Nobody Knows Shoes Like Carrie Bradshaw

When you think of Carrie Bradshaw, you think of shoes. This is a woman who, when she was robbed at gunpoint, begged, “Please, sir, you can take my Fendi Baguette, you can take my ring and watch, but you can’t take my Manolo Blahniks.” (He still took her strappy red stilettos.) Our heroine, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, struts around Manhattan in her fabulous shoes, cobblestone streets and subway grates be damned! And though that prospect would daunt many other New Yorkers, shoes have become an indelible part of the show’s mythology. 

Carrie knew that the right pair of shoes could pack a punch and elevate an outfit. To meet Mr. Big at the Central Park Boathouse “as friends” during the series, she wears a pair of clear mules that let her pretty floral dress do the talking. Her signature fur coat was restyled with a pair of snakeskin boots, red D’Orsay pumps, and booties to stomp through New York City snow. 

Perhaps this is best illustrated by her most iconic pair of shoes: the blue satin Manolo Blahnik Hangisi pumps she wears in the first Sex and the City movie. At the beginning of the film, when she moves into a new apartment with Big, she christens her closet with the brand-new shoes right out of the box. Later, following their disastrous first attempt at a wedding, Big goes to reconcile with Carrie and proposes with the shoes in lieu of a ring. Just like Cinderella. 

Those shoes have already made an appearance in the sequel series And Just Like That…, premiering next month on HBO Max. In photos from the set, Parker is seen wearing the Hangisi stilettos with a white blazer, whose lapel sports a large blue flower. Pure Carrie. Though her style is often eccentric and unconventional, she knows to stick with her classic pieces—whatever classic means to her. See 10 of her best shoe moments, below.