You're Probably a Miranda, and That's a Good Thing

There's a new Sex and the City book in town. And while no, Candace Bushnell hasn't come out with another installment, we promise it's just as fun.

Instead, Chelsea Fairless and Lauren Garroni have released a snarky celebration of Miranda Hobbes, who has often had an undesirable reputation as her workaholic nature and practical fashion sits beside the glamour of Carrie Bradshaw, the adventurousness of Samantha Parkington, and the romanticism of Charlotte York. However, in an age when discussions over complex performativity—and women pursuing bigger things (read: Cynthia Nixon's recent governor run)—are on the rise, the duo hopes their new guide will remind readers that there's a little Miranda in us all, and that's something we should embrace.

The Sex and the City book begins with a chapter on confronting your "Mirandaphobia," then proceeds to instruct audiences on how to dress, date, work, and more like the iconic Sex and the City redhead. There is a guide to famous Mirandas—think Katharine Hepburn, Rei Kawakubo, and Fran Lebowitz—and a prompting to unburden yourself from unnecessary clothing, which gives a nod to Marie Kondo with its title, "The Life-Changing Magic of Throwing Out Shit You Don't Wear." It's all in good fun, but it also has the potential to empower anyone who has been struggling to embrace their inner Miranda.

"We realized we weren’t the only closeted Mirandas out there," Garroni explained of what inspired them to create the project. "We knew the book had to be a faux-self help book from a Miranda’s point-of-view. It’s a self-help book for people that don’t read those kinds of books."

We Should All Be Mirandas appears to be a natural progression for the pair, as they have been documenting the show's unforgettable fashion through @everyoutfitonsatc since 2016. Started as a joke at dinner, the Instagram account has grown far past its initially intended scope to have over 600,000 followers, keeping the show's spirit alive for its cult following and beyond even as hopes of a Sex and the City 3 become a distant memory. Naturally, documenting Hobbes' looks has been integral to their content, and despite Carrie's eccentric style being most prominent in pop culture, it in fact was Miranda who inspired the duo to begin their Instagram adventure.

"My favorite Miranda outfit will always be the giant overalls and puffer coat from Season Two," Fairless said. "I think it’s actually what prompted Lauren and I to start the account, because we were always obsessed with the deep cut Miranda looks, not the famous Carrie ones."

The new Sex and the City book is fun from start to finish, and both authors hope it will inspire self-acceptance amidst the abundance of laughs. To celebrate the release, we talked to Fairless and Garroni about their unconventional launch party (a comedy show with erotic balloon art!), what Miranda would be like on social media, and who she would vote for in the Democratic primary—you probably already know the answer if you think about it. Read on, and get inspired to embrace your inner Miranda in 2020 and beyond.

How did you get started with @everyoutfitonsatc?
Chelsea Fairless: We started the account as a joke at dinner one night after a few too many flaming margaritas. We thought it would just be a joint finsta that we would post on for our mutual amusement, but within a month we had 100,000 followers. 
Lauren Garroni: Chelsea told me how she always wished there was a website that archived every outfit on Sex and the City and I remarked that today that would just be an Instagram. If we knew what it was going to become we would have tried for a more interesting origin story. 
 
What have you discovered in the process of working on the account?
CF: That there is truly an endless amount of outfits in the series and films. People always ask us what we’re going to do when we run out of looks to talk about, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
LG: I think people came and continue to come for the outfits, but they have stayed because of our captions. We didn’t realize how unique the way we look and write about fashion is because it’s how we’ve always spoken to each other about it. 
 
How has the account evolved over time as your audience has grown?
CF: Well we’ve diversified the content a bit. In the beginning it was all exclusively screencaps of outfits, now we’ve integrated more original stuff, like videos, illustrated posts, content from our live events, memes, etc. My writing has certainly improved since we started the account. I never wrote anything that was available for public consumption prior to @everyoutfitonsatc so it’s been quite a journey. 
LG: I think when we began the account we thought it would be a refuge for nostalgia, but we have been able to use the show to speak to current events today weather it be the #MeToo movement or the Kavanaugh hearings. 
 
How did you come upon the decision to write a book about Miranda?
CF: In 2017, we parodied Christian Dior’s $700 “We Should All Be Feminists” tee by making a $30 “We Should All Be Mirandas” tees. We sold a lot of them, then when Cynthia Nixon ran for governor a lot of journalists referenced the phrase in their articles. So we realized that “We Should All Be Mirandas” had entered the cultural lexicon, and our book agent suggested that we write a book with that title. So it was really reverse-engineered. 
LG: But from the beginning we gravitated towards Miranda outfits. Things we thought were obscure outfits like the windbreaker with a bucket hat, really resonated with our followers. We realized we weren’t the only closeted Mirandas out there. We knew the book had to be a faux self-help book from a Miranda’s point of view. It’s a self-help book for people that don’t read those kinds of books. 

How would Miranda dress in 2019?
CF: It’s sad that there isn’t going to be a third film, because the current fashion climate is SO Miranda. I imagine her returning to her early-series power lesbian looks, ideally Balenciaga. She would also look amazing in The Row and Bottega Veneta. 
LG: I could even see her being a little hypebeasty and wearing some Riccardo Tisci Burberry.
 
Who would Miranda vote for in the Democratic primary?
CF: Elizabeth Warren! She’s a Miranda through and through.
LG: Agreed. 
 
What do you hope people take away from reading your new book?
CF: I hope it temporarily distracts people from all the shitty things that are going on in the world right now. But I do hope that the overarching message of self-acceptance resonates with people. As we say in the book, a Miranda can never be a Carrie, no matter how many pairs of shoes she buys. 
LG: The book is definitely a send-up to the show, but Sex and the City did go off the air in 2004. Much of the book is us filling in the blanks, as two Mirandas, on how to navigate the world. So we hope it helps people, while also making them laugh. 
 
Your launch party sounded like a lot of fun, featuring a comedy show, themed drinks, and erotic balloon art. What experience did you hope to create by celebrating your new book in this way?
CF: We didn’t want to do traditional book readings, because the book itself is not terribly serious. We’re always trying to create light, fun kitschy environments for our events. Hence the giant Miranda nameplate necklace and the erotic balloon art!
LG: We wanted to create the book reading we’d like to attend. We didn’t want to bore people by reading a large chunk of a book they already bought. So we editorialized parts of the book in a Miranda themed comedy show and brought special guests on stage. Basically we wanted people to feel like they weren’t at a book reading.  
 
Any favorite moments from your recent tour?
CF: That’s so tough; the whole thing has been incredible. We loved doing the New York events with our friend Dan Clay, also known as Carrie Dragshaw. The LA party was amazing because it was at The Standard in WeHo, where they shot the iconic LA episodes in Season 3. 
LG: Every stop has had a special moment. I did enjoy in San Francisco when several older women came up to us and had no idea who we were or what the account was, but enjoyed themselves anyway. 
 
Where do you want to take your SATC (and Miranda) expertise going forward?
CF: I keep thinking that there’s nothing else that we can possibly do with Sex and the City, but then something new comes along. We’ll see! 
 
Any upcoming projects?
Lauren: We’re working on a couple projects that we can’t discuss at the moment, but we do have a fun event next month that we’re doing with Decades, the iconic vintage store in Los Angeles.