Muses: Carrie Bradshaw

I promise to post more intriguing and edgy women after this so please don't hate me, but I finished my second all-the-way-through viewing of Sex and the City today and I am feeling very sentimental. My best friend always told me that I was the Carrie Bradshaw of our group. Before I watched Sex and the City, I thought this was a fabulous compliment because all I knew was that Carrie was fabulous. Then I watched the show and holy shit, Carrie is the most annoying character in the world. The decisions she makes... I see now that my poor taste in boys at a younger age led my friends to call me Carrie...but no matter, that is the past. Carrie and I both turned out all right, right??? Anyways, my post today is a tribute to Carrie Bradshaw, if only for her confidence and style. 

Carrie has received a lot of criticism for that cowboy hat/bandeau on the beach situation but I think it is incredible. If my abs looked like hers I would wear that in a heartbeat (I might anyways... Halloween is coming...) But this is why I love Carrie. Of course, she knows everyone at Prada and her voicemail machine asks callers to leave a message for her shoes, but Carrie doesn't exist only for clothing. She loves her clothing and has an intimate relationship with it, but it never stands in for her being. That is something that is so inspiring to me. Sometimes I want to work in fashion, but other times I just want clothing to be another facet of my personality instead of what I "exist for". That's why Carrie Bradshaw is so important. She seems so at ease in her outfits, no matter how silly they are, because they are just a part of herself that she has figured out. Man Repeller summarized this much better than I in this article: (x). Carrie's style is, indeed, thoughtful. She is able to portray her creativity and even intelligence through the way she styles herself, and this is an ability I so admire. The Man Repeller article ends by stating that Carrie's style is so exquisite because we are not able to date her ensembles. Her outfits could work in 1999 as well as right now. She has captured that "timeless" thing Coco Chanel always went on about, without looking classic or subdued at all. 

Moreover, it is her charisma that allows Carrie to slay in her outfits. A boring woman could not look this exciting. Yes, Carrie can be quite cringe-worthy, but she gets up every damn day and tries again--whether the task is wooing an ex or styling the most amazing Roberto Cavalli top invented. She has an energy and a determination. That charisma, more than anything, is reflected in her style.