Ladies, slip on your Manolos and order up those Cosmos because the Sex and the City epidemic has settled in. Before you can even say ‘Chanel’, ‘New York’, and ‘Mr. Big’, the second installment of the highly anticipated HBO series’ movie series will be hitting multiple theaters near you—and you don’t want to be caught unprepared for the extravaganza! May 27 is the day millions of women (and men, mind you”> will be reunited with the fabulous, glamorous, and world-trekking foursome they’ve missed since 2008.
With “Sex and the City 2” comes, of course, a healthy dose of men, fashion, and some opulent fun that only Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte could (realistically”> engage in. And one of the reasons women everywhere are undoubtedly so gaga over the Fab Four is their ability to live the lives we all dream of, looking and dressing the way we all dream of! Carrie, the fashion forward glue of the group and lead of the show, definitely wouldn’t be Carrie without her signature over-the-top, experimental, designer duds. And her hair—let’s not forget about that Carrie hair! Almost as famous as she is for her extravagant shoe addiction, Carrie’s ever-changing hairdos have been a major factor in creating the “Carrie look.” From the frizzy mane she wore during the earlier days of man-hunting to the polished locks she finally snatched Big with, Carrie’s naturally curly hair has long been an icon of its own. Why was her hair such a key to ‘Carrie’? Some point out the personality her hair took on according to the current man in her life. From Big and Aidan (and Big and Aidan again”>, to Berger and Alexander Petrovsky, and finally back to Big, nay, John James Preston, it’s no mystery that Carrie’s love life had its share of ups and downs, and so did her hair.
“In the beginning [of the series] her hair was wild and crazy, and her curls were out of control, yet so was her life and her relationships,” remembers “Sex and the City” fan Anna Craig, also the master stylist and co-owner of Trashy Roots Salon & Spa in Austin, Texas.
“As she got older and more in control of her situation, her hair became more controlled and tamed.”
The birth of Carrie and her signature hair was the result of multiple people’s doing. As much as Sarah Jessica Parker was integral to the development of Carrie’s character, she certainly didn’t just roll out of bed onto set and become her. The creation of Carrie required a little more than SJP’s character interpretation. The magic costume designer Patricia Fields worked on Carrie’s wardrobe, hair stylist Anthony Dickey, or “Dickey” as he more commonly is known, worked for her hair once upon a time in Sex and the City history. The founder of Manhattan-based Hair Rules Salon and a hair stylist of more than two decades, Dickey entered the SATC world around the fourth season when he was called in for an emergency to recreate the short, chic, pouf stylist Serge Normant had given Sarah Jessica for her role. But the star and Dickey had already hit off from a previous meeting at the Louis Licari salon in New York City, where she was getting transformed back to her Carrie look after her L’Oreal hair campaign. And Dickey says it was rather the topic of her hair’s upkeep than its style that sealed their friendship.
“[Stylist] Kathy [Golotti] sent Sarah to me for haircuts and hair care, and we bonded over that period of restoring the health of her hair with the utmost care.”
Trust, he says is a key element in a stylist-client relationship—and something he valued in his with Sarah Jessica. After all, the hair may have helped her play Carrie, but it was still “Sarah Jessica Parker” who had to stomp the streets of New York City with it.
Perhaps this is why Dickey also took into consideration the long-term condition of Sarah Jessica’s hair. Conscientious of the potential damage continued styling and product usage could cause on hair, Dickey says he made the health of Sarah Jessica’s hair a top priority, to make sure both Carrie and Sarah Jessica stayed looking and feeling great.
“Hair is such an emotional aspect of a woman’s well-being and sense of style,” he says.
“I did my best to make sure we constantly maintained a delicate, healthy approach to styling. I think Sarah really appreciated that.”
So, what’s the big secret behind achieving that sensuous Carrie hair with minimal damage? The big secret is that there is no secret! To achieve Carrie’s curly do, Dickey says he used a handy tool most American women own, anyway.
“Most of the styling I did for Sex and the City was with a medium curling iron on ‘warm’ just to give hair a broken wave, a finished look with texture.”
No secret hair stylist tools here, ladies!
While her wacky wardrobe might not be as easy to pull off, it seems Carrie’s curly do is a lot more feasible for a night out. And who knows – throw in a Cosmo and a few sexy sidekicks and you, too, might have enough fun to write about the next day.
