Get Samantha's look from Sex and the City

PLOT SPOILERS!

Kim Cattrall’s Samantha Jones is the very definition of colourful. Her career, as a PR guru cum talent agent (she manages the career of boyfriend actor Smith Jerrod), has benefitted from her fiercely confident business approach as she is always happy to go into battle against anyone. She comfortably flaunts her rampant sex-life for all to see, whether it be sleeping with a 72-year-old, dildo model or a woman, exclaiming “I’m a trisexual – I’ll try anything once.” She even nabs the sauciest dialogue in both the TV series and the film, with classic lines such as “f= me badly once, shame on you. F= me badly twice, shame on me.” But it is in the fashion stakes that her colourfulness really shines through.

“Samantha is a lot of fun to dress,” muses Patricia Field, the fashion mastermind behind SATC, “because she is such a vivid and sexual character, and very open about her attitude towards her sex life.” This freedom in the character’s spirit translates perfectly into her sense of personal style, which Field describes as “more theatrical than any of the other character’s wardrobes.”

Rummaging about her fashion closet, Samantha’s ensembles aren’t demure like Charlotte, practical like Miranda or creative like Carrie’s, instead Field chooses “brightly coloured suits, fitted waistlines, low-cut necklines and loud jewellery.” The film sees her wearing her trademark dazzling colours – from a lime green Halston halter neck dress to an electric blue Versace coat and dress – with dashes of metallics, such as a silver Jenny Pacham coat and silver sleeveless, zip-up Narciso Rodriguez top, thrown in.

She isn’t one for casual and under-stated – could you imagine her knocking about in a ratty pair of sweatpants? Instead she saunters around both LA and New York in dresses and smart skirt/ top combinations. The chunky jewellery is still very much in evidence, as are many cinching belts, but the hot new accessory in Samantha’s wardrobe is the over-sized sombrero hat. She hides behind its beige vastness when spying on hunky neighbour Dante at her Malibu home and also models a wide brimmed patterned Sonia Rykiel one.

For SATC’s TV run, Samantha’s look was hugely inspired by showbiz glamour rather than catwalk chic. Field reveals: “Kim Cattrall’s style as Samantha … (all pastel Gucci and Armani power suits) was influenced by Dynasty, the 1980s soap that gave women more fashion trends (shoulder pads, costume jewellery, big hair) than there is space to mention.” With other famous faces such as 50s actress Kim Novak also providing ideas.

But fans want to know: Has her bold and boisterous style evolved since the last time we saw her?

“The other girls evolved linearly,” explains Field of her approach to showing the missing four years. “She [Samantha] just evolved like a big bang.” Of course, her new circumstances – a change in job and location (she has moved to LA with Smith) affects her fashion choices, while as a very label-conscious dresser, she has updated her trusty staples with new up-and-coming brands. “I used an American designer called CD Greene a lot for Samantha,” says Field. “He’s a Manhattan designer who makes clothes with lots of beads and studs; very tight, very Versace, very Samantha.”

Despite having such a defined and accessible look, Field claims that Samantha’s style is not as popular with young women as those of her SATC cohorts. “The fans of Kim Cattrall’s sexually empowered Samantha were older gay men, some straight men, and a certain kind of woman,” muses the costume designer, who has also worked on TV shows Ugly Betty and Cashmere Mafia. And she might have a point.

Samantha’s movie outfits have been described as “often unsightly” by fashion website Women’s Wear Daily, who even jokes that “such gaudy, where-did-they-find-it (Dallas?) garb makes Kim Cattrall’s now-infamous reluctance to sign on for the big-screen production understandable.” Kim herself appreciates that the outrageous get-ups aren’t always suitable for everyday wear, but that didn’t stop her nabbing up to a third of her TV show costumes and hunt around for those from the movie.

Disappointed that many of them weren’t available, regardless of her contract stipulating that she could keep them, she grumbled: “They sent three huge boxes of things, but most of my stuff was not there. The [big] hat wasn’t there, and there were three pairs of shoes. So there’s a bulletin out for what happened to Samantha’s togs.”

So if you see someone in a giant sombrero, vintage bright red Thierry Mugler skirt suit or sequined black Chanel night robe – call Kim.