Romanticizing: A love letter to the little things
- Natalie Neumann
- Dec 10
- 6 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
O’Malley’s Sex and the City inspired photoshoot emphasizes experimenting with style, pushing social boundaries, and being unapologetically yourself.
By Natalie Neumann
Clad in pearls, satin, and Dior, four women saunter down the streets of Manhattan, mirroring the iconic Sex and the City characters. Inspired by the early 2000s show, the photoshoot features hallmark scenes: long calls on a rotary telephone, gossiping in the streets, flipping through the latest edition magazines for the hottest trends and, of course, shopping. Using a mix of angles, rich color palettes, and compositions, photographer and NYU freshman Jacob Barnett, channels the show’s signature aesthetic.
Creative director and NYU transfer student Eden O’Malley touches on what drove her vision and execution for the photoshoot.
“My first inspiration came from moving to New York and making that transition as a transfer student,” O’Malley says. “I came here and I fell in love with the city.”
O’Malley began watching Sex and the City shortly after her move, and resonated with a friend's commentary on the show’s themes; “She [said],” O’Malley said. “I love how it’s a romance story between them, but also kind of between them and New York and each other.”
This influenced her direction for the shoot, with many photos of the models interacting with each other, often seen laughing or having fun to emphasize the tight knit friendship.
At the heart of the shoot was a light pink floral Christian Dior dress, originally a lingerie piece from the 1960s, that was passed down from her grandmother. Prior to the photoshoot, the dress had been collecting dust in O’Malley’s closet, waiting for the perfect opportunity to be worn outside. As part of the shoot, O’Malley hoped to capture how fashion had
changed over time, with the stunning dress at the forefront.
“I kind of loved that when she first gave it to me,” O’Malley recalls, “she was like, ‘it’s a nightgown.’ [But] this is not a nightgown to me, this is something I could wear outside on the street with heels…It does look like a nightgown, but it doesn’t look like something you’d sleep in.”
It’s fascinating how clothing items can be repurposed and introduced into the fashion scene as a reinvented trend. Flared or low rise jeans, oversized blazers, and a lingerie nightgown turned sundress. Perhaps part of the beauty of the modern fashion industry is the ability to take a piece and make it your own, as seen with the characters in Sex and the City.
The shoot aimed to emulate the colorful styles of the four women in the show, featuring the champagne floral lace Dior dress as well as other satin dresses, long pearls, bright red tights and fur coats. With distinct jewelry, shoes like maroon flats and turquoise stilettos, and hand bags and purses, each model sported an outgoing and unconventional look, mirroring some of the unique styles present in each episode of the show
Sex and the City features four close friends: column writer Carrie Bradshaw, public relations executive Samantha Jones, lawyer Miranda Hobbes, and art dealer Charlotte York. Following the group as they navigate the complexities of finding love in New York City, Sex and the City explores the taboo subjects of relationships: the big, the bad, and the ugly. With genuine, difficult, and sometimes uncomfortable conversations on sex, relationships, and life, the series highlights the sexual liberation the characters experience. Four working, financially and (mostly) emotionally secure women serve as the leads, and the characters provide an authentic depiction of the mess and chaos that is life. The show demonstrates female independence, friendship, and above all else, sticking to your own values and desires regardless of outside opinions.
Francesca Biggs, model and NYU sophomore, notes how the show took a new perspective on relationships, fashion, and female representation in media.
“I think that especially women's bodies are always commodified,” Biggs said. “They’re always sexualized. There’s this undercurrent of the male gaze. And I think that in Sex and the City, they kind of take this and spin it on its head.”
At the time, women speaking about their sexual and relationship desires was rarely seen on television, let alone in real life. Instead of dancing around the topic, the show emphasized the subject, making it the center of the series.
Each character’s clothes seemed to reflect the same sexual liberation they experienced — they experimented with different styles and designer or outgoing pieces. Their clothing, Biggs explains, didn’t always adhere to a certain style, but changes as the characters do. Sometimes one may dress more feminine than usual and vice versa.
“I think that there were different aspects of all the girls [from the show] in all the outfits,” Biggs states, a testament to the fluidity of styles each character portrays. That individuality and independence is something she thinks about constantly, especially as fashion politics and social expectations shift by the month.
“When I wear clothes I sometimes do feel that male gaze of can I wear this,” Biggs notes, “should I wear something that is revealing so I can get attention or should I wear something that is more modest, which is also, in my opinion, for attention, in a sense.”
The photoshoot gave Biggs the space and freedom to wear whatever she desired, choosing pieces that excite her rather than worrying about how she is perceived. This contributes to the sense of ease and authenticity throughout the shoot.
“I think that the photo shoot just really helps bring that kind of independent femininity,” Biggs says. “Not hiding yourself, covering up, [or] closing yourself off, but just showing yourself as this liberated beautiful thing.”
In a sense, new fashion trends also mark a more independent generation of women, fueled not only by popular media, but past trends and individual preferences. While the Dior dress was once a nightgown, it’s been reimagined as a beautiful and bold dress worn in public.
"I think that the photo shoot just really helps bring that kind of independent femininity. Not hiding yourself, covering up, [or] closing yourself off, but just showing yourself as this liberated beautiful thing"
Francesca Biggs, 28'
Especially for women, every standard trend or piece of clothing was once completely unheard of. If it takes standing out and being judged for fashion to become socially acceptable over time, why should we limit ourselves when our style may become a new standard in the future? In other words, our choices have the ability to push the boundaries of what it means to be an acceptable woman in modern society.
Biggs alludes to the idea of stepping up and taking a chance to experiment with unconventional pieces, not only for yourself but for the sake of being an example for others.
“If you see another woman and she’s confident and proud in what she’s wearing,” Biggs said. “I think it can be inspiring to other people who maybe aren’t as comfortable in their body…it’s just this really uplifting and powerful message.”
O’Malley also touches on finding one’s style, emphasizing the importance of feeling comfortable in the clothes you wear over adhering to a certain pattern.
“You don’t need a specific style,” O’Malley said. “You don’t. I love wearing sweats, but I also love wearing dresses, and I also love wearing black and colors and patterns. If you gravitate towards one style, that’s great, but that doesn’t mean the next morning you can’t wake up and wear something that’s completely different.”
O’Malley shares that apart from showcasing unique styles and emulating the aesthetics from the show, she hopes the shoot helps bring back people’s love for the city, and passion for trying new things, and perhaps new styles too.
“All these things that people dream about doing once in their life, we could do every day,” O’Malley reflects. “Sometimes I feel like we forget that.”
In a city that never stops, it's easy to get caught up in your personal routines and lives without stopping to appreciate what’s right in front of you, as cliche as it sounds.
"All these things that people dream about doing once in their life, we could do every day. Sometimes I feel like we forget that"
Eden O'Malley, 29'
“Sometimes I forget that I’m living in New York,” O’Malley said, “by myself, practically in my 20s with my closest friends. Sometimes you just need to look up and stare at the empire state building for a second and realize there’s nowhere else on planet Earth like it and to really take advantage of that by traveling, exploring, [and] trying new things.”
Even with all the unique and complex themes of Sex and the City, it remains a show centered around friendship and independent women living life to the fullest in New York. Perhaps we should listen to Carrie Bradshaw and do the same.
Natalie Neumann (class of 2029) is a politics and journalism in CAS. She joined Violet Vault to showcase the diverse fashion scene both on campus and in the city itself. Apart from her passion for sharing stories, Natalie loves attending concerts, dinners with friends, trying new cafes and restaurants, and spending time with family.
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