Fashion Expert Fact Checks Mad Men's Wardrobe | Glamour

this is Betty Draper this is Joan Holloway and this is Peggy Olsen you know them from Mad Men you know this look and this look and this look but are they accurate we got this fashion historian hi I'm Raisa Britannia and I'm a fashion historian to fact-check the fashion in madmen first let's establish a setting madman is set in New York City in the 1960s specifically on Madison Avenue in midtown Manhattan we begin season one in March 1960 and season seven wraps in November 1970 giving us a full decade of excellent fashion the 1960s are widely heralded as the Golden Age of advertising this time in the ad industry is characterized by creativity and brand innovation as well as sexism racism alcoholism and incessant chain-smoking as we see in the show women were very much part of the advertising workforce though many of them were relegated to the secretarial pool like Peggy there were some very prominent female copywriters who largely contributed to advertising in this era they were mostly relegated to feminine products like cosmetics and household items just as the show's characters do in the world of advertising Mad Men sells a very distinctive brand of visual style that's become iconic in its own right Mad Men is a master class in character study visually communicating each character's motivations before they even utter a line costume designer Janie Bryant developed a specific formula for each of her leading ladies that remains more or less consistent throughout the entire series she created a signature style for each character through consistency of silhouette and color palette so the costumes themselves are not necessarily inaccurate but they are highly stylized versions of 1960s fashionable dress that creates a greater visual impact on television let's get into the looks first ups Betty Draper when we first meet Betty Draper she is the quintessential mid-century housewife and exhibits suburban style in polished American sportswear the consistent elements that make up the look of Betty Draper are the fit and flare silhouette and the cool color palette which emphasizes her Glacial demeanor for example cool blues whites pastel pinks and other neutral tones for the first half of the series Betty Draper's clothes more closely resemble 1950s styles and it just goes to show that just because we're officially in the 60s now it doesn't mean people just throw out everything in their closets from the previous decade furthermore at the continuation of the 1950 Styles emphasizes those stereotypical values and gender roles that took place during that era we see the evolution of Betty's character when she transitions from the role of housewife when she's married to dawn to the role of political wife when she's married to Henry Francis so fittingly her style icon goes from Grace Kelly to Jackie Kennedy time to break this look down first the undergarments at one point we see Betty wearing a longline bra which is a brassiere with an extended panel beneath it to help control the torso the bra cups are pointed in the bullet bra style which is a holdover from the 1950s a high waist girdle would be worn and would meet the long line at the waist shapewear was absolutely essential when it came to accurately conveying the styles of this era Betty would likely also be wearing nude pantyhose so these undergarments are totally accurate moving on to the next layer to achieve such a voluminous skirt she would likely be wearing at least one petticoat or crinoline next is your dress the crisp cotton shirt dress is the uniform of the mid-century suburban housewife this dress was washable wearable comfortable and practical this garment could either be a single dress or a separate blouse and skirt combination that coordinated and was unified by a belt we do see Betty in both variations the fit and flare silhouette was highly feminine and we do see Betty wear it in both day wear and evening wear sometimes in delicate floral prints Betty's look is always pristine and put together and that could be in part due to technological advancements in textiles wrinkle resistant fabrics like Dacron or Sanford cotton really cut down on the need for ironing and figured prominently into advertising campaigns moving on to the coat in early seasons Betty wears a royal blue swing coat this would have been made of wool and would have flowed away from the body in order to accommodate a full skirt later when she leaves the hospital with baby Jean we see her in a chic pink pea coat with a stand collar very similar to this one from Glamour these types of coats in the 1960s often came with a detachable fur collar then the next layer Betty upholds the 1950s tradition of ensemble dressing which means your purse your shoes and your gloves all match handbags during this era often had top handles and kiss lock closures a woman of her status could be carrying an urn Eze Kelly bag which Grace Kelly made famous in 1954 when she used it to try to shield her body to hide her pregnancy it's a timeless design that's still fashionable today it's in this time period that we start to see stilettos because of technological advancements which allowed for skinnier heels supported by steel rods prior