A chunky lambskin leather jacket with hulking shoulder pads, a red-and-black resin necklace straight out of an ’80s fantasy, a tiny white miniskirt with even tinier red polka dots, and a massive 1960s silver cuff with accents of carnelian and turquoise: This is a non-exhaustive list of things I bought last fall at Carrie Bradshop, the Carrie Bradshaw themed boutique in Lyon, France. On their own, they’re the kind of rare vintage oddities that easily shake up an everyday look. But together? Definitely, exactly like something Carrie Bradshaw would have worn, especially when Patricia Field was styling the character in the original Sex and the City series, which ran from 1998–2004.
On a quiet street, Carrie Bradshop’s signature pink sign shines bright. Inside, disco balls hang, Y2K-era displays line the floor, and huge Sex and the City posters dominate the walls. There’s a great selection of affordably priced, non-designer vintage items that look like they were plucked straight from Carrie Bradshaw’s closet: silk scarves, sunglasses, printed miniskirts, colorful tops, and little dresses. But accessories are one of the main attractions: designer handbags, statement jewelry and eccentric belts. Shop owners Yvo Deprelle and Patrick-Pierre Olinger stock anything and everything, as long as it’s true vintage, feminine, and looks like something Carrie would wear. (Though they also have a special place in their hearts for 1980s Joan Collins–era fashion from Dynasty.)
Upstairs, there’s an entire section devoted to menswear–decorated with a huge poster of the infamous 2003 Yves Saint Laurent M7 fragrance campaign featuring a sensual shirtless male model. Imagine, not the kinds of things Mr. Big or Adrian would wear, but maybe how a Carrie superfan would dress.
Deprelle and Olinger met in 2006 and immediately bonded over their love of Sex and the City and vintage fashion. They started doing pop-ups and vintage markets before opening up the shop in 2010. They each have their own eclectic backgrounds. Deprelle worked as a fashion editor between Lyon and Paris at titles including Marie Claire, Blush, and Euronews while Olinger was raised by an antique dealer father who inspired him to search for vintage treasures all over the world. Deprelle also started vintage shopping at the age of 15, when he was a singer in a gothic band with an affinity for designer fashion. “With YSL the world is yours,” he says.
“We loved the TV show Sex and The City from the beginning; we love New York and Carrie Bradshaw’s incredible look inspired us to develop our own vintage store,” says Olinger. “The name of our shop came from a word game during an aperitif with friends.” Adds Deprelle, “Carrie Bradshaw has an unique look mixing vintage and designer fashion. Mixing everything, this is what we advise our customers to do…it’s fantastic.”
It’s been 15 years since Carrie Bradshop opened, and yet, Carrie’s style seems to resonate more so than ever before. It makes sense: More people are shopping secondhand designer fashion. And with Sex and the City’s revival sequel And Just Like That… set for a third season later this year, the Carrie Bradshaw aesthetic is still one of the most loved, and most debated single characters of mainstream TV history. That’s probably why Carrie Bradshop gets visitors from Lyon as well as local French celebrities, and tourists from the States, Canada, Australia, and Japan. “Everybody knows Carrie Bradshaw, and everybody takes a photo of our illuminated sign,” says Olinger.
With online resale sites dominating fashion culture right now, curation is a rare thing, and Carrie Bradshop offers just that, inspired by the character’s unusual mix of high and low, ironic, fun and fashion in general that doesn’t take itself so seriously–but most of all, real vintage finds. “Carrie Bradshaw is one of the first characters on TV since 1998 to use secondhand clothes and make them very stylish,” says Deprelle. Who could forget her famous line: “I was looking for the perfect $7 vintage dress to go with my $300 shoes when….” It’s clear how much the shop owners love Bradshaw’s style, but also the culture of New York fashion as a whole. Off in the corner of the shop are some books inspired by culture, New York and fashion.
These days, Carrie Bradshop is seeing an increase in Gen Z visitors looking for Y2K fashion. But Deprelle and Olinger like anything old, as long as it tells a story. Their favorite pieces they’ve ever had are rare 1940s Elsa Schiaparelli haute couture and Karl Lagerfeld–era Chanel. “It’s always fascinating to sell someone clothes from a period they didn’t know,” says Deprelle. “This is a real cultural transaction.”
It’s impossible not to notice the influence of Field’s styling work and Carrie’s aesthetic in New York. But also, decades after she made her debut, almost 4,000 miles away from Carrie Bradshaw’s imaginary New York City hometown, her aesthetic is clearly still thriving. And that’s a pretty powerful thing.