It is a sight that would likely shock Carrie Bradshaw herself. For years, Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker played the ultimate fashionista whose obsession with her Manolo Blahniks got her into financial trouble. But in real life, Parker has different priorities.
Primark Launch in New York City
On Wednesday, Parker, 61, celebrated the opening of a budget fast fashion retailer in New York City, where she perused a rack of affordable sweatshirts with her pal Andy Cohen. The duo were among many stars attending the launch of Primark's new storefront in New York City ahead of the store's official May 8th opening.
It comes after Parker pulled another Bradshaw faux pas - she skipped the Met Gala. Yet Parker was smiling just as wide at Primark as she has at the Met Gala, mingling with other fashion-forward stars celebrating the arrival of the affordable retailer.
Carrie Bradshaw vs. Sarah Jessica Parker
It is a store that Bradshaw may not have given a second thought, but with clothing priced considerably cheaper than her go-to designer wear, one that would have been a relief to her wallet. Bradshaw infamously had financial struggles on the show, with her credit card being embarrassingly declined at Dolce & Gabbana. Her priorities clearly were in her wardrobe.
Carrie's closet was full of expensive shoes, including red bottom Louboutins, her favorite Manolo Blahniks, and Jimmy Choo heels. In fact, the Vogue writer infamously spent $40,000 on fabulous footwear, which her friend Miranda Hobbes (played by Cynthia Nixon) calculated. The chic New Yorker also wore enviable designers Christian Dior, Vivienne Westwood and Dolce & Gabbana. At least her clothing withstood the test of time and proves equally popular with Gen Z today, which would make it easy to re-sell now. Her bag brands were just as illustrious, including Fendi, Dior and Louis Vuitton.
Of course, her maxed out credit card money was not just spent on designer duds - she had a stunning apartment, although it was rent stabilized and $750 a month. Other expenses included exclusively taking cabs, lavish dinners out, regular catch-up brunch on the weekend, and cocktails with her friends, as well as her seemingly endless supply of cigarettes.
Parker's Sensible Side
Parker, however, is much more sensible when it comes to her own spending habits, even when she was trying to make it as an actress at age 18. In real life, Parker has been open about having to budget her way through New York when she first moved to the big city.
"I moved out when I turned 18, I had a little money in the bank from Square Pegs but not a big amount. I knew exactly how much money I had in the bank and I took it out like very judiciously," she recently said on the Call Her Daddy podcast. "I tried to get by on $40 for three days, because I just did not know for sure. I knew I would work, but the investment that 10 auditions for the one job or the 20," she said.
Those days of pinching pennies are now behind her after she found smash success as the star of Sex and the City. The show - which starred Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, and Kim Cattrall - followed the lives of fashionable 30-something year old women living in New York City. The original show ran from 1998-2004, and a spin-off series, And Just Like That, along with two films followed.
