Are You Having A Carrie Bradshaw or Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy Summer?

A few months ago, I wrote an article questioning whether New Yorkers are the “new” French girls. In this special feature, I talk about my great interest in minimalism in the 90s. love story, The popular TV show about the late Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and her husband, John F. Kennedy Jr., inspired an aesthetic among the city’s fashion insiders that wasn’t all that different from the one we often associate with French women. Whether you agree that one replaces the other or not, there’s no denying that there’s a growing movement in the fashion world that embraces the same codes as Carolyn’s ’90s minimalism and French Girl style. The New York influencers, stylists, and editors I followed on Instagram all advocated a similar seemingly irreverent attitude toward trends, focusing on a capsule wardrobe of timeless neutrals like pillbox hats, frog clasps, and silk scarf belts that always exude effortless elegance. The show began in early 2026, just after the peak of quiet luxury, and gave classic dressers a newfound desire for pared-back style, not unlike the chords the show runs by.

(Image source: Getty Images)

Countless publications, Substack writers, and online commentators documented the meteoric stranglehold that “CBK style” had on womenswear earlier this year. All high street editorial and marketing emails were sent with the same subject: ‘Get the Carolyn Bessett look’. And rightly so! Carolyn’s uniform was supremely elegant, consisting primarily of knee-length skirts, white shirts, Levi’s 501s, minimal tailoring and dresses from Prada and Calvin Klein, where she worked. Sarah Pidgeon, who played her on the show, also continued this craze by adopting an understated and highly effective ’90s style and dying her hair a certain shade of blonde.

Carolyn’s uniform was supremely elegant, consisting primarily of knee-length skirts, white shirts, Levi’s 501s, minimal tailoring and dresses from Prada and Calvin Klein, where she worked.

Sarah Pidgeon in an outfit coordinated by Carolyn Bessette Kennedy.

However, the much-anticipated Spring/Summer 2026 designer collection will no longer be unveiled, as the show ended just in time for spring. These collections had occasional hints of quiet luxury or minimalism here and there, but overall they painted a different picture. Bottega Veneta texture! Dior frills and tulle! Chanel has a lot of embellishments, including sequins, florals, and feathers. Maximalism is finally back on the menu. While minimalists didn’t immediately hang up their all-black hats, there was a noticeable shift. One that has given way to a more experimental, eclectic and colorful wardrobe. The wardrobe you’d expect from a very well-dressed, oft-referenced New Yorker with the same initials. Carrie Bradshaw.

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Although there were occasional hints of quiet luxury and minimalism throughout the Spring/Summer 2026 collection, the overall message was that maximalism was back on the menu. It paved the way for a more experimental, eclectic and colorful wardrobe. That’s what you might expect from Carrie Bradshaw, another well-dressed New Yorker with the same initials.

Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) wearing the Dior Newspaper dress

Played and worn by Sarah Jessica Parker, Carrie’s style, put together by costume designer Patricia Field, needs no introduction. Manolo is a longtime champion of Blahnik shoes and the man who made the Fendi Baguette the first-ever It bag. sex and the city, Fans knew to expect the unexpected from her costume. From her Dior newspaper dress, Galliano, to the “naked” DKNY slip she wore on the bus, to the tulle skirt in the opening credits, she was the proponent of today’s most polarizing comeback trends. Capri pants (even camouflage ones), crop tops, bandanas, boob tubes, exposed bras (everytime With an exposed bra! ). Carrie did everything she said she would, almost always wearing heels and constantly changing up her looks.wonderful.

Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw's Summer Style

Today, we may be in the middle of the summer of 2026, but just look around your city or your office and you’ll see that clearly. I would estimate that 90% of women dress with a similar identity to one of the two iconic New York women of the 90s. Today’s Carrie Bradshaw (CB) is likely diving into a mermaidcore color palette, having a Pucci summer, and no doubt investing in one of the reissue designer handbags from Saint Laurent Mombasa, Gucci Indy, Fendi Baguette, Chloe Paddington, and more. However, the Carolyn Bessette Kennedy (CBK) gang is a group that wears new styles from modern luxury brands such as Totem, Kite, and The Row. They’ll wear tailored skirt suits, tank tops and jeans, thong wedge sandals, and perhaps Celine sunglasses and a black headband.

Admittedly, there is some overlap in their styles. Some of Carey’s most beloved outfits were surprisingly modest (a white bias-cut silk dress in which she looked great outside her engagement party at the Plaza). Comparing the incomparable is a fun exercise. It’s much deeper than just minimalist and maximalist, timeless and trendy. On the one hand, Carolyn had a uniform, but on the other hand, if you tried to get Carrie to wear a uniform, she would make it into a miniskirt and put a Tory Burch brooch on it. Where Carrie was fascinating because she tried (who else would wear athletic shorts and heels to walk her dog?), Carolyn was fascinating because she didn’t try. Effortlessness was essential to her sense of aloof cool.

Where Carrie was fascinating because she tried (who else would wear athletic shorts and heels to walk her dog?), Carolyn was fascinating because she didn’t try.

And before I tell you that New York style can’t be categorized just by these two women, and that you’re forgetting about the many well-dressed celebs who live in New York, like Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Chloë Sevigny and Zoe Kravitz, to name a few, I know, but they weren’t born with the same “CB” initials, so they don’t count.