‘Sex and the City’ 15th Anniversary: 15 Lessons on Aging Gracefully

If a baby was born the day Sex and the City premiered, she would be just old enough now to rock her first pair of Manolos. That’s because June 6 marks the 15th anniversary of the premiere of Sex and the City. As the series transitions to its teenage years, it’s as culturally relevant as ever, with episodes rerunning almost constantly on cable, speculation about a third film always circulating, and fans quoting Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda daily—that is, when they’re not debating which of the four friends they are most like.

(Or maybe you’re like Shoshanna on Girls, perhaps the most blatant example of Sex and the City’s lasting influence: “I think I’m definitely a Carrie at heart, but sometimes … sometimes Samantha kinds of comes out. And then, when I’m at school, I definitely try to put on my Miranda hat.”)

So in honor of the show’s big birthday, we thought it would be helpful to offer tips on aging gracefully, straight from the foursome themselves.

Don’t be in such a hurry to grow up.

Carrie: “When you’re a teenager, all you want to do is buy beer. But once you hit 30 all you want to do is to get carded.”

Be open to anything.

Samantha: “I’m a trisexual. I’ll try anything once.”

Nothing goes according to plan, and bungled plans only become more common.

Carrie: “I had often fantasized about running into my ex and his wife. But in those fantasies, I was running over them with a truck.”

Dwell all you want, but you may never arrive at a satisfying answer.

Miranda to Carrie, who’s listening to an answering machine message from Big: “We could analyze this for years and never know. I mean, they still don’t know who killed Kennedy.”

Get fired up once in a while. It’s good for you.

Miranda: “Maybe it’s time that I stop being so angry.”

Carrie: “Yeah, but what would you do with all your free time?”

Patience is virtue—a really, painfully difficult-to-deal-with virtue.

Charlotte: “I’ve been dating since I was 15! I’m exhausted! Where is he?”

Don’t hate on the single life too much. Relationships aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.

Maria: “You call this a relationship?”

Samantha: “Well, it’s tedious and the sex is dwindling, so from what I’ve heard, YES!”

Control your spending.

Carrie: “I’ve spent $40,000 on shoes and I have no place to live? I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes!”

The search for your soul mate doesn’t have to be so complicated.

Mr. Big: “After a while, you just want to be with the one that makes you laugh.”

Let your single friends know they’re important, too.

Carrie: “Think about it. If you are single, after graduation there isn’t one occasion where people celebrate you … Hallmark doesn’t make a ‘congratulations, you didn’t marry the wrong guy’ card. And where’s the flatware for going on vacation alone?”

Embrace those close to you. You need them.

Carrie: “The most important thing in life is your family. There are days you love them, and others you don’t. But, in the end, they’re the people you always come home to. Sometimes it’s the family you’re born into and sometimes it’s the one you make for yourself.”

Have a proper grip on reality.

Miranda [buying her wedding dress]: “I said no white, no ivory, no nothing that says virgin. I have a child. The jig is up.”

Remember that getting older has its perks…

Carrie: “The only thing worse that being single and in your 30s in this city is being single and in your 20s.”

…though it’s still best to move on from some things.

Carrie: “So what are we going to do? Sit around bars, sipping Cosmos and sleeping with strangers when we’re 80?”

Finally, we may all just be screwed.

Miranda: “Whatever happened to aging gracefully?”

Carrie: “It got old.”