From 'Head In The Clouds' Hat To 'Carrie On The Prairie' Dress, And Just Like That Season 3 Fashion Is Full Of Easter Eggs

Refinery29

3 days ago

In the third season of the Sex and the City sequel series,
And Just Like That, the quippy humor and hijinks-filled storylines feel like throwbacks to the OG show. See: Carrie's (Sarah Jessica Parker) wisecrack to Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) in the premiere — 'I don't know which is worse… that you slept with a nun, or that you slept with a tourist.' Or: Carrie's visit to Virginia, which brings to mind Season 4's Episode 9 in which Carrie goes to the country home of Aidan (John Corbett) in Suffern, New York.
This season, as Carrie faces the uncertainty of a long-distance relationship with Aidan, she tries to move forward — and out of her comfort zone. Having left her longtime Upper East Side haven for a Greek Revival house in Gramercy, she tries her hand at writing historical fiction. Reflecting these changes, Carrie's always-discussion-starting fashion breaks new ground, while also revisiting the past. Ahead, And Just Like That 's costume designers, Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago, discuss some of their favorite looks from the season so far.
Carrie's Victorian Sensibility
Carrie opens the season by writing vintage postcards to Aidan, who is living in Virginia. Her circa-1840 house complements the old time-y pastime — along with her romantic, rose-adorned jacket-and-dress set from London designer Simone Rocha's ethereal Spring 2024 collection, which nods back to Carrie's former signature look.
'We got excited because it kind of moved the needle on the tutu… we thought that was a more adult [take on the] look,' says Rogers.
The puff-sleeves, full skirt, and corsetry also hint at Carrie's late-1800s-referential wardrobe evolution to come as she attempts to write a period novel. Inspired by the avant-garde John Galliano's Maison Margiela 2024 Artisanal collection, Rogers and Santiago imagined Carrie's sartorial interpretation of the horse-and-carriage era.
In episode two, she wears a Donna Karan beige bodysuit and white Mary Jane pumps by Paula Votteler with a raw-hem Margiela denim skirt with Victorian bustle-style draping. In episode five, for a truce/brainstorm dinner with her neighbor Duncan Reeves (Jonathan Cake), Carrie further explores period dressing in vintage khaki riding jodhpurs and an off-the-shoulder Jean Paul Gaultier top.
'She's thinking about her novel that's looking back at this time,' says Santiago. 'So some of her fashion decisions are based on her research.'
Carrie's Controversial Hat
Along with sky-high Manolo Blahnik heels and Fendi baguettes, statement headwear has long been Carrie's calling card. Outdoing herself again, she kicks off Season 3 with a sculptural, pink gingham hat by Maryam Keyhani paired with a vintage Ossie Clark dress with an inverted basque waistline and pannier-like skirt silhouette.
'We wanted something that felt very light, airy, fresh, and playful,' says Santiago, about aligning the look with the summer day in the park setting. 'There is a nod to that [late-19th-century] period, especially the hat. She's in her inspiration period right now.'
But Carrie's whimsical hat — aptly-named ' Head in the Clouds ' by the brand — seems to have caused even more discussion than her up-in-the-air relationship status with Aidan, with many poking fun of the look, which surprised Rogers. 'I'm shocked that at this point that people even bat an eye at Carrie in some wackadoodle great hat,' says Rogers.'Do you want us to put her in a canvas sun hat? The alternative is not Carrie cool.'
Carrie's Travel Outfit
In episode four, Carrie wrangles a speaking gig that's conveniently located in Virginia near Aidan's farm, where she's hoping to stay on an extended visit. Carrie dresses as only Carrie would for treks through sprawling airports and waits in rental car lines: head-to-toe Vivienne Westwood.
'We've had historical costume moments with Westwood all through the original series,' says Rogers, adding that the team also wanted to honor the legendary designer who died as they were prepping for the season. After pairing Westwood's Victoriana-meets-punk Panther dress with a chevron cardigan, Rogers and Santiago decided to go all-in with the British designer.
'I think it's the only time Carrie has worn one designer head-to-toe,' says Rogers. 'That's a big Easter egg.'
Carrie somehow fits all her travel essentials into a circular Orb tote from the brand, and dashes to the car in strappy, five-inch brown platform sandals that would not be conducive to a mile-long walk (or ATV drive that she later takes) through the countryside.
'The strappy shoes used to be [Parker's] favorite shoe in the entire world,' says Rogers, who unearthed the Westwood heels from the SATC costume archive. 'After she had filmed in them for a week, she said, 'I never want to see those again. They were so painful.''
Carrie's 'Carrie On The Prairie' Dress es
After Aidan finally invites her to stay at his farm, Carrie, who lost her luggage, swaps out her Westwood outfit for Aidan's son Homer's (Corbin Drew Ross) baseball uniform — paired with her Westwood heels, naturally — to get new clothes. After inquiring about nearby retail options, she heads to Daisy's Dress Shop, which apparently only carries floral maxi dresses and nightgown-like frocks. After purchasing a few styles, Carrie refers to her new look as 'Carrie on the Prairie.'
Even though their prep coincided with the Nap Dress craze and cottagecore trend, with plenty of current options available for the costume designers to pull, Santiago says the costume designers decided to go 'the vintage route' to avoid associating any one brand with the episode that pokes fun at the fashion available in Aidan's rural home.
'Please don't say 'Summer's Eve,'' says Carrie, referencing the floral fashion in the brand's cringe-y '80s commercials. In the end, her '70s-inspired dress — with flowy sleeves, ruffles, and pink florals on chevron stripes — walked the fine line of looking unexpectedly cool in that Carrie way while still providing comedic relief necessary for the episode that sees Aidan struggling to parent his son Wyatt (Logan Souza).
'There were so many jokes written for that scene,' says Rogers. 'But honestly, in the end, it looked like something that came out of Saks or Zimmermann.'
Carrie's Offscreen Shoe Outfits
Carrie does not believe in a shoe-free home and insists on stomping across her hardwood floors in various heels in episode five. This, much to the consternation of her downstairs neighbor, Duncan, who's suffering from a case of writer's block.
'We were hoarding shoes from day one,' says Rogers of the envy-inducing montage of shoe close-ups. 'We were calling everyone and saying, 'Send us your best shoe. Make sure it's the latest and greatest, and it has to be, not clunky, but it has to make noise.''
If you play the montage in slo-mo and use your imagination, maybe you'll catch some of the full looks that only Carrie would wear at home. If you ask the costume designers? 'There's the day-glow Rene Caovilla heels with the Isabela Capeto charm dress,' says Rogers. 'I bought it in the Hamptons with SJ.'
The outfit combos also include: Aquazurra yellow slingbacks with a vintage pink dress, Rene Caovilla pink crystal bow-adorned heels with a Bob Mackie opera coat, a Missoni crochet dress and white Manolo Blahnik thigh-high boots, Maskit overalls and turquoise Alexander McQueen western-style heels, Ralph Lauren Polo boxer shorts lined with vintage crinoline and customized Gucci patent Mary Jane pumps, and sweatpants with red sock booties that were designed by Rogers and Santiago for Parker's SJP Collection. Despite knowing that these looks would not appear in full onscreen, Santiago and Rogers felt it was important to create them regardless for the purpose of storytelling.
'They wanted us not to put these outfits together,' says Santiago. 'We ended up styling every single one of those shoes and made outfits to go with them.'