And Just Like That…I say a final goodbye to the girls.

I have always said that a good guide of what you may encounter in life was shown on FRIENDS and Sex And The City.  It’s certainly true that I have encountered some of the predicaments that Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte found themselves in.  I always considered myself a ‘Charlotte’.  Hopelessly romantic and dreaming of the perfect life.  Truth is, and this is no spoiler, the secret to the show’s success is we are a bit of all of the characters.  I can still hear Samantha in my head ‘If you are going to do a threesome, be the guest star’.  And Charlotte: ‘I’ve been dating since I was 15, where is he?’  So much of this show is iconic, and although we now have mobile phones and the internet, my love of fashion is as strong as it was in the 90’s. This got me thinking, how else have I been influenced?  Did Carrie influence me with my blog?  Very probably.  I don’t write about sex or relationships, but I do write some very personal pieces.

It’s true that I used to shout at the screen to Carrie ‘What do you think you are wearing?’ quite a lot in the 90’s.  As I am in the same peer group as the girls, albeit a few years younger, I felt justified to say this.  Back in the 90’s I had never been to New York but as a Londoner, I knew the city life and fashion.  And I have since visited New York and its my favourite city in the world.

When I met my current husband, his first Christmas present to me was the shoe DVD box set of SATC with a voucher inside for my favourite clothes store.  I knew he was a keeper!  I was heartbroken when SATC ended but absolutely delighted when the films came out.  The first film gave me everything I needed.  I was still shouting at Carrie for that horrid blue bird on her head to go with the stunning Vivienne Westwood wedding dress which I adored.  This film tidied up loose ends and I sat with my SATC box set never imagining I would see the girls again.  So when And Just Like That was announced I was so excited.  It’s so rare to find women on the screen in their 50’s who are vibrant and love fashion.  I am exactly like I was in my 30’s, after all 50 is the new 30!

I would miss Samantha but still excited to find out what has happened in the lives of my on-screen friends.  That first episode floored me.  I did not expect BIG to die.  No one expected that.  I wanted to see them in their happy lives.  I cried and cried as if I had lost a friend.  But I was hooked on this new series of where life may now take Carrie as a widow.  I was less pleased at what the writers did to Miranda’s character.  Che was obnoxious and made Miranda looks weak and then they turned Miranda into alcoholic.  And poor Steve with his hearing.  One of my favourite scenes in the first film is when Miranda and Steve meet on the bridge.  This was true love so yes it was hard to see them split up.  However, I am glad to see Miranda moved on from Che and by series three we find her in a relationship with Joy and her dogs, which feels much more Miranda.  Charlotte is still happily married and thank goodness one of them are!  Charlotte has a new friend, Lisa, who I also love.  They are probably better matched as friends than Miranda or Carrie.  Carrie also has a new friend, Seema, who feels very New York to me.  This means she is brutally honest.  I was once told by a stranger in New York how honest they are so I loved that this was on the screen.  Seema won’t stand for any BS and you have to love her for that.

What I wasn’t so crazy on was the return of Aiden.  How Carrie was so out of character to chase him.  To go to Virginia and wear clothes she would NEVER wear normally.  To accept it when Aiden said he had slept with his ex-wife.  To allow herself to wait five years for him to sort his life and family out. No. (and I say that in my Charlotte voice when she sees BIG and goes into labour).  No.  No. No.  We make mistakes in our 20’s and 30’s so we don’t continue to make them in our 50’s.  Its not growth to allow a man to walk all over you.

I am not saying anything that hasn’t already been said all over the forum groups for AJLT.  We talk about this stuff because we care so much for Carrie and hate to see her treated badly.

But let’s get back to the fashion.  I couldn’t have loved the fashions on AJLT more.  Instead of shouting at Carrie, I was telling her ‘I’d wear that’ most of the time. (with the exception of the big ‘Hollie Hobbie’ hat and the see-through dress).  I loved the dress in the finale of series 2 (the checkered dress) and the final episode it felt like Carrie was copying my fashion style.  I wear a lot of red, and still wear my hair curly, so for her to wear a red dress with a ballerina skirt felt very me.

Thank you all for the wild ride.  I am sad its over for all the reasons that I love it.  But the ending was perfect.  ‘I am not alone. I am on my own’.

I am not alone either – I am still in Charlotte mode, happily married to my second husband.