The weirdo hats of "And Just Like That"
I had to wonder if Carrie's styling made sense dramaturgically. Plus some other tv recs!
I am back from my post-surgery hiatus, and have watched an ungodly amount of TV this past week as I’ve recuperated.
I have a love/hate relationship with the newest iteration of the Sex and the City universe, And Just Like That. Do the plots make sense every episode? No. Is the fashion a bit cuckoo? Yes. Is this show a bit of a cash grab? Abso-fucking-lutely.
But there is something soothing about familiar characters, and having appointment TV to bitch about with friends every week (my friend Shannon recapped this recent episode and you should check it out!). Regarding the S3 opener, I really liked Rosie O’Donnell’s virgin nun who hooks up with Miranda and tries to invite her to do tourist-y things like the Central Park carousel and Tavern on the Green.1
But really, my favorite work of the post-Sex and The City universe is the documentary that was filmed in tandem with the first season of AJLT. The documentary gets into the lore of the franchise and how sobering/heartwarming it was to reunite during the pandemic. Stylists Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago, as well as Sarah Jessica Parker herself, get into specifics with Carrie’s closet that border on reverence.2
The way the documentary makes me feel is how I imagine Star Wars fans were when they heard John Williams’ score in the sequels. I like that AJLT balances sartorial easter eggs from the original show and mixes them in with newer picks. For as corporate as the two movies were, I like that AJLT makes more unusual choices.3 I like that they highlighted indie darling Batsheva in S1, and vintage sweatshirts from Fine and Dandy in S2.4 SJP gave a nod to London-based O Pioneers ahead of S3. It’s these details that feel like the stylists are paying attention to fashion and updating their references.5
I mention all this because as much as I love the choices for the weird fashion girlie culture, I have a major bone to pick with this hat in S3E1:
To be very clear, I love a weird hat. I am not against the hat itself, or the fact that Carrie wore it on the show. It makes sense dramaturgically for her to own it. This is the same woman who owns these other hats — she is down to clown on us all.
However the styling of the Maryam Keyhani gingham “Head in the Clouds” hat feels very off. After seeing a few ways Keyhani has styled it, it really is meant to make you look like an avant garde, surreal mushroom. This is a hat that wears you, so you gotta wear it like God Gaga intended. You shouldn’t wear it like a shriveled ear on your head.
However, maybe it makes sense for Carrie to wear it in this way. She has always been a little chaotic with her accessories:
I think I know what happened with this recent hat though. In the documentary, show runner Michael Patrick King nixed several hat choices in AJLT S1, including a vintage boater hat sourced from Paris that would have been featured in a few scenes in the finale.6 And this exclusion caused so much drama. SJP was so distraught, it threw the whole outfit off! And Molly Rogers wrote a poem about MPK that was funnier than any of Che Diaz’s standup:
‘Where is his body,’ they ask me, but I will never tell.
It’s under Carrie’s closet until it starts to smell.
It’s fun at the wrap party, but no one can find MPK.
I’m at the bar toasting. ‘Why couldn’t he let that hat stay?’
I buried him with his favorite thing. I’ve really said my piece.
I bury him with a hat from France. I’m sure he’ll rest in peace.
I think so many fans bullied MPK after Season 1, that he relented and gave the stylists and SJP full rein of hat choices in S2 and S3. I’m here to say he needs to start vetoing again. As Amy O’Dell recently noted, this outfit is a cry for help. I know the stylists have it in them to make Carrie wear hats well. To wit, some past AJLT outfits where the hat is a good addition:
I am hopeful we’ll get back on track. This outfit snapped during S3’s filming at least looks fun, even if it’s ambiguous what kind of event Carrie is going to based on these fabric combinations.
Other TV I watched during my recovery:
My Brilliant Friend, S4: I recently wrote about getting into this final season, and holy moly, I wasn’t ready for it to wreck me like it did. Lila’s 80s power dressing was a highlight for me.
Martha Stewart Living, S1: Inspired by the recent Netflix documentary, I started watching Martha’s first show, which debuted in Fall 1993. Even though her execution is flawless, I find her lessons very soothing and approachable for a novice. In the first season, she tackles composting and the Union Square Green Market — a woman ahead of her time!
The Rehearsal, S2: This was my first entry into Nathan Fielder’s work, and maybe that was a mistake because I almost tapped out after the fourth episode. But I’m glad I stuck it out because the finale reveal was incredible.
Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney: This show found its footing during the dinosaurs episode. I like how loose the format was, and that someone is experimenting with late night — awkward silences and all.
Sirens: Disappointing execution, but I’ll watch Meghann Fahy in anything at this point. Julianne Moore wears a great citrine gown in the finale.
Hacks, Season 4 (final two episodes): I did not like the trajectory of this season (we’ve seen Ava and Deborah be on/off again in their partnership … the dynamic is getting old), but the last three episodes really did sing. And Kayla remains a highlight for me.
The Studio, S1 (finale): I like some of the creative choices of this show (the costumes, the 70s vibes) but Idk, some of it was just too frenetically-paced for me, like The Bear. I will likely watch S2 for more of Seth Rogen’s laughter.
Mountainhead: This movie about tech oligarchs bro-ing it up in a ski compound just made me feel incredibly uneasy the whole time.
Andor, S1: Everyone keeps saying this show is the best of the Star Wars franchises but I am not feeling it.
The Star Wars prequels: I went on a nostalgia bender! Here’s an extremely on-trend take for a 26-year-old movie: George Lucas really should have just skipped the first prequel, and focused on Anakin in his teen years for all three movies. This would solve the weird age difference between Anakin and Padme (like just don’t write it in at all). The “Duel of the Fates” score is wasted on Darth Maul, and should have been teased and then used to great flourish in the final movie. They should have also killed off Qui-Gon in a later movie to up the stakes — I barely felt anything when he died because there’s hardly any relationship-building. Minimal Jar Jar Binks, obviously — like less than Ewok screen time. Also, I loved every scene where I could tell it was Keira Knightley in the Amidala costume. I would watch a Natalie/Keira team-up. If they can bring Hayden Christensen back, they can find a way to bring Padme and the handmaidens back.
Obi-Wan Kenobi, S1: I tapped out after the first episode; the dialogue was worse than in the prequels. But my god, has Ewan McGregor aged well.
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir ice skating to Moulin Rouge: Any Ewan McGregor mention always brings me back to one of my comfort videos — this ice dancing routine that got Canada the gold in 2018. It’s hotter than the actual tango scene in the movie!
Tom and Huck: This was a Disney+ doomscroll choice, and I didn’t hate my rewatch. I lived in Huntsville, Alabama in the mid-90s which was about an hour away from where the movie was filmed. So for years I claimed to be one of the extras in the cave scenes.7 Rachael Leigh Cook’s outfit in this scene reminds me of the Batsheva x Laura Ashley collab a couple years back.
Now & Then: Another nostalgia pick, featuring Rosie O’Donnell. I loved this movie so much as a kid, I didn’t have any problem quoting most of it. I might tackle the fashion from this movie in a post soon.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, S4-5: Another rewatch - I recently wrote about Midge’s apartment. Susie’s Testi-roastial in S5 is probably my favorite episode of the whole series; I’m also a fan of “The Princess and the Plea” episode.
Oof this is way too long so I will end here!
I mention Tavern on the Green here if only because it reminded me of Rosie’s Betty Rubble in 1994’s The Flintstones movie. Fred takes Wilma and Betty to Cavern on the Green after his big promotion. It’s revealed that Barney, down on his luck after helping Fred get said promotion, is now working at the restaurant as a waiter. Do we think Rosie thought about the B-52’s Bedrock Twitch dance scene when she name-dropped the real restaurant 30 years later in AJLT?
It should be noted that Molly Rogers was part of the franchise since the original run, and Danny Santiago worked on the movies, so both are disciples of the Pat Field method.
If I wanted to see some sensible (but boring) old money styles, I’d just rewatch Succession.
The Bode atelier on Hester Street was featured in the documentary, but I haven’t been able to figure out who in S1 wore Bode. Che? Bobby? Worn on TV doesn’t know, either.
Even if selfishly I would have preferred to gate-keep my favorites for a little bit longer
MPK’s reasoning for the exclusion was that the hat would mess with the continuity between scene transitions.
A weirdly specific childhood lie, but I did crush hard on JTT back then
Okay, I'm dying at the "extra in the cave scene" reveal -- perfection and who could argue with you?
Maybe Carrie's hat was a cry for help over Aidan cuckholding her. What a mess that storyline is!
'Mountainhead' is atrocious, I hated it so much. There's no 'dark comedy' to be made about tech oligarchs, I thought the movie underestimated their evil and God-like tendancies.