Cynthia Nixon: Shoes, Style, and "Sex and the City"

She was always the practical one.

The lawyer. The voice of reason.

Ask Cynthia Nixon  — a.k.a. "Sex and the City's" Miranda – a frivolous question and she loves it as much as Miranda adored slipping into her skinny jeans.

Hey, you can only be serious for so long.

I ask her to describe her favorite pair of go-to shoes and you have expect her to say a sensible pair of black ballet flats.

Wrong!

"My favorite from my own personal shoe collection?" mulls over the lovely Cynthia Nixon on a warm day in New York. "I have a pair of black Manolo Blahnicks with an open toe.

"I just think that they look elegant and I can wear them with anything," she says.

But don't they kill her toes while walking around the streets of Manhattan?

Her tip for your tootsies:

"The key to a great pair of shoes is that you never stop breaking them in. Mine are so broken in that they're very comfortable. And they're not stilettos. They have a fairy skinny heel," she muses. "You just wear the shoes until they give in."

It turns out that Nixon, an accomplished stage and screen star, has a few other style and life lessons:

A FEW STYLE AND LESSONS I LEARNED FROM CYNTHIA NIXON:

*You can love fashion, but not speak the language.

Nixon says that playing Upper Eastside mover and shaker Miranda on TV and in two "SATC" films changed her life, except in one way. "I still can't talk in fashion lingo," she says. "I mean a little rubs off, but not a lot." In other words, you like that great black skirt, but can't pronounce the designer name. 

*It's okay to admit that you can't afford the lavish clothes you see on your TV faves.

"I don't think women have the freedom that they had when the show was on. They're not as likely to go out and spent their money willy-nilly. We've moved past that as a cultural moment. But I also think as the women of 'Sex and the City' have gotten a bit older, they've moved past the crazy spending, too."

*Cheekbones are your friend – Your BFF.

During the press tour for "Sex and the City 2," Nixon looked gorgeous. She got a little assist from Orlane Crème Royale Eye Contour with 24K gold. Her makeup artist used the eye cream on her cheekbones as a highlighter. Her eye shadow choices in the last film: Estee Lauder No. 1 in Mocha combined with Nars Taiga green

*Truthfulness is a great accessory.

Ask Nixon Miranda's biggest strengths and she says, "I love her truthfulness and loyalty. She's very quick to speak her mind if she thinks that someone is doing something that's bad for her or bad for themselves. Her alarm system goes off very quickly." She adds, "I also think that is her weakness. She leaps to conclusions. She's very quick to jump the gun. She might have gone through a lot less heartache in her relationships had she not reacted so quickly."

*Tears are never in style – especially when you reach midlifer status.

 Nixon points out a scene in the first "SATC" film when Carrie and Miranda have a fight.

 "Sarah Jessica Parker and I knew that two lifelong girlfriends at a certain age don't have reconciliations that are all tearful and chocked up. These are two friends who have known each other for long enough that they're at a level of maturity where they're calm about their issues. You get to an age where you just don't scream at each other and storm off. You work it out. You know you're going to work it out – so you just give a little bit."

"Nothing is more beautiful than when you think your friend is mad at you and then you see her smile."

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