Mad Men--Mad Style

The Cast of Mad Men

Ok, I know some of you think all I do is watch TV (Dancing with the Stars! Project Runway! Ace of Cakes!) but I just this year got into "Mad Men" after seeing all it's Emmy nominations. I watched one episode and immediately hopped on iTunes to download the entire first season which I proceeded to watch on the treadmill for the next month. What a way to make the time fly by...

But one of the reasons I love it so much is the costuming, which is so completely authentic to 1960: bullet bras, cinched in waists, shirtdresses, plaid wool pleated skirts, Peter Pan collars, bright floral prints, girdles and stockings, dirndl skirts, and ballet flats. The costume designer for the show, Katherine Jane Bryant, builds only about 10% of the dresses. The rest are true-to-life '60s garments found in vintage stores and auctions.

And that's just the women. The men wear these slim-cut suits with skinny ties. Everyone wears a hat when leaving the office. It's amazing!

According to a Cox News Service article, the men's suits are now so popular Bloomingdale's has opened "Mad Men" boutiques in some of it's stores, featuring guys like Michael Kors and Peter Som, who are designing entire lines of the new slim suits for men.

The authenticity threads through the entire show, tho, not just the costumes. Betty orders tomato juice as an appetizer before dinner in a restaurant. Everyone smokes, all the time, even the doctors. She defrosts her tiny little refrigerator freezer by putting a bowl of boiling water in it. Her daughter runs around playing "Spaceman" with a dry-cleaning bag over her head, and Betty chastizes her for taking the bag off her clean clothes--no worries here about the kid suffocating! It's fascinating to watch, whether you lived through the '60s or not.

It's on AMC Sunday nights at 10:00 p.m. Take a look:

Love those dirndl skirts
Joan, the secretary. She has boobs that could kill.
The delicious Don Draper. If this doesn't make you want to watch the show, nothing will.