Cosmos, Manolos and Cupcakes: 15 Things Sex and the City Made Famous

In SATC, Manolo Blahniks are definitely the shoe of choice, but they also had a deeper meaning. To Carrie, they were a symbol of independence and her right to choose to spend $400 on a pair of gorgeous shoes. This right to expensive and beautiful things wasn’t commonly spoken about before Carrie Bradshaw came onto the scene and Manolo became a staple heel for a New York girl-about-town.

Vodka, cranberry juice, Cointreau and a little bit of lime makes up the gorgeous but tacky Cosmopolitan; Carrie’s drink of choice.

The origin of the Cosmo is disputed, but the most popular opinion is that it came out of New York around 1993.

SATC made Cosmopolitans so popular, that it’s almost impossible to order one now and not think of Carrie.

Our cupcake obsession is far from over, but it was SATC that put them on the map. Not only are they a great on-the-go snack, they’re also really pretty.

In Season 3, Carrie gushes about meeting Aiden to Miranda over cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery in the West Village. This catapulted Magnolia to being the it-cupcake spot thereafter.

Fendi Baguettes were so IT, that the girls were willing to go to great lengths to adorn them… including going after fake Fendi’s from a dodgy guy’s boot in LA.

Carrie emerged with a new Fendi Baguette in almost every episode.

“In that moment, we were literally creating outfits around the Fendi bag,” the show’s stylist Rebecca Weinberg told InStyle in 2010.

Thank God for Samantha Jones. She was before her time when it came to having shameless casual sex with anyone she liked and that type of sex positivity was extremely refreshing for the time.

In Season 3’s trip to LA, the girls discover the Brazilian wax. What initially shocks them becomes a staple in their spa routines—as it did for American women at the time. As soon as the treatment was shown on TV, it skyrocketed in popularity.

In the ’80s, the Meatpacking District was a hub for drug dealing and prostitution, but as SATC premiered, designer shops were starting to pop up and the district soon became one of the most sought after in NYC.

This is controversial, but Carrie loved a cigarette and it was honestly difficult not to join in. It’s a true reflection of the time — I can’t think of a single lead character today that has a smoking habit — but back in the ’90s, smoking was chic and Carrie definitely didn’t do much to convince us otherwise. These days, not so much.

This trend was huge in the early 2000s and I think it’s definitely true that some people can pull it off — and others really can’t.

Carrie was an exceptional example of somehow making big tacky flowers look fashionable. She wore them on her wrists, clipped onto dresses or tank tops and even in her hair sometimes.

SATC was less about the food and more about the event aesthetic and who was on ‘the list’. It really romanticised PR events in big cities and changed the event dining trend into exclusive event trend.

No longer were people sitting down at long dinner tables or seated charity events, but they were standing up and mingling amongst cocktails and some sort of art display.

It’s an undeniable fashion trend to be born out of SATC and I’ve never seen someone pull it off as well as Carrie Bradshaw… yet.

The Carrie necklace is such a staple throughout different moments in SATC, but perhaps the most poignant, was when she found it in the lining of her handbag in Paris. It was symbolic of her finding herself and getting her identity back.

PSA: Namesake necklaces are still very much a thing.

I mean, how four busy working girls in NYC were able to get together for brunch seemingly every day beats me, but isn’t it such a romantic ideal?

This is a corny one, but although NYC has always been on everyone’s radar, SATC did something for single women lusting after NYC that I haven’t seen portrayed anywhere else.

It’s impossible for me to think of NYC without at least one SATC reference.