And Just Like That… Features Carrie’s Signature Looks — & Brands From Instagram

While costume designers Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago had worked on the original Sex and the City series and movies, under Patricia Field, nothing could’ve prepared them for the social media frenzy that ensued when the first photos from the reboot series, And Just Like That…, were released back in July. “It was pretty powerful to see how quickly [photos from the show] spread across the universe,” says Rogers. “As soon as a foot came out [of] a camper onto the sidewalk and a paparazzi snapped it, less than five minutes later, it was posted online.”

Not only were photographers watching the cast’s every move, on and off the set, but just days after the first photo was revealed, an account called @justlikethatcloset, dedicated to identifying the fashion on the series, emerged on Instagram. The euphoria surrounding the show culminated in what Rogers calls “Forever 21-gate,” when a photo of Sarah Jessica Parker, who reprised her role as Carrie Bradshaw, wearing a maxi dress that fans incorrectly ID’ed as Forever 21 blew up the internet. “[The Internet] brought the world closer,” says Rogers. “But the world’s magnifying glass got closer, too.” In an unprecedented move for costume designers, Rogers and Santiago decided to create their own Instagram account, @andjustlikethatcostumes, which documented the behind-the-scenes process of dressing the show’s characters. “We wanted an account but we wanted it controlled by us,” says Rogers.

NEW YORK CITY, NY – AUGUST 02: Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris Noth are seen filming “And Just Like That…” on August 08, 2021 in New York City, New York. (Photo by RCF/MEGA/GC Images)

For the series — out on HBO Max now — Rogers and Santiago cemented a new style for the lead characters — Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis joined Parker — now in their 50s while unearthing memorable pieces from the show’s original run. “Even though time has passed, they’re still the people that they were,” says Santiago.

Rogers and Santiago remained true to Bradshaw’s love of eclecticism, styling her in a draped, blue Aquazzura dress for one scene and a menswear-inspired 1997 Jean Paul Gaultier suit the next. They also made sure to include the character’s signature looks, including the Fendi “baguette” bag, which got stolen in Season 3 of the original show; the Manolo Blahnik blue “Hangisi” pumps that Mr. Big used to propose to her in the first Sex and the City movie; a pair of Miu Miu platform pumps from Season 6’s Wall Street opening scene; and a blue flower pin from her Bill Kelley days. But it was one particular accessory — a feather, bird-like fascinator — that generated the most buzz. “I knew that was going to wig everybody out,” says Rogers. Some even speculated that it was a nod to her almost-wedding outfit in the first SATC movie, and therefore a sign that Bradshaw and Mr. Big were divorcing.

Back in the day, when Rogers assisted Field on SATC, she says the two used to roam New York City’s club scene to find designers and inspiration for the costumes. “You would see some fierce outfit on a kid in a nightclub and you would be like, ‘Who are you?’ she says. “Those days are long gone.” This time around, Rogers and Santiago turned to Instagram to find new, emerging designers to feature. A memorable one for Rogers is Rodney Patterson — a milliner in Bushwick, Brooklyn — who she used to commission a straw hat that Carrie wears at one point in the series. “You could literally send Rodney someone’s head size and you can have a hat back the day later in whatever color you want it,” she says.

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Both Rogers and Santiago want to transport the audience back to the days when they were waiting for a new episode every week, savoring every costume. “We really had such an amazing time with everything we did and really love the looks that we put together,” says Santiago. “Hopefully, people will understand it rather than try to take it all apart.”

As for “Forever 21-gate,” Rogers says that fans need to wait to see the show to understand why Carrie is wearing this outfit: “Then, we can hash it out.”

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The Great Resignation Is Here. What Does It Mean For Fashion?

After working through almost two years in a pandemic, people are quitting their jobs en masse, with more than 4 million Americans having resigned from their workplaces this past fall. Dubbed the “Great Resignation” by psychologist and Texas A&M University professor Anthony Klotz, this unprecedented event has called into question the culture of work and the changing hallmarks of a fulfilling job and career. As employees are rebelling against the nine-to-five grind they’ve previously considered as norms, these changes have rippled out into other areas of their lives. This includes clothing they’ve previously worn to perform their professional selves: Business-adjacent fashion trends like low-cut blazers, leather harnesses worn over jackets, and skirt suits so short you’ll never make it past your office entrance are rising in popularity. 

According to Klotz, since the pandemic took hold, it’s become clear that the physical office culture does not work for everyone. “When I go into the office, I have to [be] fake. It’s not just about wearing comfy clothes, it’s [not] about wearing clothes where I feel like I can express myself. The norms of the workplace don’t allow that,” he says. The Great Resignation has empowered people to question that way of thinking. “As soon as you decide [to] strike out and do something different — whether it’s going to work for another company, start an entrepreneurial venture, or pursue a hobby, you travel the world, stay home with family, whatever it is — the power balance shifts,” Klotz explains. As employees feel less attached to their work, they are coming into the office in whatever feels most comfortable to them. 

