Emily in Paris: 5 looks from the show that could have come straight from Carrie Bradshaw's wardrobe

Sex and the City creator Darren Star’s latest series has been panned by critics, but the fashion, says Olivia Petter, is its saving grace

(Rex Features/Netflix)

When it was announced that Darren Star, creator of Sex and the City, had a new series for Netflix, Carrie Bradshaw-obsessed millennials around the world couldn’t help but wonder what he had in store.

Would there be acerbic one-liners about orgasms? Would there be a gripping will-they-won’t-they romance at the heart of the show? And most importantly: what would the clothes be like?

Well, it transpires that Emily in Paris falls flat on the majority of these areas.  The 10-part series follows the overzealous Emily Cooper (Lily Collins), a young marketing executive, trying to make her mark in Paris, one cliché at a time. 

The women are hostile chainsmokers, the men are unctious lotharios, and the central love triangle is rooted in betrayal rather than romance.

Thank goodness, then, that Emily in Paris has one saving grace: the clothes. It’s not just the way Emily dresses that makes the show so appealing - a heady mix of bold florals, velvet textures, and clashing colours - but the way her flamboyant ensembles resemble those of Ms Bradshaw herself.

This will come as no surprise to Sex and the City aficionados given that the HBO show’s legendary costume designer, Patricia Field, is also the sartorial mastermind behind Emily in Paris.

From sculptural white Pierre Cardeau dress Emily wears for a charity auction to her plaid blazer-red-beret pairing, here are the five times the costumes in Emily in Paris reminded us of those in Sex and the City.

(Rex Features/Netflix)

In the opening scene of the Sex and the City film, Sarah Jessica Parker glides around Manhattan as Carrie in a memorable emerald green vintage floral dress. 

Paired with a black studded belt, a matching summer coat and an Eiffel Tower-shaped Timmy Woods handbag, the outfit is perfectly set up for Emily Cooper to replicate, which she does so with panache by way of a patterned yellow vest top and skirt set from Ganni, accessorised with a black studded belt.

(Rex Features/Netflix)

Ostensibly, these two dresses are very different. But the mood they channel is one and the same. 

Carrie Bradshaw dancing with her artist boyfriend Aleksander Petrovsky in Parisian McDonalds wearing a bespoke flamingo-coloured Oscar de la Renta gown is one of the show's most memorable moments. The postmodern juxtaposition of haute couture in a fast food restaurant is something many of us have aspired to ever since.

It’s a moment of decadence and glamour, one that conjures up memories of Audrey Hepburn’s bridal silhouette in her infamous Givenchy dress in Funny Face. Emily Cooper channels a similar aesthetic for a visit to the ballet in a black off-the-shoulder gown by Christian Siriano that she wears with crystal-adorned heels, Agnelle gloves, vintage fur, and La Compagnie du Costume jewels.

(Rex Features/Netflix)

Florals are a staple of Carrie’s wardrobe, so it makes sense they would be just as crucial to Emily.

While Carrie creates an hourglass silhouette by pairing her strapless shift dress with a gold chainmail belt, Emily offers a modern take by opting for an off-the-shoulder neckline, puff sleeves, and a black studded belt.

(Rex Features/Netflix)

Few could forget the asymmetric Eugene Alexander flower dress that Carrie wears in the first Sex and the City film for no apparent occasion other than walking down the street.

For Emily, this look is reimagined in the form of a white sculptural gown complete with a ruffled skirt and shoulder. In the show, this gown is designed by one of Emily’s clients, Pierre Cardeau, but in the real world, it is an haute couture gown by Stephane Rolland.

(Rex Features/Netflix)

One of Emily’s best looks is this monochrome plaid co-ord, which comes from American designer Veronica Beard.

The short-and-blazer combo is one that Carrie also often sported, but this particular scene in which she wears a pinstripe blazer and matching shorts is the most similar to Emily’s, thanks to their similar headwear.

While Emily wears a classic scarlet beret, Carrie dons a vintage tweed flat cap.