So Nostalgic
21 Years Ago, Carrie Bradshaw Had Her Most Dramatic Hair Transformation
It was a post-breakup mood.
It’s impossible to watch Sex and the City without lusting after Carrie Bradshaw’s slip dresses, tutu skirts, and expansive shoe collection. But glance up from the ‘fits long enough on your next rewatch, and you’ll remember that she always had equally iconic hair to match.
Whether it was her signature curls from Season 1, the sleek strands she rocked in Season 2, or her perfect low pony from Season 6, Carrie always found a way to elevate her eclectic writer-in-New-York-City style with a ‘do that looked just right. Usually, this meant volume, lots of length, or a top knot that barely fit inside a taxi. To think of Carrie is to think of hair — and lots of it.
Then, like most people who go through a major breakup, Carrie got a big chop and welcomed a chic bob, her most dramatic hair transformation of the entire series. It went down in Season 4, which aired all the way back in 2002, and officially marked the end of her long hair era, as well as her relationship with Aiden. (Poor, sweet Aiden.)
Throughout Season 5, Carrie high-heeled her way around town with this new bouncy, curly bob that represented a fresh take on life. If that isn’t a post-breakup mood, what is?
It didn’t matter if Carrie was writing about her latest date, actually out on a date, or casually flirting while caught in the rain — like she did in the Episode 1, Season 5 — the bob was always bobbing. The chin length cut worked whether she styled it into big ringlets, loose waves, or with a few flat ironed pieces down in front. (It was the early 2000s.) In some episodes, Carrie had a chic scarf wrapped around her strands. The character did love a hair accessory (remember that bird hat?).
It’s speculated that Carrie actually rocked short hair in Season 5 because Sarah Jessica Parker’s strands had been bleached one too many times in real life and were starting to snap off. To give Parker’s hair a fresh start and to remove damaged ends, the show’s hairstylists cut Carrie’s hair into a bob. And thus the iconic look was born.
It’s hard to believe Carrie’s most dramatic hair transformation happened over two decades ago, but, much like her fashion choices, that doesn’t make it any less iconic. Bobs are as chic as ever, after all. Hailey Bieber recently lopped her long strands in favor of a chic bob. Kourtney Kardashian Barker sheered off her lengths. And Zendaya also went short.
Sarah Jessica Parker even reprised her Carrie bob for a movie role back in 2017, a whole 13 years after Sex and the City ended. Though she didn’t rock the short hair when she revisited the character in And Just Like That..., who knows what’s to come in Season 2.
