‘And Just Like That’ Star Sarita Choudhury Thinks Fashion Is a Lot Like Flirting

Sarita Choudhury never plays the damsel in distress, and she doesn’t dress like one, either.

The British actress’s career spans three decades of embodying tenaciously strong women in film and television. Whether she’s playing Lee Moldaver, the hardened antagonist in the post-apocalyptic Fallout series, or flamboyant real estate dynamo Seema Patel on And Just Like That… Choudhury knows how important style and costume design are to a performance.

As Seema, the actress is often seen bedecked in powerful garb from Fendi goddess gowns to Olivia Von Halle silk slips and Ralph Lauren jumpsuits. Over-the-top fashions have become a hallmark of the HBO Max hit, but in a time of overwhelming casualness, there’s still an undeniable allure to seeing women of a certain age standing in their unapologetic truth while standing in sky-high stilettos.

“There’s an outlandish confidence to [Seema’s] style that whenever I go into the costume fitting, I have to adjust myself because she doesn’t think anything is too much, or too loud, or too sexy,” Choudhury exclusively tells InStyle.

“I wore this velvet, leopard [Etro] suit, and it’s something I would never choose, but the way it was cut made me feel like I was strong,” she says of her costumes on Sex and the City spinoff. “That was my favorite because sometimes you’re wearing something that ends up looking amazing, but that doesn’t mean you feel amazing in it, and it can really translate on screen.”

Now heading into the show’s third season, Choudhury has become even more involved not only in Seema’s character’s story arc but her fashion as well. “I feel I can have a little more input now,” Choudhury shares. “I’ve always been asked for input, but it’s taken me a while to give it, and in season three, Seema goes through major changes in her life, and I think you’ll see it in the costumes.”

With the success and killer styles of AJLT, Choudhury has also become a New York fashion plate both onscreen and off. At New York Fashion Week, she can be spotted seated in the front row or walking on the catwalk modeling for designers like Prabal Gurung and Daniella Kallmeyer.

“Well, with Prabal, it was so lovely to meet someone from my side of the world… and it was super exciting to be able to support him,” Choudhury says of the Nepalese-American fashion designer. “And with Daniella from Kallmeyer, she introduced me to my stylist Caitlin Burke, who then would put me in all these looks from the brand, so it became this fabulous thing between us.”

To celebrate the release of the third season of And Just Like That…, InStyle spoke with Choudhury on everything from vintage shopping to why she loves New York—and how fashion is a lot like flirting. Ahead is Sarita Choudhury’s How I Get Dressed. 

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Her Style in Three Words

Chic. Ease. Italian, Indian—I know I cheated.

Where She Shops

If I’m shopping, I’m mostly looking for vintage…even if I’m shopping online. I tend to veer towards French and Italian brands, or when I’m visiting India, there are specific stores I go to. There is a place in Paris, in Le Marais, where I found my favorite Saint Laurent shoes. Love me a Saint Laurent! And in Rome, where I grew up, there’s the Porta Portese market where you can get a vintage cashmere cardigan, old books, and unique pink knee-high socks.

Her Go-To Uniform

It’s a pair of jeans that everyone always asks me about that are really old Levi’. They were given to me by a guy, so you know they have that kind of heavy weight to them. I wear those with a white T-shirt and usually Repetto ballerina slippers.

How Family Has Influenced Her Style

It’s funny, I never thought about [style] in my family, you know, definitely on my British side. I do have a certain reserve, and I love a good collar and an A-line skirt. There’s definitely an influence there. Recently, when I went home to Kolkata, one of my aunties came over, and she was wearing a sari that had a very old look to it, almost like a black and white photo made in red, and she had these thick rim, almost like German intellectual glasses on, and I looked at her, and I was like, “Oh if I wore a sari, I would wear it like her.”

Why She Loves New York

Every city has its thing, and in New York, it’s more about the person you are than the clothes you’re wearing. New York has a real sense of freedom of expression, and you can change who you are or what you wear every year, and no one will judge you. Whereas, in a smaller place, everyone is like, “Who does she think she is? You know?” I don’t feel that here.

Why She Doesn’t Follow Trends

In New York, there are so many people from different countries and backgrounds that it’s not as apparent on the street what a trend is. I can fall in love with a trend without really knowing what it is, but I definitely don’t follow them.

On Working With Her Stylist

Caitlin and I have this running joke, because when we first met, which was over Zoom, I said to her, “Since I’m new to this, do you mind if we keep things to like only one or two emails and only a few choices of dresses because I think I’m going to get overwhelmed?” She laughed and goes, “That’s my dream!” So we kind of stuck to that, and now it’s kind of beautiful working with her because she really watches out for what I like.

On Finding Fashion Inspiration

Fashion comes from the books you read, the art you like, and the way you love and flirt. Like when you flirt, do you like to look at the ease [of someone], or do you like to look [at them] architecturally? I think the same goes for fashion.