to that heels were typically made of stacked wood or other materials that did not permit for such a slender silhouette and now the jewelry for daytime Betty would probably be wearing a simple pair of pearl clip-on earrings or else a novelty pair of feather-light plastic earrings for evening she wears matching sets of costume jewelry many of which we see throughout the seasons although dawn does gift her with fine jewelry in season one finally the hair and makeup Betty's signature hairstyle closely resembles that worn by Grace Kelly in the mid 1950s to achieve this look she either gets her hair set professionally at a salon or we also see her wearing curlers at home to complement her hair her makeup is also soft and feminine which upholds the beauty standards of the previous decade so here's what Betty's outfit would have looked like compared to the original pretty much the same next stops Joan Holloway who represented the ideal body type of the late 1950s her character style is modeled after such bombshells as Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren let's get into the layers first the undergarments the key to Joan Holloway's Vava voom silhouette was shapewear because of how closely her clothes are fitted Joan would likely be wearing an all-in-one or Merry Widow style foundation garment this garment prioritized smooth streamlined silhouettes which is the hallmark of the Joan look these undergarments would have incorporated lycra or spandex which was invented by DuPont in 1959 and revolutionized the undergarment industry in interviews with costume designer Janie Bryant she often cites real vintage undergarments as contributing to Joan's look throughout the 1950s and 60s the fashionable bustline was the lifted and separated looks with pointed conical cups Joan would also be wearing stockings or pantyhose to the office next the slips we see Joan wearing a full black slip here so this is accurate moving on to the dress Jones character exhibits perhaps the most consistent style formula throughout the series this consisted of tightly fitted dresses with short or elbow-length sleeves in rich jewel tones we can see variations on the Joan Holloway uniform in these examples although Jones style comes off as rather provocative on television she actually dresses rather conservatively with higher necklines and longer sleeves for the office these dresses are usual a solid saturated color but sometimes incorporate a small bow or other design detail to create visual interest Joan's uniform of body-hugging sheath dresses were mostly made of wool and all had an emphasized waistline to really show off her hourglass figure they were called wiggle dresses because he kind of had to wiggle when you walked in them these dresses are highly stylized in that they're just a little bit tighter and a little bit brighter than what would typically be worn and did the shoes Joan would also wear a pointed pump in a neutral color or one that coordinates with her outfit now for the jewelry Joan usually wears Gold's clip-on earrings that coordinate with a gold brooch pinned at the neckline close to one shoulder perhaps the most iconic aspect of Joan's look is her pen necklace which is a true vintage item that Janie Bryant found at a flea market this tiny detail helps signify her position of authority within the secretarial pool it helps to show that above all she is extremely capable and always prepared for the duties of her job interestingly she also tends to wear long gold necklaces of similar scale in her evening wear looks as well finally hair and makeup for the majority of the series Joan wears variations on that distinctive 1960s beehive hairstyle here we see an updo of stacked curls and a lot of volume which would have required extensive teasing it's not until the very end of this series in season 7 that we see her signature hairstyle loosen up a bit overall her makeup is rather understated she tends to wear rosier tones to compliment her copper hair Joan's personal style reflects the ideals of the 1950's which makes sense because that's probably the decade when she came of age and discovered her signature look so here's what Joan's outfit would have looked like compared to the show again basically the same now let's break down Piggy's look Peggy undergoes the most dramatic transformation of the course of the series she is the youngest character and you can watch her come of age and discover her own personal style between season 1 and season 7 this is a decade of rapidly changing fashion but we actually get to see the slow progression through Peggy's costumes in the earlier seasons Peggy's palette is made up of dull mossy greens and warm mustard tones Peggy's earlier look when she first joined Sterling Cooper is all parochial plaids and pleats which really give off a young schoolgirl vibe this is further emphasized by her Peter Pan collars and her curly ponytail you want to be taken seriously stop dressing like a little girl later her signature plaids become bolder in color and in scale until eventually she transitions into vibrant stripes and geometric prints by season 7 by then she becomes one of the more fashion-forward people in the office when she adopts the new fashionable 1960s silhouette