So you read my thinkpiece on aging and said to yourself, “Gee she should’ve just done a cutesy mood board”? Well great news — ever the over-achiever, I did both. Of course, the full breakdown will be for my beloved paid B Listers, but before that, I feel I owe you the truth about something.
Now that I’m 30, I’m entering my Charlotte era.
As a fashion-loving writer in New York, I’ve always aligned with Carrie Bradshaw, for better or for worse. Yes, she’s yappy and vain and insufferable at times, but gosh darnit, so am I! Self-awareness is perhaps the only thing I have that Carrie can’t quite grasp.
Regardless, over the last few years, I’ve inched closer and closer to aligning myself with Charlotte York, and I’m finally ready to commit. (Perhaps this goes without saying, but I’m speaking only of Charlotte from SATC. AJLT Char is not canon.)
Charlotte is beautiful and intelligent. She takes care of herself and enjoys the vanities of fashion and beauty. She loves her job in a creative field, but it’s far from the most interesting thing about her. She is a loyal, kind friend, but she isn’t afraid to challenge their takes at the brunch table — and if she really disagrees, she’ll walk the hell out.
More than this, Charlotte never craved or played into drama. In disagreements, she always sought resolution. In relationships, she yearned for someone who brought peace, not conflict. In friendship, she did her best to support and encourage good decisions.
While her character arc began a bit desperate, I always viewed Charlotte wanting to be a wife and mother as reflective of her loyalty and desire to support someone, and feel supported right back. She knew her worth and fought for it, even when others felt it clashed with her sweet-as-pie persona.
Was she so wrong for knowing exactly what she wanted at all times? Charlotte was a take-no-shit bitch, and she did it all in a girly dress with a fresh blowout. Goals.
My mood board, of course, is not just pictures of Charlotte York — although I pray I do spend my late thirties lounging on a chaise, reading a magazine with my future Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, as pictured.
I’m in my hosting era, my wife era, my health era and so much more. Above all else, I’m entering a long-sought period of balance. I spent my twenties constantly doing too much of one thing or the other, and I’m confident my thirties will be a time for me to take stock of all, and hone my equilibrium.
Let’s break down the board, shall we?
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