Sarah Jessica Parker: Fashion, Mommy-hood and How She Does It

A few years ago, I was doing interviews at a gorgeous Ritz Carlton outside of Los Angeles and a woman sat down on a nearby bench in the beautiful gardens.

She was tall, thin, and had this amazing mass of wavy curls. She was also a little bit shy.

"Beautiful day," said Sarah Jessica Parker who wasn't Carrie Bradshaw chic.

Instead, she was in jeans and a striped shirt. Instead of her trademark sky-high Manolos, she was wearing worn, furry Uggs that had some New York miles on them. Parker was having a moment before doing some press for a movie.

When you run into her in New York on the streets, which isn't that hard to do, it's the same down to earth, working mother jeans and a T-shirt under a short parka most of the time. On one hip is a twin and her other hand is reaching for her other girl.

She could be any other mom in the park, except for one thing. What tips it off that she's a movie star is the big sunglasses and that megawatt smile.

Sarah Jessica Parker is one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, but she also has this down to earth charm that's her biggest style asset.

Her new movie is called "I Don't Know How She Does It" where she plays a harried working mother who tries to do it all – and do it all well.

That's a subject that didn't require much rehearsal. "I have three children," Parker tells me. She doesn't have help at nights. "It's the most wonderful thing in the world just to have a night at home with our kids. We just can shut out the rest of the world and know it's just us."

A VERY STYLISH MAMA

In real life and on the big screen, it's all about motherhood for Parker. Her son James Wilkie is eight. Twin daughters Marion and Tabitha were born via surrogate in June of 2009.  You might have heard of her husband….Matthew Broderick.

Her new film, opening Friday, is based on the novel by Allison Pearson.

She plays Kate Reddy, a financial executive, who must juggle her harried work life with an equally chaotic home life that includes a recently downsized architect husband (Greg Kinnear) and two kids.  

Kate doesn't have a moment to breathe. She must deal with laundry, packing lunches, and paying bills while making sure that everyone is healthy and happy. A new account forces Kate to make business trips with associate Jack Abelhammer (Pierce Brosnan) who provides new temptations.

"I know this film will strike a chord in women everywhere who face the same juggling every single day," Parker says. "It's all about dealing with the triumphs of making it work and dealing with the failures because there just aren't enough hours in one day."

"You also have to realize that you can't be perfect," she says.

SARAH THE FASHION ICON

Since playing the fabulous Carrie Bradshaw on "Sex and the City" and the two films, Parker has cemented her status as a fashion icon. She has her own perfumes, plus there was a clothing line and her work with Halston.

She has been seen around the globe wearing every major designer from Chanel to Dior and back again.

One wonders: Did she keep the clothing from the series?

"I do have a lot of the outfits," she says. "But I'm not like a lunatic or a crazy person about them. I don't wear them in my life. They're archived.

"We needed all of them to go back in that closet for the films. Some had been given away or sold," she says. "I did always have a dream that someday I'd look at those clothes with my daughter." 

She says fashions have evolved as the SATC women have aged.

"The women are older and they're not on the market in the same way romantically speaking," Parker says. "But here is definitely a connective tissue between where they left off and where they are now.

"Patricia Field is a great storyteller through clothes. She also understands eye candy," she says.

There is one accessory that no one can touch. Carrie Bradshaw's laptop is actually at the Smithsonian.

 "Yes, I had to call the Smithsonian and ask for my laptop and my desk back to do the movies," she says. "I had to promise I would return it in great condition. I guess it's a pretty popular piece of history." 

READ OTHER STYLE GOES STRONG EXCLUSIVE CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

The Biggest Loser Weight Loss Secrets

"Desperate Housewives" Beauty Secrets

Rachel Zoe Fall Fashion Tips

Dara Torres: Beauty Secrets and Jumping Into the Midlifer Pool

Jackie Collins Beauty Secrets and Her New "Lucky" Book