Kerry Parnell: Fashion in AJLT? Come on Carrie, it’s all a bit ‘meh’
In the heyday of Sex and the City, its success was really down to the clothes. Not so much for sequel And Just Like That, writes Kerry Parnell.
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The problem with And Just Like That, is the fashion is pants. The hottest garment in season two is Aidan’s tighty-whities.
As the Sex and the City reboot nears the end of its second series, it’s clear it needs better styling – and writing.
We waited years for the glorious return of Aidan Shaw/John Corbett, so what did wardrobe choose to dress him in for the big reveal? A waxed jacket which made him look like he’d been beamed down from the Starship Enterprise. So bad was the ‘what is he wearing?’ moment, it got turned into a meme.
Back in the heyday of Sex and the City, we all knew its success was really down to the clothes. By which I mean Patricia Field’s styling. She captured the noughties zeitgeist so well, she started real-life trends with her detailing.
But, along with Kim Cattrall’s Samantha, the uber-stylist didn’t sign up for this show, which proved a major mistake. The standout moment of the season looks to be Samantha’s cameo, for which Kim had the nous to demand Field dress her.
Now the only person copying Carrie’s clothes is Carrie, who references her old looks each episode, from those corsages to her wedding dress. It’s just all a bit meh.
I’ve had much more fun watching Field’s glorious garb on Emily in Paris. And not just on the young stars – compare Sylvie to any of the characters on AJLT, for example.
Everyone wants to look like Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, 60, in her red-hot outfits. No-one wants to look like Carrie ploughing through the snow in her comedy duvet coat. It is, Sylvie would shudder, “ringarde”.
Thankfully AJLT has begun to find its groove, after the shocker that was the first half of season one, but it’s still missing its old magic.
There are flashes – Charlotte mourning her menopause tummy and Carrie’s revived relationship with Aidan, especially the scenes where he unnecessarily wanders around in his underpants.
“Should have seen me at 24,” he says in episode nine.
Oh, we did. We’re still worshipping the god that was Chris in Northern Exposure and it aired 33 years ago.
The characters have settled down too, but the writers have struggled with who Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte are.
Interestingly, the new cast members – Seema (Sarita Choudhury), Nya (Karen Pittman) and Lisa (Nicole Ari Parker) – are all better-dressed, more empowered and have funnier lines than our old friends.
These women are strong and chic, while the original trio have bizarrely turned into bumblers, which is disappointing.
But most of all, it’s not funny.
Like poor Che Diaz’s derisory stand-up routine, the audience isn’t laughing, which is a shame, because midlife certainly gives you a hell of a lot of material and they’ve missed their chance to write some great content.
My advice for season three, if there is one, is to max the Max budget and pay Field whatever she wants/deserves to abandon Emily to her croissants for a season, bringing Sylvie with her on the plane.
And Just Like That, we’d be back in business.
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