“Our work life isn’t what it used to be, and neither are the looks that are deemed ‘work-appropriate,’” says Morgan LeCaer, content lead at global fashion search site Lyst. “With the world tentatively heading back to the office, we quickly have had to adapt to the new nine-to-five — and doing so without sacrificing the comfort brought by loungewear over the past 18-plus months.”

The site listed “hybrid workwear” as one of the biggest trends in its 2021 Year in Fashion Report, following a 109% increase in demand for “oversized suits” in August 2021 and a jump of 87% for “wide-leg pants” in July, compared to last year. “Over the past six months, high-low workwear and generally more relaxed silhouettes have been especially popular,” says LeCaer. 

According to Stitch Fix’s general manager of women’s Loretta Choy, “71% of consumers said striking a balance between style and comfort is more important to them now than before COVID-19.” The site, which provides a subscription-based shopping service, has seen an increase of 39% in searches for “back to office” and “back to work” attire from last year. But while shoppers may be headed to the office, according to Choy, they are no longer looking for the same wardrobe: “The top business comfort styles for women that are trending right now include soft oversized boyfriend fit blazers, elastic waist pants, fly knit flats, and sweater dresses.”

In response, designers have reimagined what workwear looks like beyond fashion-forward athleisure sets or designer sneakers that were trending even prior to the pandemic. In one of the most buzzed-about spring 2022 runway shows, Miu Miu showed blue button-down shirts worn with cropped blazers and leather micro mini skirt suits — preppy, risqué styling better suited for Constance Billard’s courtyard than your typical workday. But while the low-rise waistlines and barely-finished hemlines might have seemed inappropriate for the office in a pre-pandemic world, our priorities have changed. Why worry about the hemline of your skirt when the coverage of your face mask, healthcare benefits, and a way to retire are more important? 

Klotz points out that another manifestation of the Great Resignation is the way people are embracing uncertainty, often quitting with no plan to follow their two-week notice. “It’s interesting that people are moving into these in-between spaces that are normally scary,” he says. While employees would typically dedicate an entire section of their wardrobe toward workwear, if there’s no guarantee that they’ll be coming back to a corporate office, what’s the point? As such, hybrid clothes that work for a variety of professional and social occasions are becoming more important to consumers. 

Take, for example, Alexander McQueen’s spring 2022 collection, which showed blazer dresses with statement sleeves and suits with slits on the jacket that work just as well in a conference room as a night out. Or, Peter Do’s spring 2022 show that included a variety of monochrome suits — some with no shirts underneath — as well as silk shirts, pants, and skirts perfect for both a year-long sabbatical and a first day back at the office. Choy has seen a similar trend happening with Sitch Fix’s customers. “Many of our clients who are beginning to go back to the office are only going in a few days a week,” she says. “This means they’re requesting pieces that they can wear in an office setting but that they will also reach for on work-from-home days.”

As people are handing in their resignations, they are also shelving their business suits. Klotz says that employers will need to compromise on past practices, including office dress codes, if they hope to retain their workforce in the future. 

If we are to believe runways, people will be grabbing mini skirts come springtime. But will they be heading to the office — or on their way out? 

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These Afro-Latina Creatives Carved Out Their Own Career — & Found Success

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Honoring long-held traditions while looking toward the future might be a popular practice around the holiday season, but for some, it’s a year-round business. Just ask 28-year-old digital creator Julianny Casado and 26-year-old makeup artist Sabré O’Neil. As Afro-Latinas (Casado is a first-generation American of Dominican origin; O’Neil is a second-generation American of Puerto Rican descent), the two creatives feel strongly about regularly celebrating their roots not only through their work, but through their own appearances and unique senses of style, as well. 

Both Casado and O’Neil say that the journey in accepting their identities wasn’t always an easy one. “Growing up as an Afro-Latina, it was really hard to find my crowd,” O’Neil says. “I didn’t know if I was going to hang with the Hispanic people or the other crowds, so I was always by myself.” 

By continuing to push forward and make space for themselves in two fields that have historically lacked diversity, they’re helping to make way for opportunities for the next generation of creatives within their respective communities. In partnership with Converse, the sneaker brand that’s been embracing both tradition and innovation through fun twists on the timeless Chuck style for more than 100 years, we asked Casado and O’Neil to share how they discovered their passions, the ways in which their identities influence their work, and how they redefine classic Converse silhouettes in 2021. Read their stories, below.

