Sarah Jessica Parker's Divorce Character Has a Much More Practical Look Than Carrie Bradsh…

You won’t find any crazy, Carrie Bradshaw-esque outfits on Frances, the character Sarah Jessica Parker plays in her new HBO comedy, Divorce. In fact, Frances is a very different person than the one Parker inhabited for six years on Sex and the City (and its subsequent movies). But when the actress decided to return to episodic television for the same time since her first HBO hit, she didn’t consciously decide to play someone so dissimilar to her famous role.

“I don’t think that we actually talked a lot about trying to make her different,” she told reporters at the 2016 Television Critics Association summer press tour. “I think this story is different. I was always interested in the story of marriage, that’s how this all started.”

She added, “I think Frances was so much her own person from the moment I read the pilot. She was so distinct from not only Carrie but any other character I have ever played.”

In Divorce, Parker plays a woman who tries to make a fresh start when she realizes she’s unhappy in her marriage. She’s a typical suburban working mother, and the only conscious thought to distinguish between Frances and Carrie was with Frances’ look. “The only time that we really were cognizant of distinction was when we started talking about the wardrobe,” she said.

That doesn’t mean Frances doesn’t have her own aesthetic—it’s just a more practical one.

“Early on, there was this desire on my part, which I shared with my colleagues, that I really wanted to think about ’70s cinema. …So when we met with [costume designer Arjun Bhasin] and I talked about this idea, he was very keen to explore it,” Parker revealed.

“So actually pretty much everything Frances wears is used, whether it’s from Etsy, vintage, thrift shops along the Northeast corridor, it’s a very specific idea about somebody who has an aesthetic that will be revealed more over the season. …Fashion doesn’t dictate.”

“She has to dress. For the most part it’s required by law when you walk into your place of work to be dressed,” she joked. “Everything is utilitarian. I think you see it in everything, in [Thomas Haden Church‘s character], in our children’s clothing. The family is sort of isolated in a period without it being a period piece. It was important. We thought a lot about that.”

Divorce premieres on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 10 p.m., followed by the series premiere of Issa Rae’s comedy Insecure.