This summer it's Sex and our City time

WHEN they exploded on to our screens back in 1998 in a blaze of Chanel-wearing, heel-clicking, sex-fuelled glory, the Sex and the City phenomenon was born.

Since day one, when Sarah Jessica Parker first teetered through Manhattan in that iconic pink tutu and vertiginous heels, the fictional lives of characters Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda were followed by 20 and 30-somethings with zeal.

TV producers had got the ingredients right. There was real, modern female friendship and empowerment. There were toxic bachelors and men who couldn't commit. There were clever, ambitious and successful women. There were fantasy clothes and designer wardrobes. The show soon became the manifesto for life for many young professional women.

It's been four years since the hit series finished in 2004, leaving bereaved fans crying into their cocktails and wondering what will happen to Carrie and Mr Big? Will he do another runner? Will she see the light? Or will there be a happy ever after?

The answers are less than two weeks away, when the highly anticipated movie, which answers all the questions, launches in cinemas on May 28.

Tickets have already been pre-booked at many of the Capital's cinemas, and Edinburgh is playing host to numerous Sex and the City themed events.

The high street is full of limited edition SATC-style dresses and accessories, and beauty houses have launched special make-up ranges. Women throughout the Capital have lapped it up.

"I'm not surprised," says Scottish psychologist Cynthia McVey. "While it looked extreme at the time and some of the storylines were extreme too, it was reflective of society. It reflected the changes in society, but more so the ability of women to have the same rights as men in work and sexual play. It struck a chord with women across the world, as there were these single women who weren't perfect, had flaws and were looking for the same things as all women – love, a career, happiness and great clothes. It was a fantastic television series and very reflective."

PR director Julia Cole, 35, from Leith says. "It was almost empowering and highlighted to women just what is acceptable and is not acceptable, both within personal lives and careers. It may sound extreme, but I think it gave many women the confidence to be just who they wanted to be in life, and to hell with what others thought."

Friends were an intrinsic part of the plot, with the characters relying heavily on this support network.

"You didn't see family and this is a reflection of women who live their lives in big cities, such as London," explains Cynthia. "The old days of seeing your family all the time have long gone. Friends have become extremely important and act as support."

According to Louisa Mackay, a 31-year-old trainee solicitor from South Queensferry, the focus on female relationships and their importance changed many friendships for the better.

"It did encourage us to get closer with our girls. Women had inadvertently seen other women as the competition and judged each other, yet here were these four women leaning on one another," she says.

Sara Cody, 37, an estate agent from Bruntsfield, agrees. "It cleverly tapped into a whole range of modern experiences and issues and explored them," she says.

"Careers today are rarely perfect and we do have to work hard to succeed. The characters highlighted that it wasn't just us and we relaxed because of it. It reminded us that life in your 20s and 30s should be fun, glamorous and full of memories – it doesn't have to be one hard slog."

That's why, according to Cynthia, the show became an international success, clocking up one industry award after another. "We aspired to that lifestyle and we all aspire to glamour," she says.

"In a roundabout way, they had similar social circumstances to many young professional women of today. It was a great bit of fun and escapism."

But Scottish relationship psychologist Alex Gardner isn't so optimistic. He says: "It becomes a model for behaviour. It sends out a different social message and it could be interpreted wrongly. It boils down to respect, and if you lose respect for yourself, others will lose it for you too. If you don't have it, you won't respect others.

"There doesn't seem to be as much forward thinking, and, if this is the case you're heading for a big fall. That is reality."

WHERE TO GO TO BE ONE OF THE GIRLS

EVERYTHING SEXY
The main Summer in the City girls evening on May 21 sold out almost instantly and will include a masterclass in perfumery followed by a three-course dinner in the Harvey Nicols Brasserie and a goody bag.

The store is in talks about hosting a second event, but in the meantime there will be a Sex and the City Cocktail masterclass for £40 per person, inclusive of dinner. This is for private bookings only – call 0131-524 8350. The store is also cutting 20 per cent off all ladies' shoes. Carrie would be delighted

THE EXCLUSIVE SCREENING
In association with Continental Airlines, the New York-inspired hotel Cargo at Fountainbridge is hosting the Edinburgh premiere of Sex and the City on Friday, May 30. Costing £25, fans will be treated to bubbly and canapés at a glitzy reception in Cargo, before walking up the red carpet to an exclusive screening. The hotel is staging an extravagant after-party.

Tickets are selling fast – call 0131-247 7000.

RAISE A GLASS
Montpeliers Bar, Tigerlily, Indigo Yard and Candy Bar have created a range of limited edition cocktails for their Summer in the City events, which run every Saturday to Thursday, from 5-8pm, where cocktails are two for £7.

Or venture to Browns on George Street where the team from Finlandia vodka have teamed up with the bar and created four limited edition cocktails to represent each of the girls.

• Thanks to model Margarita at Stolen Agency. Hair and make-up Christine Forster. Clothes Harvey Nichols.