The Sex and the City heroine’s summer outfits still feel relevant in 2025 because they weren’t about trends, they were about mood.
Carrie Bradshaw didn’t just wear clothes, she performed them. Each outfit was a small manifesto on desire, chaos and the female gaze. For six seasons and beyond, Sex and the City gave us a woman who dressed like her life depended on it. From walking through heartbreak in a tube top to grocery shopping in Manolos, Carrie’s wardrobe said everything before she even opened her mouth.
So many of her most iconic looks still feel relevant today, not as costume, but as inspiration. Here are eight summer looks that still resonate decades later, with pieces you can find today through secondhand platforms, the high street, and thoughtful styling.
1. Tutu and tank
Let’s start where it all began: the pink tank and white tutu in the opening credits. A playful, slightly absurd outfit that has come to define Carrie’s entire approach to dressing.
How to wear it now:
Tulle skirts are still thriving under the balletcore revival. Look to Sister Jane, Urban Outfitters, or Depop for floaty layers. Add a fitted white or pink racerback tank from Weekday or Brandy Melville. Finish with a kitten heel or sleek trainer.
In the language of fashion, the tutu isn’t just whimsy, it’s irony. A knowing nod to femininity as performance.
2. The white slip dress
Carrie’s white slip dress is one of her quieter looks. It says more by doing less. The simplicity is what makes it stand out. She looks quietly chic, an anticipatory nod to the old money aesthetic.
How to wear it now:
Ghost, Rat & Boa and vintage Calvin Klein slips show up often on eBay and Vestiaire. High street versions from H&M’s Premium line or Nobody’s Child also work. Look for a clean cut, no embellishments. Wear with metallic flats or minimal heels.
A slip dress works best when it looks like you didn’t think too hard about it.
3. The oversized white shirt
Carrie wears an oversized white shirt cinched with a black Hermès belt, styled simply with heels. It’s crisp but undone, the kind of outfit that looks effortless but is clearly intentional. The shirt reads borrowed, the belt says otherwise.
How to wear it now:
Look for oversized shirts in the men’s section of Vinted or eBay. Pale blue, pinstripe, or washed white all work. Brands like Ralph Lauren, Gap and M&S have the right shape and weight. Add a slim black belt, preferably leather, ideally vintage. If you’re lucky, you might spot a secondhand Hermès H buckle on Vestiaire Collective or eBay, but any structured belt with a clean finish will do the job. Style with pointed heels or barely-there sandals.
It’s a simple outfit, but the details carry it. Carrie understood that restraint can be just as expressive as excess.
4. Gym shorts with heels
Carrie wears this combination more than once: short shorts, a flowy top, and heels. Sometimes it’s gym shorts, sometimes silk, but the contrast is always the point.
In season 3, episode 5, she pairs navy gym shorts with white piping, a white romantic blouse and strappy heels. It’s a strange mix of casual and dressed up, but that tension is what makes it feel like her.
Where to shop
Look for vintage gym shorts on Vinted or eBay – brands like Adidas or Umbro from the early 2000s are closest, or try Realisation Par for more polished versions. Add a loose blouse with volume, Zara, Nobody’s Child and Free People are great choices here, or a camisole with lace trim. Then heels, always. It shouldn’t work, and that’s why it does.
5. The floral ruffle dress
The off-shoulder chiffon dress Carrie wears in one summer scene is overly romantic, almost cloying. But on her, it lands somewhere between girlhood and theatre. The piece by Richard Tyler, from his Resort 2001 collection, is pale, floaty and asymmetrical, with layered ruffles that move as she walks. It’s delicate but not overly precious.
Modern version
Brands like Rixo and Realisation Par still do this silhouette well. Look for bias cuts, soft volume, and washed-out florals. Search “chiffon bias dress” on Vinted or Vestiaire if secondhand is your route. Style with a low heel and minimal effort elsewhere. Let the dress speak first.
6. Tube top and wide trousers
Carrie wore bandeaus in a way that felt nonchalant. In one scene, she pairs a grey strapless top with beige wide-leg trousers. A soft version of Y2K minimalism, before the word existed.
Get the look
Weekday and Urban Outfitters both sell tube tops in muted colours. Pair with wide-leg trousers in a neutral tone, COS, Arket and vintage Ralph Lauren are all good options. Add a necklace or cuff if you want to dress it up, or don’t. It’s better when it looks incomplete.
7. Tie-dye tank and embellished shorts
A tie-dye tank, low-rise embellished denim shorts, scooting through the city in heels. The outfit feels like something she grabbed last minute, but that’s often when her style is at its best.
Recreate it
Depop and Etsy are full of handmade or vintage tie-dye in soft purples and pastels. For the shorts, search eBay or Vinted for low-rise denim with embellishment or lace-up sides—terms like “Y2K studded” or “beaded denim” work well. Brands like Diesel and Miss Sixty often come up with the right vibe. Add simple heels and a bag that doesn’t match. Let it feel like a night out that just happened.
8. Cami and sparkle skirt
Carrie often made lingerie feel everyday. A camisole with jeans, a slip under a coat, lace where you least expect it. In one look, she’s at home in a translucent camisole and sequinned, pink midi skirt, on the phone, legs up.
How to wear it in 2025
Camis can be sourced secondhand or bought new from Cou Cou Intimates or Brandy Melville. Look for satin, ivory, fine straps. Never Fully Dressed and Whistles have skirts with just enough shimmer. Add mules or even slippers. This outfit doesn’t need to leave the house to matter.
Carrie’s Rules for Dressing
Carrie had style signatures, not rules exactly, but tendencies. You don’t need to copy her, just understand the formula:
- Unlikely pairings: gym shorts with heels, lingerie with tweed
- Hero shoes: every outfit began with the shoes
- Sheer chaos: bras showing, patterns clashing, it worked because she believed in it
- Mixing high and low: Dior one day, thrifted the next
As Patricia Field once said, “It wasn’t about perfection; it was about expression.”
Where to Shop Like Carrie
Secondhand wins:
- Depop – for curated Y2K and vintage
- Vinted – brilliant for high street basics and throwback brands
- eBay – great for both archive designer and one-off finds
- Oxfam Online – hidden gems with a good cause
High street picks:
- H&M Premium, Zara, Urban Outfitters – trend-focused staples
- & Other Stories, Arket – polished and grown-up
- Monki – bold colours and fun proportions
Luxury moments:
- Vestiaire Collective – the best for Galliano-era Dior or vintage Manolos
- The RealReal – curated designer with edge
- Matches, Net-a-Porter – for pieces that feel timeless and a little wild
Final Thoughts
A woman dressing for herself and the occasion, not for approval, is always a little dangerous. Always a little brilliant.
Carrie Bradshaw’s style lingers because it was never just about clothes. It was about identity; how to dress for the version of yourself you’re trying to become, or the mood you want to stay in. She changed outfits like she changed thoughts: sometimes contradictory, often impractical, always specific. That level of instinctive dressing: of getting it slightly wrong in order to get it right, is still rare, even now. It’s why her wardrobe doesn’t feel frozen in the early 2000s. Instead, it reads like a kind of visual diary. We return to Carrie not for polish, but for proof that personal style has more to do with feeling than formula. In a fashion landscape driven by micro-trends and hyper-curation, her looks still offer room to be messy, spontaneous, and fully yourself.
