--- title: Carrie Bradshaw's Tutu from SATC Opening Credits Is On Sale description: The iconic tutu that Sarah Jessica Parker wore in the opening credits of 'Sex and the City' sold for six times its estimate. canonical: https://time.com/6553168/carrie-bradshaw-sex-and-the-city-tutu-skirt-auction/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-01-11T20:27:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-01-19T09:57:08.000Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Sold: Carrie Bradshaw's Iconic Tutu og:description: The iconic tutu that Sarah Jessica Parker wore in the opening credits of 'Sex and the City' sold for six times its estimate. og:url: https://time.com/6553168/carrie-bradshaw-sex-and-the-city-tutu-skirt-auction/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e793921b153f72e/698a43ad457a52e588d684b9/sex-and-the-city-auction-clothes-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: sex-and-the-city-auction-clothes-01 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sold: Carrie Bradshaw's Iconic Tutu twitter:description: The iconic tutu that Sarah Jessica Parker wore in the opening credits of 'Sex and the City' sold for six times its estimate. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e793921b153f72e/698a43ad457a52e588d684b9/sex-and-the-city-auction-clothes-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Carrie Bradshaw's $5 Tutu From the Opening Credits of _Sex and the City_ Sells for $52,000  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Updated: Jan 19, 2026 9:57 AM CUTPublished: Jan 11, 2024 8:27 PM CUT  New Line Cinema/Everett Collection  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Updated: Jan 19, 2026 9:57 AM CUTPublished: Jan 11, 2024 8:27 PM CUT There may be no other contemporary TV character as closely associated with fashion as [Carrie Bradshaw](https://time.com/3757467/sarah-jessica-parker-50th-birthday-sex-and-the-city/ "undefined"). The _Sex and the City_ heroine was a sex columnist with [an affinity for emotionally unavailable finance guys](https://time.com/6301380/carrie-aidan-relationship-and-just-like-that/ "undefined"), but the true way to her heart could be found in her closet: so much so that, she once confessed, [she could not buy her apartment because she had 100 pairs of Manolo Blahnik shoes](https://time.com/6303369/carrie-selling-apartment-aidan-and-just-like-that/ "undefined"). And though Carrie had plenty of show-stopping looks during the six seasons that the show was on the air, there was none more iconic that the look that started it all—the white tutu skirt she wore with a pink leotard during the opening credits of the show. The whimsical yet sexy look was the brainchild of legendary costume designer Patricia Field, who [wrote in her 2023 memoir](https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/sex-and-the-city-tutu "undefined"), _Pat in the City: My Life of Fashion, Style, and Breaking All the Rules_,that she got the skirt for the bargain price of $5, fishing it out of "five-dollar bin at a midtown fashion showroom." "I pulled and out came a sort of chic white tutu," Field wrote. "I imagined pairing the short, tiered tulle skirt with a small tee or tank for a look that was both contemporary and cool…the tutu-style skirt was whimsical, adventurous, and unexpected—kind of like this show, ‘Sex and the City.'” **Read more:** [_A True New Yorker Would Never Give Up Carrie Bradshaw’s Apartment_](https://time.com/6303369/carrie-selling-apartment-aidan-and-just-like-that/ "undefined") Though the tutu had humble beginnings, it went up on the auction block with Julien’s [“Unstoppable: Signature Styles of Iconic Women in Fashion”](https://www.julienslive.com/lot-details/index/catalog/482/lot/220722/Sarah-Jessica-Parker-Sex-And-The-City-Opening-Credits-Tutu?url=%2Fauctions%2Fcatalog%2Fid%2F482 "undefined") auction, which took place on Jan. 18 and included dresses that were worn by the likes of Audrey Hepburn and [Princess Diana](https://time.com/6311207/princess-diana-black-sheep-sweater-auction/ "undefined"). Bidding began at $2,000, with Julien's estimating that it would sell for as much as $12,000\. In the end, the dress sold for $52,000, more than six times its estimate. The famed tutu, which Field said she selected because of Sarah Jessica Parker's background as a ballet dancer and because Carrie had "princess syndrome," was initially vetoed by showrunner Darren Star, who favored a more chic look for Carrie in the credits. Field, however, presciently reasoned that if the show became a hit, then something trendy would look dated in re-runs. "I knew anything less would be dated by next season," she wrote in her memoir. "People want to see what they haven’t seen before – not some trendy shift dress from Fall 199-whatever. From the opening credits to every single scene of the series, however long it might last, my overriding aim would be to make sure that while the clothes were expressive and helping to tell the story, they were never burnt with exposure." ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6553168/carrie-bradshaw-sex-and-the-city-tutu-skirt-auction/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6553168/carrie-bradshaw-sex-and-the-city-tutu-skirt-auction/"},"headline":"Carrie Bradshaw's $5 Tutu From the Opening Credits of Sex and the City Sells for $52,000","datePublished":"2024-01-11T20:27:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-01-19T09:57:08.000Z","description":"The iconic tutu that Sarah Jessica Parker wore in the opening credits of 'Sex and the City' sold for six times its estimate.","url":"https://time.com/6553168/carrie-bradshaw-sex-and-the-city-tutu-skirt-auction/","keywords":["fashion","culturepod"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e793921b153f72e/698a43ad457a52e588d684b9/sex-and-the-city-auction-clothes-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e793921b153f72e/698a43ad457a52e588d684b9/sex-and-the-city-auction-clothes-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"sex-and-the-city-auction-clothes-01","caption":"Carrie Bradshaw in her iconic white tulle tutu and pink tank top","creditText":"New Line Cinema/Everett Collection","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/fashion/","name":"fashion"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6553168/carrie-bradshaw-sex-and-the-city-tutu-skirt-auction/","name":"Carrie Bradshaw's $5 Tutu From the Opening Credits of Sex and the City Sells for $52,000"}}]}] ```