This article contains spoilers for Episode 10 of the second season of “And Just Like That …”
For most people, moments of rest are not the time for polished outfits, especially in the post-pandemic swirl of athleisure. Not so for Carrie Bradshaw and friends.
Throughout “And Just Like That …,” and especially in the latest episode, the protagonists show that even when you’re getting ready for bed, are in bed or are simply near a bed, there’s still room for a plumed pajama set or high-heeled mule. And the bedroom itself, as a setting, is a valued place — a venue for vulnerable conversations, significant discussions or the odd laugh.
Ahead of Episode 10, members of the Styles desk discussed the memorable loungewear, tote bags and kittens in the latest episode of the series.
Vanessa Friedman There was a lot going on in this episode, but what I can’t get out of my mind were the pajamas (or, in some cases, the lack of them). Especially both Carrie’s Madeline-in-Paris set, with matching high-heeled mules, and Lisa Todd Wexley’s feather-trimmed silk set.
Jeremy Allen The sleepwear obsession on this show is pretty compelling, isn’t it? We were certainly given a fair warning in that first sequence of the season, when all the characters paraded into their respective bedrooms in statement lingerie.
VF It’s true! Loungewear is a theme.
JA Like brunch, the bedroom has long been a vehicle for the kind of confessionals that made “Sex and the City” distinctive — and I wonder if the souped-up undergarments are meant to underscore that.
VF Here is a serious question for the group: Does anyone here swan around their apartment in loungewear? Or is this a throwback to the days of Rita Hayworth and the Pavlovian fantasies those films still recall about what exactly elegance is?
Callie Holtermann These days I think most of us gravitate toward athleisure instead. Which we don’t see a ton of in this series, with the exception of Charlotte looking vaguely Lululemon-y from time to time.
Katie Van Syckle It is true. There is very little athleisure, which is pretty striking.
VF And almost no sneakers as far as the eye can see. Though unfortunately, I am not sure this show can single-handedly bring back the stiletto heel, much as the costume designers might wish.
CH Speaking of heels, we have to talk about Carrie’s outfit for her first-ever trip to Coney Island. It was a pretty good costuming-as-comedy moment, seeing her sequined duster jacket and heeled boots so completely out of their appropriate context.
JA Meanwhile, instead of her usual New York-centric tote, Carrie wears one from Sweden’s Hotel Skeppsholmen (perhaps she considers Coney Island an equally far-flung destination?). It’s one of a few internationally-themed pieces that I don’t quite understand in this episode, including a purse that reads “Ciao Bella” and the aforementioned Paris pajamas. (She does, however, bring a tote reading “New York, New York” to brunch later in the episode).
CH I’m also pleased to report that after a several-episode drought, bucket hats have returned to the “And Just Like That …” screen. Rock wears a polka-dot one with their school uniform.
VF That looked like the Yayoi Kusama Louis Vuitton version of a bucket hat, though I could be wrong.
KVS Also! It looks like Carrie is keeping the kitten!
VF Well, the cat loves the shoes. I am waiting for her to be christened Manolo.
JA If it’s not Choupette, I’ll have a bone to pick with the writer’s room.
CH Maybe Fendi? Or Baguette?
JA Something about this diminutive fluff ball makes me uneasy — as if it were intended to ultimately emphasize Carrie’s folly of buying a mammoth Gramercy Park apartment for a new life with Aidan and his kids.
KVS Charlotte’s gallery has really become a runway, especially the scene where she is selling the painting to Sam Smith.
VF Can we talk about their “I am the sky” look? Turquoise-on-turquoise-on-turquoise.
JA Punctuated by a martini purse — which might be my favorite gag accessory of the season.
CH I thought it was a fun look for an artist who isn’t afraid to stand out (and often wears monochrome, like at last year’s Grammys).
JA Miranda, meanwhile, has adopted a sort of Brandi Carlile-meets-Bowie vibe that fits her far better than her droopy suits of yore, especially as seen in her ocher-and-yellow jumpsuit buttoned up to the collar that she wears to brunch. I’ve really enjoyed the evolution.
VF Here is what I want to know: What are they all going to wear to Carrie’s last supper? Will there even be a last supper, given what happened with Aidan’s son Wyatt?
KVS Perhaps a reprise of the classics? Seema in animal prints?
VF Maybe everyone should be in pajamas, and we could come full circle.
Vanessa Friedman Katie Van Syckle, Jeremy Allen and Callie Holtermann contributed reporting.