Behind every suit, skirt and silk tie on “Mad Men,” there’s a story.
The hit show, which will air its final episodes beginning April 5, is
built on minuscule details of the 1960s — a cigarette box here, a set of
TV rabbit ears there — but none more important than the fashions.
Costume designer Janie Bryant has been there from the beginning. Her
choices made the show feel real — even if the actors didn’t always love
looking like they were stuck in the bell-bottoms era.
“They wore things they truly loved, (but) I’m sure they hated some of
them,” says Bryant — specifically referring to a jacket Don Draper wears
in season five.
“Jon (Hamm) probably didn’t like his plaid jacket,” Bryant says. “He
thought it was something that wasn’t traditionally Don Draper.”
But Bryant’s word was always the last one when it came to the outfits.
Here, Bryant tells the Daily News about her 10 favorite looks from the
entire series.
Outfit: Don’s gray suit
Episode: All!
Look: Crisp, perfectly tailored two-button suit with a center pleat on the pants and a like-new white shirt.
Meaning: Leading man Don Draper is a Swinging Sixties
success, but he resists change. That is reflected in his classic gray
suit, which Bryant says she purposely kept the same through all seven
seasons.
“When you think of Superman, you think of the red cape,” says Bryant.
“When you think of Don Draper, you think of the iconic gray suit. His
suit is about masculinity, but it’s also like armor to protect himself
from the world, from others knowing him.”
Outfit: Megan’s little black dress
Episode: Season one, episode five: “A Little Kiss”
Look: Black chiffon mini-dress with billowing sleeves
Meaning: This was the first time anyone on “Mad Men”
had ever worn a minidress — and, of course, it was on Megan, Don’s sexy
second wife. The outfit makes the moment, when Megan performs a
seductive rendition of “Zou Bisou Bisou” at Don’s birthday party,
embarrassing him in front of his colleagues.
“It shows time passing,” says Bryant. “It was very French and simple
and elegant, and hip and chic. That’s Megan.” Bryant knew Megan would be
singing and dancing, so she designed extra-large sleeves to flow and
move with her.
Outfit: Betty’s blue coat
Episode: Season one, episode nine: “Shoot”
Look: A blue cashmere winter coat with wide lapels and cuffed sleeves.
Meaning: When Bryant was designing Betty’s color
palette, she was inspired by Grace Kelly and her own grandmother, both
of whom wore a lot of ice blues, saturated blues, very upper-crust East
Coast fabrics. This coat is Betty’s everyday coat, a costume that Bryant
repeated for Betty through two seasons.
“I found that coat on Magnolia in Burbank and looked inside it,” says
Bryant, “and it was this gorgeous Asian embroidered silk lining. This
was clearly a coat custom-made for someone in the late ’50s. It’s blue
cashmere. What Betty is always trying to portray: perfection.”
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