Julianny Casado, Digital Creator

I discovered my passion… “When I was 16 years old. I’ve always been obsessed with cameras, but my cousin had this really cool DSLR camera, and it really changed the way I felt about photos and how you could tell stories. I wanted to work for National Geographic and do crazy documentative stories. It took off from there. After that, I was always obsessed with photo formats and anything visual. Everything else — like curation and art direction — just grew. I learned from my mistakes and experience.”

My own unique aesthetic is… “Very candid and life-like. I like things to be as organic as possible. Very vibrant, too. I’m obsessed with color — it brings a certain character to the story that I’m telling. I work with the plus-size community and it’s been an experience that I’m so honored to be a part of. There are so many people who aren’t being celebrated, but they should be because they’re athletes and champions in their own right. They go out every day and smash whatever it is that they do. I love giving voices to people who feel like they don’t have one.” 

How my identity as an Afro-Latina shapes my work: “I’m from New York City, but my family is from the Dominican Republic. I also have a huge lineage of Afro-descendants, and I love it. It influences everything that I do. I don’t take anything for granted because I know where I come from. I know what my ancestors have been through, and I know I have better opportunities just for being here today. I’ve watched my family turn bread into gold. I’ve seen them work hard at everything that they do, and it’s taught me that it’s the little details that people might not speak about or see right away. That’s definitely something I like to highlight and photograph — the things that aren’t completely obvious or aren’t typically socially accepted as beautiful. I think those are the best parts of life.”

I struggled with my identity… “As I grew up. I’m a first-generation American, so I didn’t have the Dominican roots that my older siblings had. I felt like there was a huge dissociation, but now as an adult, I’m really enjoying learning what those who came before me have done and how important it is to keep our culture and our traditions going. They are the things that make us, and if you don’t practice them, you lose them and you become like everyone else.”

To be Afro-Latina in America today is about… “Digging deeper into your identity. It’s a blessing. We have to stand together because there are so many people who want to deny where we come from. They want us to fit into what the rest of the world’s narrative is. Honestly, I’m so proud to be Afro-Latina and I wouldn’t change it for the world. Not my hair, not my skin, not my experiences.”

My first memory of Converse sneakers… “Was when I was 12. My first pair was white and they were low-tops. I love Converse — they’re my favorite sneakers. They were the coolest shoes growing up. They were so simple, comfortable, and affordable.”

I would redefine classic Converse silhouettes… “By adding a color-blocking pattern to a pair. Color is my safe zone and it makes me feel closest to my identity. I would choose pastel colors because they remind me of my island.” 

Sabré O’Neil, Makeup Artist

I discovered my passion… “Growing up around my grandmother. She loved beauty and the latest beauty products. I went to college for nursing, and we had two labs — one in the morning and one at night — and I would see all the girls in my class do their makeup in between those classes. I knew how to do makeup, so I just started marketing myself [and saying], ‘Hey! I can do your eyebrows! I can put on your lashes! I can help you!’ From there, all the girls in my nursing class started to pay me, so I was like, Okay, this could be a business. After I got my associate’s degree, I changed my major to business and I’ve been successful ever since. I graduated in 2018, and a year later, I opened my own makeup studio.”

My own unique aesthetic is… “Very natural, but still glammed up. I like very subtle, simple makeup, but I still want [my clients] to look enhanced.”

How my identity as an Afro-Latina shapes my work: “I try to be as authentic as possible. With my makeup, I try not to over-enhance my face because I still want to show up as myself. I hear a lot of clients ask to look a certain way and when I do their makeup, they see how they look and they’re shocked. They’re like, ‘Wow, you made me look pretty, but I still look like myself.’”

I struggled with my identity… “Through my hair. People were always asking me, ‘Are you sure you’re Puerto Rican?’ because of how my hair looked. It was very thick, but also curly. To this day, I’m still very skeptical of my natural hair because I don’t know how to tame it and I don’t know how to show myself through my hair, so sometimes I just put it in a ponytail. I think that was another reason why I got into makeup — I used to feel insecure and doing makeup made me feel pretty.”

To be Afro-Latina in America today is about… “Being free. My grandma is straight from Puerto Rico and she’s still learning how to do certain things, like cross the street by herself. I’ve learned that I have to speak up for myself and that I can’t give up, so I can show my grandma that people like us can make things happen.”

My first memory of Converse sneakers… “Was in high school. I was so excited to get a pair because I thought they were so cute. I got the black high-top ones, and I wore them with white socks with the fringes on the ends. But then I saw all my other friends at school with Converse shoes in zebra and cheetah prints, and I never knew they came in other colors and styles. From that moment, I was obsessed with Converse because of the different styles and collaborations with other brands.” 

I would redefine classic Converse silhouettes… “By pairing high-tops with a little school-girl skirt and an oversized sweater. It’s very classic but still spunky — that’s what Converse is.”

