Chelsea Fairless - We should all be Mirandas: life lessons from Sex and the citys most underrated character

Copyright 2019 by Miranda Solidarity, Inc.

All rights reserved.

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-0-358-02236-7

Illustrations by Carly Jean Andrews

Print book design by Allison Chi

Ebook design by Melissa deJesus

We Should All Be Mirandas provides life lessons inspired by a character from the Sex and the City television series. It has not been created by the authors or owners of that series, and has not been approved, sponsored, or endorsed by the authors or owners of that series.

eISBN 978-0-358-01895-7
v2.1119

To every woman who has dared
to eat cake out of the garbage.

Hello, Lover!

Lauren and Chelsea here. We are the authors of this book, and we are both Mirandas. Chelsea is a Miranda with a Samantha rising and Lauren is a Miranda with a Carrie risingbut more on that later. Even though we are proud to identify as Mirandas today, the road to self-acceptance has been rough. When we first discovered Sex and the City, both of us felt a strong kinship with Carrie. She was the series preeminent It girl, with a cool job, a hot sex life, and a plentiful supply of Nicolas Ghesquiere-era Balenciaga. She was charismatic and impossibly chic, yet flawed enough to be relatable. In a matter of months, we were both self-proclaimed Carries, with the vintage slip dresses to prove it. Chelsea smoked Ms. Bradshaws preferred brand of cigarettes (Marlboro Lights) before begrudgingly quitting, while Lauren almost broke up with her college boyfriend for merely suggesting that she was a Miranda. Its shameful to admit, but in the early aughts, no one wanted to be a Mirandabut we both had a change of heart when we revisited the series as adults. Mirandas take-no-shit attitude was inspiring. Her pantsuits were chicer than we remembered, and her mere presence was an essential counter to Carries drama and Charlottes optimism. After repeat viewings, we started to question why we had aligned ourselves with Carrie at all, especially given her fondness for finance bros and fascinators.

We Should All Be Mirandas was born from our satirical Instagram account Every Outfit on Sex & the City (@everyoutfitonsatc), which launched in 2016 with a simple mission to document every outfit on the series. After conceiving of the account during a night of drinking, we began posting images of the shows more outrageous ensembles, accompanied by irreverent captions. Within days, it amassed tens of thousands of followers. We anticipated that our audience would enjoy revisiting Carries wacky fashion blundersafter all, her belt-over-a-bare-midriff look is just as batshit today as it was in 2002. But it quickly became apparent that Ms. Hobbes had an equally devoted (and chronically underserved) fan base. A post celebrating her overalls and puffer coat look from season two elicited such a strong response that we realized that there were a lot of other closeted Mirandas out there.

This revelation led us to question exactly why we had been so reluctant to identify with her in the first place. It quickly became apparent that we had been gaslitby society, and the series itselfinto believing that Miranda was the least aspirational character. Sure, she had her awkward moments, and yes, some of her hairstyles throughout the course of the show were truly bizarre. At the end of the day, though, this woman is a Harvard graduate who made partner by the age of thirty-five. She owns a brownstone and employs a full-time housekeeper. If that isnt aspirational, we dont know what is.

After we became aware of the societal bias against the Miranda-identified, we had to give it a name: Mirandaphobia. We delve into this concept on , but in short, Mirandaphobia is the belief that Mirandas are inferior to other Sex and the City personality types. After internalizing this toxic messaging for most of our adult lives, we hid our true nature from our friends, our families, and (most importantly) ourselves. This resulted in some seriously self-destructive behavior, like romanticizing toxic love affairs and wearing stilettos in the dead of winter. We thought that adopting a Carrie-esque lifestyle would lead us down the path of enlightenment. Instead, we wound up with sociopathic lovers and a closet full of regrettable H&M purchases. However, after a considerable amount of soul-searching, we are proud to say that Miranda Hobbes is the only icon we need. Beyond her six-figure salary and designer wardrobe, Mirandas fierce intelligence and drama-free approach to living are the real things worth coveting. She speaks her mind, stands her ground, and refuses to apologize for her successor the contents of her bedside drawer. Ms. Hobbes eschews repressive gender norms with style and grace, all while serving up the greatest menswear looks that youve ever seen. In short, we should all be Mirandas. To those of you who are out and proud, we salute you. As for those of you who are still closeted, we hope this helps.

Chelsea Fairless & Lauren Garroni

The women of Sex and the City arent just characterstheyre archetypes. Theres the fashionable one, the traditional one, the hedonistic one, and the smart one who occasionally eats cake out of the garbage. Each womans personality was distinct from the get-go, but it wasnt until HBO began selling t-shirts declaring Im a Carrie, Im a Charlotte, Im a Miranda, and Im a Samantha that the public was forced to choose sides. Droves of eager tourists bought the shirts from HBOs flagship store in Times Square, inspiring a mini-backlash from locals who were tired of sharing their city with legions of overly enthusiastic Sex and the City fans. Despite the ridicule, these phrases quickly entered the cultural lexicon, inspiring millions of fans to self-identify as the characters. Most people identified with Carrie, the series protagonist and widely considered to be the most enviable character. The more conservative fans gravitated toward Charlotte, feeling a kinship to her good-girl persona. The unabashedly promiscuous easily related to Samantha. And the people who would rather die than hear a grown man whisper ever thine, ever mine, ever oursthose would be Mirandas.

For better or worse, the Miranda personality type is typically characterized by a mild distrust of the world and the norms set upon it by society. Charlottes may label us as pessimists, but being a realist in an age of insanity has helped us to preserve what little dignity we have left. This go-to defense mechanism does not make us heartless, despite what our exes may shout as they leave. On the contrary, Mirandas love fiercely. We are very attentive in our friendships, occasionally at the expense of our own sanity. However, while Mirandas are loyal, we are not fools. So if your BFF needs to be reprimanded for gabbing about her relationship drama while youre suffering from a neck injury, so be it.