And Just Like That... Season Three, Episode Eleven Fashion Recap: Let’s Pack It Up
We enter this episode knowing there are only two left in this franchise (unless, of course, they make a few more movies and a second reboot in twenty years that follows the three best-dressed residents in the most high-end Upper East Side retirement home). In a statement on Instagram, Michael Patrick King claimed he decided this was a good place to stop when writing the two-part finale, so prepare to see a lot of neatly wrapped storylines coming your way. “Forgot About a Boy” definitely got the ball rolling this week. We see Seema finally in a happy, healthy relationship, Miranda working to bring her increasingly blended (and gassy) family together, and Carrie (once again) considering her living situation.
That being said, there are also some seemingly irrelevant storylines peppered throughout, though that has kind of been the M.O. of this show since the beginning. Herbert has been in the dumps since losing his election, but I personally have never fully embraced the Wexleys past Lisa’s closet. Similarly, the fresh news of Anthony’s engagement (and subsequent doubts, which, by the way, seem to have come out of nowhere) feels like an unnecessary journey to go on with so little time left. If this is truly the end of the Sex and the City/And Just Like That universe, let’s focus on the big three, please.
But below, the focus is on the outfits, which are rich in fabric and tones this episode as we hit fall in AJLT’s NYC. We only have two more episodes to eye Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago’s handiwork, and then we will have to survive on The Devil Wears Prada sequel set pics (which they are reportedly costume designing). So, let’s relish every Aquazzura pump and Emilia Wickstead dress while we still can, shall we?
Carrie is ordering pies for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, a task that takes her back to her old neighborhood on the Upper East Side. The excursion is a sentimental one for Carrie, who is dressed in an a-line denim maxi skirt, checked wool jacket, Ann Demeulemeester lace-up heels, and carrying an oversized coin purse clutch from the Coach spring 2025 runway.
It is while she is passing her old haunt, yearning for the days when her oven acted as extra storage, that Carrie runs into Lisette. The jewelry designer is wearing the Loewe Toy boots in olive, a very ’80s pink leather jumpsuit, a gold fur jacket, and the Loewe bracelet bag in cobalt blue. We learn Carrie has not seen her fellow curly-haired protege in seven months, but Lisette invites her landlady to a pre-TG get-together. It’s a nice gesture from Lisette, but it could just cost her the apartment.
Over at the York-Goldenblatt residence, the penis jokes have reached a climax (I had to). In between Harry’s many innuendos, he and Charlotte discuss Thanksgiving, which they will be spending at Miranda’s place. But Harry doesn’t want any part in Miranda’s woke celebrations. He has officially entered old curmudgeon territory, and the man wants to pass out on his own couch after stuffing his face with stuffing.
Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte meet up at Carrie’s newly decorated townhouse for a mid-episode catch-up. Carrie is perturbed because her editor doesn’t like the “tragic” ending of her book. Little does the editor know, her critiques of Carrie’s character, who ends the story alone in a beautiful garden, are simultaneously critiques of the writer’s own fate.
Miranda, meanwhile, is fretting because she invited Brady’s pregnant, very-much-not-girlfriend to Thanksgiving, but she hasn’t told Brady. Clearly, the woman learned nothing from her first run-in with the flatulent Mia (portrayed by Ella Stiller, by the way) last episode.
Charlotte is also facing a reckoning with her child, because while she long ago accepted Rock’s gender identity, seeing them dressed up for their star turn in Thoroughly Modern Milly has her feeling confused. Honestly, this storyline is one of the more interesting of the season. Acceptance doesn’t always mean the end of yearning, and clearly, Charlotte still yearns for a traditionally feminine Rock.
It’s time for Rock’s performance in Milly, and Carrie arrives to the show in a green suit and purple Malone Souliers Maureen heels. She immediately finds and congratulates Anthony, who is newly engaged to Giuseppe. With just two episodes left, it seems odd to focus on this engagement and Anthony’s second thoughts. Anthony has already gotten more than enough screentime this season, and I can’t say I’ve ever been too concerned about his character’s outcome anyway. Besides, isn’t he still technically married to Sanford?
Luckily, before Anthony gets us too caught up in the weeds of his relationship drama, Charlotte interrupts with her boss, because apparently, we’re bringing out all the randos tonight.
Also in attendance are the always well-dressed Wexleys, supporting their son, karaoke legend Henry. Now, upon reflecting on the ending of this series, I realized I will likely miss LTW’s outfits the most (as well as the few looks from her mini-me, GTW). Case in point: her ensemble for her son’s high school musical performance. Lisa arrives in a gray wool cape and matching skirt, a beaded Valentino necklace, leather gloves, and a pillbox-topped turban. Phew! She is just dressing circles around her fellow PTA moms, with their respective bags from Hereu, Style Strategy, Advene, and their tops from Pinko and Elie Tahari. Yeah, there’s no competition.
And though it seems like Henry’s play was quite a success, Herbert is still down in the dumps after losing his election last week. But how can you stay sad when your wife is serving up a fashion rainbow right in front of you? The Harbison suit, yellow patent leather corset belt, orange cape coat, and Pierre Hardy handbag? This outfit could pull anyone out of even the deepest of depressions. Well, apparently not Herbert.
After struggling most of the episode with the idea of a dress and makeup-wearing Rock, Charlotte is able to come to terms with the fact that it was simply a costume, and she must relinquish the fantasy. I wish she had a conversation about this with Harry, instead of another scene filled with penis jokes. Still, it’s a nice moment to see Charlotte sitting in her Desmond & Dempsey pajamas and confirming her choice to support her child wholeheartedly. Yes, she technically did this two seasons ago, but it is not always a linear journey.
Joy joins Miranda for dinner, and, to be honest, I forgot she existed, but it’s nice to see her, as well as the real stars of season three: Sappho and Socrates. But their dinner of takeout Indian is interrupted by Brady, who is home from “sauce day” at culinary school and is armed with a text from Mia, confirming her attendance at Thanksgiving. Understandably, Brady is not happy that Miranda is meddling in the situation. And while Miranda has a point—this baby is coming and they should have a relationship with the child and the mother, she probably should have asked Brady’s permission first. But let’s not scream, Brady, you’re making the dogs uncomfortable.
Carrie and Seema meet up for their weekly drinks, where Seema suggests Carrie buy the bottom unit of her townhouse—where Duncan previously resided—to up the property’s resale value. Carrie, though, is more focused on her real estate past, not her future. She confides in the velvet blazer-adorned Seema that she is nervous to return to her old place for Lisette’s party, because she thinks it will make her miss it. But if this scene teaches us anything, it’s to never get sentimental about an old apartment with a real estate agent.
Possibly strengthened by Seema’s takedown of her old apartment, Carrie puts on her leather Roger Vivier heels and gathers up the courage to attend Lisette’s party. But she finds that she isn’t immediately bombarded with images of her past upon stepping inside. It seems Lisette has added a few flex walls to her space to make room for her new roommate, Ezekiel, and the result is almost unrecognizable to Carrie. Doesn’t Lisette have to run these renovations by her landlord? To be fair, Lisette (wearing a Phoebe Philo tie-dye mini dress) doesn’t really seem like a red tape kind of girl.
The two catch up, and it turns out Lisette shares a lot in common with Carrie’s editor—she doesn’t believe women should live alone. Carrie, though, stands her ground, showing some rare growth. The interaction does seem to inspire Carrie to add an epilogue to her book, one that keeps the hypothetical door open to future romance.