LOADING SHOP

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The Secondhand Luxury Watch Market Is Bigger Than Ever, Here’s Why

It’s no secret that the resale market is booming. But in the past year, one accessory, in particular, has risen to the top of the most-wanted list: watches. 

According to The RealReal’s 2021 resale report, customers are spending $1,600 more than last year on secondhand luxury watches. Meanwhile, on online consignment retailer Fashionphile, searches for the term “watch” have increased by 73% since 2020. According to McKinsey, a U.S.-based consulting firm, the pre-owned luxury watch market was worth $18 billion in 2018; it is poised to grow to $30 billion by 2025. 

While there are more people than ever interested in owning a watch, luxury brands — which include the big four: Patek Philippe, Rolex,  Audemars Piguet, and Richard Mille — continue to produce limited inventory every year to ensure exclusivity and quality. Elizabeth Layne, chief marketing officer at Rebag, says that due to manufacturing closures amid the pandemic, as well as supply chain issues, watchmakers and brands produced even fewer products last year. According to her, there’s also a growing trend of generational watchmakers and artisans going out of business as a result of the pandemic’s economic impact: “All of that has increased the demand and prices of secondhand luxury watches.” 

But scarcity isn’t the only factor driving the watch gold rush. “I think that both social media content, as well as editorial content focusing on watches have broader factors that make it a lot more approachable,” says Layne. See, for instance, blogs like Dimepiece, which features luxury watch content that caters to women, a demographic that’s been long overlooked by the male-dominated industry. While Dimepiece was founded in March 2020, its creator Brynn Wallner first thought of the site while she worked as a multimedia producer at Sotheby’s in 2019: “The watches department reached out to me and they were like, ‘Hey, we want some cool content,” Wallner says about how she got into watches. “It was like a culmination of almost high art, but with a wearability and kind of everyday components that really appealed to me.” Since then, Dimepiece has grown over 17,000 followers on Instagram, made up largely of women interested in the luxury watch market. 

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A post shared by DIMEPIECE (@dimepiece.co)

“I just noticed the way that the consumer was spoken to. And there are certain trends where it’s like, ‘The man should buy this watch and go climb Mount Everest.’ And for the female watches, it was like, ‘Here is this dainty watch,’” says Wallner. “We [women] want to spend money on nice things and we already do that with bags and shoes, so why don’t we add watches to that?” she says. It’s a question that many are asking right now: According to Fashionphile, searches for “women’s watches” are up 92% since 2020. 

The younger generation is expressing interest in the market as well. Luxury watch-related content generated over 173 million views on TikTok, according to the app. With that in mind, popular creators like @nicovanderhorst, @topbrandwatches, @watchoutforalex, and @watch.eric are giving followers a front-row seat to the world of luxury watches, from videos about buying a watch for the first time to behind-the-scenes glimpses of a career in the watch world. 

Layne attributes the popularity of luxury resale sites as another reason for the secondhand watch boom: “While some items definitely are still quite expensive on the secondary market, with resale, there are more entry points.” While brands like Cartier and Rolex typically retain their retail value even when sold secondhand, other designer names are available on the resale market for much less. For example, the popular Heure watch by Hermès is available new for $3,000, while Rebag offers secondhand options for 50% less. What’s more, whereas before, potential customers would have to walk into a store with little knowledge of the different models and prices, they can now go online to find all the information they need to make an informed decision, all before the first appointment. 

@watchoutforalex

Since you liked the last one 😉 Which one is your favorite? ##rolex ##audemarspiguet ##patekphilippe ##richardmille ##luxurywatches ##dubai ##foryou ##fyp

♬ Sensual Days of the week – Stefan Johnson

Then there is the general growth in the secondhand luxury market. Since the pandemic took hold, consumers have begun investing in long-lasting, quality items, with luxury sales set to beat pre-COVID numbers this year. On Rebag, most watches sell within a few days; a Rolex Batman (worth $20,000) watch sold in minutes.

“​​I think there’s a broader consumer base that now looks at watches as an investing category,” says Layne. “Customers and watch sellers are really doing their research, so they’re looking to see the potential value that they could get.” Layne says that demand for Rolex — the site’s top-selling watch brand — has helped it retain an average 82% resale value, with some models having a retention rate above up to 158%. 

Others are looking to watches for their sentimental value. In 2021, the global fashion search engine Lyst has reported a 42% increase in searches for “couple,” “engagement,” and “wedding” watches, with the Rolex Pre-owned 40mm Submariner being one of the most coveted styles. Much like engagement and wedding rings, high-end luxury watches are seen as a piece that could be passed down. 

As demand continues to grow, Layne doesn’t see this trend stopping: “We don’t think that that watch bubble is going to burst soon.”

Maybe it’s “time” to jump on the trend.

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