Candace Bushnell, Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker… Fabulous women, both real and fictional! Sex and the City (SATC) turned twenty-five on June 6, and Season 2 of the SATC reboot, And Just Like That, premieres on June 22. For my 50th Karen’s Quirky Style column, I want to celebrate the gorgeous, glamorous, talented women of SATC who inspired me to embark on my own New York love affair, along with so many other women with New York dreams tucked under their pillows like wedding cake.

Candace Bushnell is the incandescent spark who set unforeseen forces in motion when she created her weekly column “Sex and the City” for the New York Observer—a pink-tinted paper that catered to the hoi polloi on the Upper East Side. From 1994 to 1996, her steamy column attracted followers from coast to coast.

Sex and the City

Candace Bushnell sold the TV rights for Sex and the City (her book based on her column) to Darren Star, who decided to bring it to HBO. Sex and the City and Us: How Four Single Women Changed the Way We Think, Live, and Love (2018), by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, tells the fascinating story of the show’s development and influence. I love this book!

There are the four actresses we all love so much—Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon. There are the incredibly talented, hilarious writers who bravely shared stories from their own dating lives to make the show. The amazing Patricia Fields forever changed the way we think about style—quirky, sexy, rule-breaking. And many other zany actors got into the spirit, along with the countless crew, directors, and producers who brought SATC to life. And of course, the fifth star was New York City. But none of this would have happened without Candace Bushnell.

The first episode aired on June 6, 1998. After its uncertain beginning on a cable network with a reputation for broadcasting sports, and the gutsy move to prioritize quality content over ratings, SATC’s ground-breaking focus on women’s sexuality fascinated viewers for six seasons, bridging the tragedy of 9/11 in 2001 and helping the city recover.

As we all know, the TV show was a huge hit, garnering seven Emmys, eight Golden Globes, and three Screen Actors Guild awards. SATC was named one of the best television series of all time by both Time and TV Guide.

Many of us cried when the show ended in February 2004. It hurt to say goodbye to Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte, plus a bevy of beloved male characters. Mr. Big, Stanford, Steve, Aiden, Anthony… And all the other men our heroines dated.

Candace Bushnell

Meanwhile, Candace’s spark grew into a supernova. She has published 9 books since SATC, including 2019’s Is There Still Sex in the City?, which fast-forwards to dating in our ’50s. When I learned she was doing a one-woman show at the Café Carlyle, I immediately got tickets and invited my most stylish friend, Linda Z.

Our intimate evening with Candace was enchanting and more satisfying than any O. She is terrifically entertaining, charismatic, personal, and funny. Her insightful reflections on women’s lives, relationships, and dreams struck many chords and the audience adored her. I daresay Candace may have mellowed slightly since her cynical early columns. With the humor that makes her writing so appealing, she recanted on her decades-long scrunchie-diss, then tossed heaps of them into the audience. I now have an orange velvet scrunchy with Candace Bushnell’s DNA on it. I will treasure it forever!

Sarah Jessica Parker and Her Shoes

Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw was a living illustration of women’s love affair with their shoes. I had to buy a second apartment just to have room for my shoes. (Kidding. Not kidding.) It seemed a foregone conclusion that Sarah Jessica Parker would create a line of gorgeous, glamorous shoes. (Her tagline is “Color and sparkle is the new neutral.”)

It was only a matter of time. She launched her SJP line in 2014. I am thrilled that she recently moved her flagship SJP store to Bleecker Street, where it belongs—near Carrie’s famous stoop and Magnolia Bakery (love, love, love their banana pudding!). On my first visit, I fell in love with the sparkly new pink platform sandals I am wearing this month. These are definitely my summer go-to. The glamor of SATC, brought to my tootsies by our beloved Sarah Jessica! But it was these “Hello Lover” shoes that made me cry when I saw them, evoking a favorite moment from SATC when Carrie thus greeted a beautiful pair of shoes.

SATC and Me

It’s been hard for me to write this story. Its influence on me was so profound, how could I capture it in a single column? Back in the beginning, my girlfriend Bev from writing school used to record the show for me on VHS cassettes. When I moved to my cabin in the wilderness, I bought by first DVD player so I could watch the show on rented DVDs. I longed to have a friendship group like these women. Their intelligence, glamorous careers, humor, clothes, frank discussions (remember the hot dog scene at the Yankees game?), and the way they were there for each other—all of these elements portrayed the life I wanted to live. There’s something about a group of four women getting together in a restaurant to talk about life and sex!

The Teenie Weenie

Samantha: How would you like to make love to this every night?

Carrie: Is it kosher?

Classic SATC dialogue. This is my favorite scene of all time.

Though the image of Carrie in the final episode, abandoned in a Paris hotel room, despairing while floating in a cloud of gray tulle like a princess on the kingsize bed, will also be forever emblazoned on my brain.

And Just Like That

And Just Like That catches up with the Sex and the City gang twenty years later. Spoiler alert: I was devastated when Big died minutes into the first episode. I cried. It felt like a terrible, personal loss. He had embodied the archetype of my dream man, and when he died, the dream died too. As long as he was “alive” out there in the ether somewhere, there was a chance I might meet him some day. Now it would never happen.

I am not alone in this weird perception of reality. I was walking along West 40th Street on the way to the subway after work. I heard a woman behind me say, “And just like that.” My ears perked up and I listened to her explain the premise of the show to her male companion. When she said, “I cried when Mr. Big died,” I had to turn around and butt into their convo to say “Me too!” We walked together for a few steps talking about the show, and then I ducked into the subway, feeling the glory of the SATC universe pervading my real life.

Season 2 of And Just Like That will premiere on Max on June 22, 2023, with two episodes. After that, new episodes will be released weekly, arriving every Thursday. I can’t wait!

Part of this article appeared in The Village Sun.

Style Notes

• Nicole Miller magenta satin ruched sheath dress. Collette’s Basement, 10 Main St, Southampton.
• Ginger Charm metallic pink snakeskin-embossed platform sandals. SJP flagship store, 385 Bleecker St.
• Red ostrich feather handbag with silver chain strap. Collette’s Basement.

Candace Bushnell Vault

Check out Candace Bushnells’ original “Sex and the City” stories in the Observer Archives:

• Monkeys in Manhattan: Making Love and War at 4 A.M Dec 2007
• Sex Lives of Serious Journalists: He’s a Feminist, She’s a Real Man June 1996
• Frisky Sexual Freeloader Makes Hamptons Plans May 1996

My First Visit to the Carrie Bradshaw Stoop

This was me on my first trip to New York in 2014. When I was watching SATC, I didn’t dare dream that I would move here one day, and that New York City would welcome me and inspire me, hold me and grow me. But I did, and it did. I found out this is where I belong. This is my city.