Why do we all want to be Carrie Bradshaw?

an observation

It’s been 7,546 days since Sex and the City last aired. 20 years, 7 months, and 27 days to be exact, and yet here we are still going on about Carrie Bradshaw.

From blog posts and news coverage to ‘I lived like Carrie Bradshaw for a week’ TikToks, the character feels as though she might live forever.

When you Google Bradshaw, the web defines her as a ‘fictional character’, but to us — the girlies on Substack — she is so much more than that.

Known for her iconic closet, and adoration for Manolo Blahniks — to most writers, Carrie Bradshaw might just be the most iconic character from any TV series ever, well she is to me at least.

*If we were talking movies it would be Jenna Rink from 13 going on 30 — but we can save that for another story.*

Before I began my career in fashion journalism, my mom, who is arguably more obsessed with Sex and the City than I am, always told me I would grow up to be just like Carrie one day — likely due to my expensive taste and love for fashion.

Since that day I have dreamt of being exactly that, hence my career choice.

Though this feeling may be more than a disillusion, the entire series, and the character herself, was based on the author of the series, Candace Bushnell, who wrote a column called ‘Sex and the City,’ for The New York Observer, and created Carrie as a semi-autobiographical character.

It was this column that inspired the series, which was then picked up and made into what we know it as today.

Now it’s fall, and you know what that means — time to binge-watch Sex and the City and dream of being Bradshaw (or at least owning her wardrobe and having her job).

And just like that, I couldn’t help but wonder exactly what makes Carrie so idolized in the fashion journalism industry.

(yes, I am proud of that last line — I hope you are too)