A Love Affair in Heels: Carrie Bradshaw and Her Manolos
By Alexus Mosley
Carrie Bradshaw approached romance with an open heart and shoe shopping with considerably firmer standards. A man could take several episodes to reveal his appeal, but when it came to a pair of Manolo Blahniks, she generally knew on sight. Throughout Sex and the City, the shoes became part of Carrie’s vocabulary: objects of desire, sources of financial distress, and, occasionally, the basis of a perfectly reasonable argument. Played by Sarah Jessica Parker, television’s most devoted shoe enthusiast gave a designer name the intimacy of a first-name relationship. Manolo.
An urban shoe myth found, one of Carrie’s most delicious fashion moments takes place in the Vogue accessories closet, where she discovers a pair of black patent Manolo Blahnik Mary Janes. Her response suggests she has stumbled upon a rare species. The “urban shoe myth” in question was the Campari, a pointed-toe, high-heeled interpretation of the Mary Jane that Blahnik introduced in 1994. Its familiar strap had grown up, acquired a stiletto, and become very interesting company. The scene captures something essential about Carrie’s relationship with fashion. She knows what she is looking at. The excitement comes from recognition, from finally encountering a much-desired design in the patent-leather flesh. Millions of women dream of getting their work into Vogue, but we suspect Carrie was equally as proud of the achievement that was being able to keep an eye on the shoe shelves.
Of course we can’t forget the episode in which a missing pair of silver Manolos becomes a matter of principle. In “A Woman’s Right to Shoes,” Carrie follows her friend Kyra’s request to remove her heels at a party, only to discover that they have disappeared when it is time to leave. Kyra initially offers reimbursement, then objects to their $485 price. Suddenly, Carrie finds herself defending both her footwear and the life in which she chose to buy it. Her solution is beautifully Bradshaw. She announces that she is marrying herself and registered at Manolo Blahnik. Kyra eventually replaces the missing shoes, proving that a gift registry with excellent focus is effective
Underneath the sparkle sits a thoughtful question. Why should weddings and babies come with an established celebration schedule, while a single woman’s life is treated as a waiting room? Carrie’s argument gives the shoes emotional weight. She wants her choices respected, even by someone who would spend the money differently.
Something blue, something Blahnik, by the first Sex and the City film in 2008, a pair of blue satin Hangisi pumps was ready for a leading romantic role. With their pointed toes and crystal buckles, the shoes brought fairy-tale glamour to Carrie’s wardrobe. When Big proposes with a Hangisi in place of a ring, the gesture speaks a language she understands fluently. For Carrie, a shoe could carry anticipation, disappointment, and the possibility of starting again. The blue pumps became a particularly lovely vessel for all three. Cinderella had glass. Carrie preferred satin, a jeweled buckle, and a little more Manhattan.
Of course, devotion came with a bill. Carrie’s realization that she had spent approximately $40,000 on shoes while facing an apartment crisis remains a sharp interruption to the fantasy. Carrie’s shoes express her imagination and her appetite for pleasure, but they also reveal her ability to avoid an uncomfortable calculation.
As with all good lasting love affairs, the affection extended beyond the screen. Speaking to British Vogue in 2009, Blahnik acknowledged the character’s importance to his career and described both Carrie and Parker as muses. Their association works because the shoes have a role in the story. They help us understand what Carrie notices, what she values, and how extravagantly she can imagine her life.
Carrie Bradshaw had plenty of complicated relationships. This one, at least, always had a very good opening line: “Do you have these in my size?”