Women of 'Sex and the City' show there is fashion life after 40

NEW YORK -- There's a telling scene early in "Sex and the City 2" when 52-year-old Samantha, played by 53-year-old Kim Cattrall, spots a gold, beaded bustier minidress that she thinks will be perfect for a big red-carpet moment.

The saleswoman is the first doubter. "Is it maybe a little young?" she asks.

Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda have fashion confidence like few others -- on film or in real life. But the sequined armor these women wear along with their microminis, harem pants and stiletto heels suffers a few chinks over one issue: Do they dress their age?

Samantha's friends question the minidress, too. But an even more important movie moment is when Samantha rocks the dress, putting conventionalists and teenager Miley Cyrus, who is on the same red carpet in the same dress, in their place.

Throughout the movie the posse parades around in the most au courant clothes, seemingly not deterred at all by the fact that designers often use lithe, lean teenage runway models as muses instead of the 40-plus successful shopaholics the characters now represent.

In this film publicity image released by Warner Bros., Sarah Jessica Parker is shown in a scene from "Sex and the City 2." (AP Photo/Warner Bros, Craig Blankenhorn)

Some of the outfits are knockouts and incredibly flattering -- like the pleated, flame-colored sundress worn by Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) on the beach, and the plunging V-neck gown with metallic studs worn by Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) to a wedding -- but there also are the misses.

It shouldn't be assumed, though, that Charlotte's (Kristin Davis) dorky strapless candy-cane get-up or Carrie's ill-conceived logo-T-and-poufy-ballskirt combination would look any better on a 25-year-old.

"I think it's all about where the individual is in what they are comfortable and confident wearing," said accessories designer Brian Atwood, who crafted two pairs of 6-inch heels for Carrie's closet, including studded, purple-suede peeptoes. "I don't like to dictate boundaries to anyone. I think it's the whole package. I've seen older women in their '80s-style rhinestone jackets with short miniskirts, but anyone would look ridiculous in that."

A chic, sophisticated stiletto is another story, Atwood said. "Some women just like high heels. They help give you great legs and they give you height. Women like how they feel in heels and what it projects."

Charla Krupp, author of the books "How Not To Look Old" and "How To Never Look Fat Again," draws a sharp line between fashion-forward and trashy. Tops that are too low cut, skirts that are too short, dresses that are too tight are fashion don'ts -- period, Krupp said.

But, she notes, the reality of getting older is that what's considered the appropriate neckline or hemline is indeed a little more covered up.

"You don't want to be so obvious. I'm not saying you can't be sexy when you're older -- Sarah Jessica Parker succeeds in this, and so does the Miranda character," Krupp said. "They are classy, grown-up, sophisticated and sexy women. What you don't want is to look like you raided daughter's closet."