7:30 A.M.
I usually wake up at 7:30. I sleep in a little silk slip, or pajamas if
it's freezing. I have some that I made for myself and some that I've bought
from various places—Lanvin, Olatz—whatever accommodates my extra-long legs. The
first thing I do in the morning is take my vitamins. I don't want to say which
vitamins; I don't think you should push what you believe in. Doctors should do
that, not fashion designers. I eat a big breakfast: granola with red fruits and
Greek yogurt, and egg whites with an English muffin. I love to read The
Independent and do the king-size crossword to make sure my brain's really
going.
8:00 A.M.
I don't have time to be that girl who does the super workout. But I try
to be as fit as possible given my schedule. Even if I do 20 minutes a day, it's
better than nothing. I do my elliptical, my stairs, my walk. Afterward I take a
quick shower and start my day.
8:45 A.M.
My list of trusted beauty products is long: Dr. Colbert's serum, Rodin
Olio Lusso Face Oil, and a Boots No. 7 day cream and body cream for hydration.
For my hair, I use a Serge Normant shampoo and conditioner. Or his dry shampoo
and hair oil if my hair is really bad. I have dry hair, so I wash it only once
a week. I also like Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray. For my face, I use Laura
Mercier Tinted Moisturizer, and I'm obsessed with her powder—the very fine one
in a shade called Universal. And I love Lancôme Hypnôse Drama mascara, Givenchy
Light Corrective concealer, Prescriptives black kohl eyeliner for night, my
signature lip gloss from Lancôme, Le Rouge L'Wren, and last but not least,
Rodin Olio Lusso Lip Balm—simply the best.
9:00 A.M.
It usually takes me about 15 minutes to get dressed. I can't overthink
it. It depends on my mood. Like today I'm wearing a gold tweed tailleur with
crazy colors; it just felt right for a fresh, sunny, bright day. If I were in
my office [in London] designing, I would wear black. I hate distracting myself
while I'm designing, because you're working so much on colors and palettes. I
definitely have a work uniform—I go in phases: headmistress dress every day or
a classic shift with a power cardigan. Or I do jeans with a more "rock"
edge. I have a headmistress dress from every season if not two, so you could
probably do the math. It's scary. And I have a lot of sequin sweaters. The
stacks are getting higher. I love to open my cupboards and see the stack of
sparkle in various gradations of color. I have one section in my closet that's
dedicated to paler, cold colors, and the other section is dedicated to more
mad, fun colors. I think a girl always needs a cardigan, and I tend to go for
the sparkles. I have a minimum of 50 embellished cardigans. I'm not a believer
in less is more; I'm sort of a believer in more is necessary. And did I mention
shoes? Oh, my … I've never counted them, but I suppose I have about a hundred
pairs, between my own and the ones I get at the Manolo Blahnik store by my office.
They're scattered between every city I have a home in—London, Paris, and New
York.
9:15 A.M.
I walk to work if I have time. I try not to carry anything, just my one
workbag. (I'm very excited about my Doctor Lady bag right now.) Usually my
first stop is Starbucks, where I get a grande skinny vanilla latte. If I don't
walk, I'll take a cab, and catch up on e-mails and phone calls. I don't
typically travel with other people, but if I'm traveling with a certain
someone, he often might have this group with him … some band or another.
9:30 A.M.
When I get to work, I review my schedule for the day and the week, then
I go over my action list. I turn on some music, and start with my team. I'm
very diverse in my music choices. I listen to everything from jazz to blues,
R&B, classical, reggae—it just depends on how I feel.
1:30 P.M.
My typical lunch is fish and vegetables and potatoes, or pasta if I
order from my local Italian. Otherwise we eat Thai food from a local noodle
bar, the Phat Phuc. My only snack during the day is chocolate—I have a bar
every day.
7:30 P.M.
I leave by 7:30, so I can have my alone time. I like to cook if I have
time. If not, I have someone else cook for me. When I have time to cook, it's
usually Sunday; it's the only day I have off. Often on Saturday I'll work and
catch up. I have a few little dishes, mostly simple Italian food. And I have
this chicken dish—a whole roasted chicken that I baste and marinate for two
hours and cook really slow. It's almost like a spicy kind of jerk chicken.
Sometimes I like to watch TV, though I never get to watch any of the shows in
real time. I'm a fan of Downton Abbey, Boardwalk Empire, and Boss. There's a
British series called Luther, but in England they think a series means four
episodes. And I like Mad Men. Otherwise it's always good to unwind with a book.
10:00 P.M.
I look at lots of things online. I've ordered on Barneys.com,
Net-a-porter.com. I just bought a very cute pair of shoes—actually more than
one—Tabitha Simmons boots, Manolo Blahniks, and Nikes for the gym. I get my
groceries from Fresh Direct. I collect books: art books, first-edition
photography books, lithograph books, architecture books, Cecil Beaton books; I
think I have almost every one of his. I'm quite into interiors too, and like to
look at old Georgian houses. I have different periods of time in architecture,
and I also have a little obsession with gardens. Sometimes I look at old travel
books. If I'm going somewhere in Asia, it's fun to buy an old first-edition
book about someone's adventure traveling to Sri Lanka or somewhere. I like to
read about the kind of mad adventures they had. As for pets, I have a dog named
Star, her son Guinness, and a cat. They're just adopted mutts; I think they
found us, really. They all have a very nice life because they live on an island
where we have a home. I could take pets home everywhere I find them—it's a
nightmare. I should definitely donate money to an animal shelter because I
can't take them all home.
1:00 P.M.
I unwind with a long bath, some reading, and a big piece of chocolate
cake. For the bath, I use Avon Skin So Soft Bath Oil. It's great—you put it in
your bath, as much as you want, and you get out, put on your dressing robe, and
you let it soak in. Your whole body feels incredible.
12:00 A.M.
The most important things in my bedroom are the Egyptian cotton sheets,
a soft pillow, and a firm mattress. I can't predict when I'll go to sleep. If I
need to fall asleep early, I do, and if I stay awake until 2 or 3 in the
morning, I do. My main ritual, especially during manic fashion seasons, is to
take my notebook and write down everything that's on my mind, anything that
will wake me up in the middle of the night. I write it all down and close my
book and know that it's [going to be] done.
“In a silly way, I think it’s what people have expected of me most
because of Carrie Bradshaw,” says Sarah Jessica Parker. But it’s not silly at all, this
idea that the actress-mother-designer-business woman-multi-hyphenate could
launch a serious shoe collection, which is exactly what she’s doing with
partner George Malkemus, the longtime CEO at Manolo Blahnik.
SJP, as it will be called, will be available exclusively at Nordstrom early
next year and will include bags and a few trenches, too.
Of course, the last thing Parker herself or the world at large needs is more
shoes and bags. That’s why her goal is to offer something different, something
more in the vein—aesthetically and price-wise—of great old-school labels like
Charles Jourdan and Maud Frizon.
“We’re putting new colors together that people
don’t typically do, just beautiful combinations that you wish existed in your
closet,” she says. “And in terms of bags, thinking about that period of the
seventies into the eighties, what those women were carrying, taking away the
bells and the whistles and hardware and really making it about the bag.”
In other words, these are not the over-the-top crystals-and-marabou-covered
confections that nearly pushed Carrie into bankruptcy. Single-sole pumps and
flats will range from around $200 to $300, and bags will likely sell for under
$700. Even better: Everything will be produced in Europe and New York City
(though production location for the trenches is still being decided). “Because
I got to play that role, I wore a lot of shoes,” Parker says, “and by default I
learned an enormous amount. It’s hard to”—no pun intended—“walk away from
that.”
