FASHION
Here's Why Carrie Bradshaw Never Wears Nail Polish
By CLARA MUCCI
"Sex and the City" is a treasure trove of Carrie Bradshaw's iconic fashion, but one detail to her look has always been conspicuously missing: a manicure.
Carrie is still manicure-free in the sequel "And Just Like That..." According to her portrayer, Sarah Jessica Parker, Carrie's lifestyle is not conducive to wearing nail polish.
As a writer, Carrie is constantly typing, leading to broken nails and chipped polish, a struggle the writing staff at Glam is more than familiar with.
It could be dismissed as a wardrobe oversight, but it speaks to the powerful dynamism between identity and fashion that's constantly at play in the "Sex and the City" universe.
The detail adds authenticity to the character, no matter her ensemble. Parker explained, "It just never seemed that it was where Carrie would spend her time expressing herself."
As The New York Times put it in a review of the 1998 pilot, "Carrie is torn between her longing for romance and her knowledge that there is no free breakfast at Tiffany's."
In this sense, the unpainted nails of a single working woman are the perfect punctuation for a character whose work is a fundamental part of her identity.