The year is 2000 and our favorite sex and relationships writer, Carrie Bradshaw, is running down an Upper East Side sidewalk in tiny black and white athletic shorts, a dainty white prairie top with ruffled sleeves, and red stilettos after losing her boyfriend’s dog. To some, her outfit may have been considered all wrong at the time, but, in true Carrie fashion, she could not care less (rather, long-time wardrobe stylist Patricia Fields couldn’t). We should all aim to be like Carrie.
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This combination is what I refer to as The Carrie Formula: athletic shorts, feminine top, and heels. Although the formula has evolved to include athletic shorts with ballet flats, athletic pants with heels, and athletic shorts with blazers, for example, the concept remains the same: a combination of contrasting aesthetics. The perfect balance between feminine and sporty. This isn’t the only example of Carrie combining these aesthetics. Throughout the seasons, we also saw her pair a jersey-style top with cargo capris and patterned Manolo Blahnik heels, and a sports-inspired Dior top with a full purple and gray color-blocked skirt and pink heels.
It has been a long time since sportswear was worn only for sporting purposes, likely ever since Coco Channel designed tennis dresses in the 1920s. The 1980s fitness craze affirmed athleisure as a trend (as did Princess Diana in the early 90s) and, since then, the notion of athleisure in our everyday wardrobes has become a permanent fixture. The 1990s popularized baggier basketball and streetwear-inspired shorts, and today, brands such as Miu Miu, Loewe, and Wales Bonner in collaboration with Adidas have secured sports shorts in the fashion zeitgeist. Since their initial collaboration in 2020, Wales Bonner X Adidas have gone on to create elevated sneakers and tracksuits to this day, further attesting to the trend’s popularity
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The Blokette core micro-trend, was popularized on TikTok back in 2023, the trend referring to the combination of traditionally feminine and masculine, most often sportswear-inspired, pieces. The trend has influenced brands to continue blending sportiness with femininity, resulting in the sporty ballet flat boom, and serving as an example of this formula’s lasting impact.
This summer, Zoe Kravitz paired Carrie-esque black and white gym shorts with a red tee, black stilettos, and a quilted YSL handbag. Although Kravitz put her own spin on the formula, the shorts, the color red, and the stilettos felt like a nod to Carrie.
Arguably, the blazer is the newest addition to this mode of dressing. During Copenhagen Fashion Week, influencer Ambre Lipuma green and white Adidas shorts were paired with a white blouse, cream pinstriped blazer, flip flops, and an oversized clutch. With the shorts and shoes adding an effortlessly cool element, the top, blazer, and clutch add equally as much professionalism and flair. Another guest paired teeny blue shorts with a boxy oversized black blazer and leopard ballet flats.
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Getty ImagesIn Copenhagen, other personal twists were added: a show attendee wore a brown shorts and quarter-zip sweatshirt set paired with cream heeled Tabi boots, for example, further proving that this formula from more than two decades ago is still being used, appreciated, and built upon. And we have a frantic Carrie Bradshaw impressively running through Manhattan to thank.
