And Just Like That Is Back — And We Need To Talk About Carrie's New Hat

And Just Like That... kicked off Season 3 this week, and we have plenty of questions about Carrie and Aidan's relationship. But mostly, we have questions about Carrie's new hat.

In the premiere, Carrie took a leisurely walk through New York City's Washington Square Park with her pal Seema, chatting about the men in their lives. But we have to admit: We didn't hear most of what they were saying, because we were too busy gawking at the monstrosity perched on top of Carrie's head.

It's just so... big. Inexplicably big. Is it a new take on the "Urban Sombrero," invented by Seinfeld's Elaine Benes? Is it even a hat at all, really? Did Carrie get dressed in the dark and just throw a cat bed intended for her new kitty Shoe on top of her head and head out into the Manhattan streets? Perhaps Carrie and Seema were planning to have a picnic later, and Carrie decided to keep the picnic blanket wrapped safely around her head until it was needed.

To make things even more bizarre, the hat was not mentioned at all in the scene, either by Seema or by a confused passerby. How could it not be?? We can only assume that the scenes where strangers reacted loudly and violently to Carrie's choice of headwear were left on the cutting room floor.

We don't have any answers, but thankfully, Entertainment Weekly does: They tracked down Carrie's hat online, and it's called "Head in the Clouds" from designer Maryam Keyhani. (Retail price: a very reasonable 450 euros.) "I love that hat," star Sarah Jessica Parker tells EW, adding that she feared showrunner Michael Patrick King "would have a legitimate issue with it, but he was quite open."

King refers to the hat moment as an "acute shock of accessory," but he concedes: "It's perfect, as if some beautiful fashionable Hindenburg suddenly dropped on her head. And she kept going because she thought it looked cute."

Parker insists, though, that the hat is "very light. All of that is just linen that's got some stuffing in it to keep a shape... It's like a soufflé. It's substance and yet no weight."

Where does Carrie's new hat rank among Sex and the City's boldest fashion choices? Give us your take in the comments below.