of the trapeze or a line let's get into the layers first the undergarments we see Peggy wearing a white bra which is probably by Playtex an account that she worked on while she was at Sterling Cooper are you aware that I'm on the Playtex account what about it in the 1960s Playtex debuted the cross your heart style which emphasized the lifted and separated ideal Peggy as the type of girl would wear a sensible pair of white cotton bra and panties throughout the series she wears nude pantyhose to the office but later when she finds her style in season 7 it could turn into a brighter color of pantyhose which was pioneered by British designer Mary Quant we see her wearing bright orange pantyhose in a season 7 promotional photos next her slit in one scene we see that Peggy wears a short half slip and seemingly no girdle moving on to the dress by the time Peggy develops a modern sense of style we see her sporting the fashionable a line silhouette in either drop waist or trapeze styles garments like this float away from the body and were less restrictive in later seasons we see her sporting a shorter hemline not quite a miniskirt but getting close in this dress that she wears for an important pitch we see bold stripes that mimic the fashionable color blocking in Maude fashions though not necessarily worn in the office the miniskirt was invented in the 60s by British designer Mary Quant the asymmetrical neckerchief on this dress is a nod to Peggy's favorite design element as we can see throughout the series Peggy loved doneck bow also notable is the more vibrant shade of grain that she wears which really shows her character development over the arc of the series this dress is very accurate and very fashionable next up the hat and coat at one point we see Peggy wearing a youthful white halo hat much like the one on the January 1960 cover of glamour this could be paired with a boxing mod coat now for the shoes and purse in the later 1960s lower blockier heels became more fashionable square toes began to replace pointed toes and sometimes shoes incorporated a mary-jane style strap this was the era of the youthquake when fashion began to cater to the younger generation by this point of the series Peggy is a serious working woman and often carries a serious working bag and then the next layer Peggy's jewelry isn't especially distinctive but she likely would have been wearing a simple set of clip-ons that were either a pearls or a cluster she also regularly wears a wristwatch with a simple thin band now for the hair and makeup Peggy's hair is central to her characters transformation she begins the series with short bangs in a long curly ponytail which essentially keep her trapped in the 1950s and in her schoolgirl style however one of her colleagues cuts her hair at the end of season two and we finally see the transformation from the naive schoolgirl to the ambitious career woman from season 3 on we see variations on shorter hairstyles for Peggy many incorporate teased volume at the crown and the very fashionable flip her short bangs become side swept and frame her face Peggy accurately depicts the variations and fashionable hairstyles during this period over the course of the series we see that Peggy's beauty regimen also becomes more polished the clothes themselves are accurate but what's more accurate is the idea that one's personal style would evolve over the period of 10 years if we want to see Peggy's style journey all we have to do is look at day 1 Peggy and this perhaps the most iconic me mobile moment of the show so here's what Peggy's outfit would have looked like compared to the one in the show as iconic as each individual character may be it's actually in the juxtaposition of characters on screen that we see how effective this costuming formula is in creating different personas while it was on the air madmen inspired fashion showed up on the runways of Michael Kors and Prada most notable were the official collaborations that the show did with Brooks Brothers and Banana Republic these collaborations capitalized on the show's affiliation with style and extended the visual reach of the show's brand this is just one example of how period films and television shows can have a profound influence on contemporary fashion when it comes to reviving vintage styles from the past there's a general rule ten years ago ugly 20 years ago hideous but 50 years ago fabulous so as you can see the outfits and madmen are pretty much totally accurate [Music]

Channel: Glamour

Views: 722,650

Rating: 4.957387 out of 5

Keywords: fashion fact check, mad men, mad men 50s style, mad men clothing, mad men costumes, mad men fashion, mad men style, mad men suits, mad men wardrobe, would they wear that, don draper style, fashion expert mad men, fashion historian mad men, betty draper style, 1960s fashion, 1960s style, don draper fashion, peggy olson style, women of mad men, janie bryant, janie bryant mad men, joan halloway style, womens fashion 60s, 60s fashion, glamour, glamour magazine

Id: O5qDIWBnbwU

Length: 17min 12sec (1032 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 25 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/j_cruise]

I love this series!

[u/bobbyb8484]

Roger best dressed hands down