(Culture)
Remember gazing into the TV screen enviously as Carrie Bradshaw waltzed around New York City with her blonde coils bouncing and blowing majestically in the breeze? The Sex and the City character and the sometimes-indistinguishable actor behind her have been the source of hair inspiration for decades. Allow Sarah Jessica Parker to demonstrate all the ways to style long hair, from the SATC glory days to now.
According to a 2016 interview with Refinery29, the tight curls SJP wore on-screen in the late '90s and early aughts were actually an exaggeration of the actor's natural waves. Today, the sitcom icon and personified Manolo Blahnik pump can most often be seen wandering the same old NYC streets in equally glamorous attire, but markedly tamed-down hair.
She struts into her beloved New York City Ballet galas with pin-straight strands down to her ribs, swept over her shoulder or twisted into a chic dancer bun. She makes regular appearances at her eponymous shoe boutique in thrown-together braids or loose, piecey waves. And whether you prefer the Bradshaw Curls of bygone days or her post-Sex and the City aesthetic of late, Parker has provided infinite long hair ideas to inspire. Some of her best from the past 30 years, ahead.
Ways To Style Long Hair: Sweeping Side Pony
The sleek, ribbon-clad ponytail Parker wore with her highly dramatic, Bradshaw-esque red gown in 2018 evoked flashbacks of an early aughts-era Lauren Conrad. Still, two decades after it initially rose to fame, the low side pony retains its relevance among long-hair wearers alike.
Ways To Style Long Hair: A Single Braid
In one of her more casual moments — SJP? Casual? — she pulled her naturally wavy locks into a single, angled-to-one-side braid. Parted in the middle, the plait was refreshingly relaxed and imperfect, although Parker paired it with trend-forward tartan and snake print for added flair.
Ways To Style Long Hair: Ballerina Bun
SJP has been turning to this style for decades. One of her go-tos, it's a sleek way to make a statement that's also easy to throw up before an event.
Ways To Style Long Hair: The Low Knot
In another rare casual moment, Parker slicked her hair back in this chicly understated low bun with a few stray wispies hanging loose around her face.
Ways To Style Long Hair: Tousled Ponytail
Unlike many of her intentionally messy Sex and the City-era looks, the actor's most recent looks, like this basic-but-sophisticated ponytail she wore in 2018, are often pulled-back and simple.
Ways To Style Long Hair: Partly Pulled-Back Ringlets
No one does juxtaposition quite like SJP, and her haphazardly pinned-back curls at the Godzilla world premiere in 1998 — paired with a contrasting glittering gown, of course — is the perfect proof.
Ways To Style Long Hair: Wavy With A Headband
SJP was always ahead of her time in terms of trends, so it's no surprise that she adopted headbands into her accessory repertoire in the '90s. Here, she wears it alone with beautiful windswept curls, proving that styling long hair actually can be easy.
Ways To Style Long Hair: Slicked-Back Side Part
Winning over yet another Emmys red carpet just one year later, Parker showed up in a glamorous '50s-inspired 'do that's worthy of copying for all your future black-tie events.
Ways To Style Long Hair: Loose Pigtails
Of course, Carrie Bradshaw had some long-hair styling ideas of her own. In true busy New Yorker-style, the character pulled her curls into two loose pigtails that surely took no longer than a few minutes — and looked ridiculously stylish to boot, naturally.
Ways To Style Long Hair: Wispy Half-Up, Half-Down
For a half-up hairdo that's slightly more intentional, copy Parker's look from 2005 (arguably one of the few styles from this decade worth resurrecting), which featured straightened strands, a slight poof on top, and a few pulled-out pieces to ensure it didn't appear *too* put-together.
This article was originally published on
