Why Sarah Jessica Parker 'never' wears 'Sex and the City' wardrobe

Sarah Jessica Parker is explaining why one of fashion's most famous screen wardrobes stays firmly in storage. 

Speaking with PEOPLE on the red carpet at the New York City Ballet 2026 Fall Gala on Thursday, the 61-year-old actress said she doesn't wear any of the clothing she wore as Carrie Bradshaw. 

"No, I don't wear any of the wardrobe that I wore on the show ever. I have it. It's an archive, but I never wear it. I never have," Parker said.

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She drew a pointed comparison to explain her thinking.

"There's a huge separation between myself and Carrie Bradshaw. So it would be like walking around in Sarah Sanderson's costume," she said, referencing her Hocus Pocus character. 

Parker has kept her character's wardrobe since the show's early days, previously revealing that she negotiated a contract clause allowing her to retain every piece. 

She played Carrie across six seasons of Sex and the City from 1998 to 2004, two films in 2008 and 2010, and the spinoff And Just Like That... from 2021 to 2025. 

Reflecting on the end of the character's run, Parker wrote, "Carrie Bradshaw has dominated my professional heartbeat for 27 years. I think I have loved her most of all." 

In August 2025, she told PEOPLE she has occasionally worn a few pieces from the archive in real life but only rarely and judiciously, adding last year, "I have no interest in integrating my life into Carrie's or making her more familiar."

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