie her style also reflects her relationships, wearing plaid after marrying her first Scottish husband and a Jewish veil when marrying her second. Samantha has the most brash style of the four women, she wears bright colours and bold prints, being unafraid to show off her body and reflecting her brash and confident personality, and her unashamed sexuality.

The girls apartments are also important in reflecting their personalities, the production design of this show is so good that even when the characters move, their personalities are still shown, Carries apartment, whilst being ludicrously large for a writer to afford is nonetheless very close to her character, it is cluttered and filled with clothes and books. Her desk takes center stage in front of the window, show how important her writing is to her, and her spotless kitchen shows how little she cooks. Her closet is also an important room in the apartment, showing her love of fashion and the bookcases show her love of reading and books. Miranda moves into a large apartment of her own halfway through the series, with this apartment being organized and controlled as she is, with it's size and laundry room showing her status as a partner in her law firm. Charlotte's second apartment, that she gets in her divorce settlement, is lavish and beige, reflecting her status as a park avenue polyanna, and her clearly educated upbringing. Samantha is the only woman who lives alone throughout the whole of the series, her first apartment is on the upper west side, and her second is in the meatpacking district, this shows her status as a high earner and her willingness to lead a lavish and independant lifestyle.

Sex and the City is a series in which costume design production design and set dressing are hugely important, are revelatory of character, the objects people surround themselves with and the clothes they wear tell us about who they are as people.