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How to Dress for a "Mad Men" Party

If you've been invited to a Mad Men themed party, you'll probably want to dress in a style based upon the show's first season or two, which were set in 1960 and 1962. Clothes from those years were so glamorous, and are lots of fun. Sorry guys, but this post is just for the gals!

What should you wear? A glamourous full skirted dress in an evening fabric will do. Here are pictures of several styles in brocade, chiffon, satin, and taffeta. Colors are clear and bright, black, white, or metallic brocades.

A skirt with a bit less flair, or a fitted sheath also works. A fitted dress should be jazzed up with lots of jewelry.

Beaded sweaters or cropped jackets, sometimes with fur trim, can be worn over the dress if it is a cool evening. Swing coats and fur stoles are also appropriate.

Lots of sparkly rhinestone jewelry is appropriate, in necklaces, bracelets, brooches and earrings.

Shoes should be spike or kitten heels with pointed toes.

In makeup, go for a strong defined brow line, black eyeliner and heavy mascara, and a strong lip color. Hair is either pulled back tight to the head with a chignon, or teased high with a flip at the ends.

Most of all, have fun, and have a martini!

Mad Men Season 4 Fashion Prediction

Season 4 of Mad Men starts this Sunday, July 25 on AMC!!! If you love Mad Men as much as I do, you've been dying for any and all details, but this year AMC is keeping a tight lid on things. I guess even the cast doesn't know what will happen until they show up for rehearsal. If we assume that things will pick up right where they left off with Don starting his own agency, then the show will be set in 1964 this year. Mon dieu, I only have 2 magazines from 1964 in my collection. That is a situation I must correct! In the meantime, I thought I'd give you a taste of what was going on in fashion in 1964, so you have an idea of what to expect from Betty, Joan, and all the gals.

In 1964, the sheath dress reigns supreme. Full skirted styles are completely gone from fashion magazines, and I think they will play less of a role on the show this year. Even though fashion magazines don't show them, it takes a couple of years for real women to catch up, so I'm sure we'll see one or two, especially on Betty.

You may see some pleated styles, but those skirts will not be worn with crinolines.

The look is simple and elegant with less emphasis on the waist. Expect to see dresses that skim the body from shoulder to hem. Blouson bodices over fitted skirts are also popular.

Architectural seaming was made popular by Jackie Kennedy. Expect to see influences from her fashion sense on the show this year, especially on Betty.

Tailored garments with simple lines will also point to Jackie's ongoing influence.

Cowl necklines, stand-away collars, and rolled collars are very popular, as are abstract prints. Keep in mind, however, that you probably wont' see many hats on the show this year. Even though magazines are still showing them, younger women like Betty, Joan, and Peggy consider them old fashioned by 1964.

Suits are important, with boxy jackets over slim skirts.

Expect to see lots of pretty blouses worn with skirts or slim pants...

....and kitten heeled shoes!

Evening gowns will have simple cuts with empire or raised waistlines. Hair is becoming pouffier and we might see some blue eyeshadow or pale lipstick.....maybe.

Be patient through the commercial at the beginning. It's worth it!

Mad Men Predictions - How'd I Do? Part 2

Back in August, I made predictions about what our favorite Mad Men characters would be wearing in Season 3. So, how did I do? Here is my prediction post about Hair and Makeup.

In 1963, we start to see bigger, bouffant hairstyles, and I predicted that Joan would be the early adapter of those styles. Wrong!

While Joan's hairstyle did get a big bigger at the back...

...it was Betty who blew us away with this 'do on her trip to Rome!

Peggy wears a flipped bob all season, but what is with the center part in her bangs?? Is she growing them out?

Betty wears the same flipped bob with so much more sophistication, doesn't she?

Two of my favorite fashion moments this season came from less important characters. Margaret gets married on the day of Jack Kennedy's funeral, which really puts a damper on the festivities. Her gown was gorgeous, but it was her stunning feathered headpiece that blew me away.

My choice for the best dressed woman this season? Annabelle Mathis, dog food heiress who comes to visit old flame Roger Sterling in hopes of rekindling that romance. Roger turns her down, but boy does Annabelle know how to dress! We see her in a black sequined dress when she has dinner with Roger, and a black suit with ocelot fur trim later in the episode. Unfortunately, there are no still shots of Annabelle's clothes, but you can see her in what appears to be a Chanel suit in this short clip from Episode 11.

Although I thought Season 3 was quite boring for the first 5 episodes, it really took off in episode 6 when the English executive gets his foot cut off with the riding lawn mower. And the finale has me very excited about season 4. Let's hope we don't have to wait too long!

Mad Men Predictions - How'd I Do?

Back in August, I made some predictions about what we would see our favorite Mad Men characters wearing for 1963. Season 3 of Mad Men is now a wrap, so how did my predictions pan out?

I said that while fashion was becoming a bit looser fitting in 1963, Joan would stick with her body-hugging styles, and she did, but mainly because as a newly married woman with a medical student husband, she had no money to spend on new clothes. I missed Joan's character a lot this season and I'm so glad to see she'll be back in full force for season 4.

My prediction post

Joan wore this rose applique dress when hosting a dinner party.

And this was the dress she wore on her last day of work at Sterling Cooper.

I said that Peggy would continue to wear what she was comfortable in, and she did stay stuck in her ubiquitous shirtdresses, sweaters, and skirts. My predictions for what she might wear were wrong, as she is not a fashion forward kind of a gal. If she wears one more bow, though, I might scream. I really liked the way Peggy stood up for herself in the finale when Don offered her a job with his new company. Let's hope her wardrobe will break out next year.

My prediction post

Peggy continued to wear sweet blouses with bows.

And blouses with wool plaid skirts.

Peggy did wear one suit this year, and I want to see more of this!

Betty spent the first few episodes of this season in maternity clothes, some of which were very pretty. She then went straight to very fitted body conscious dresses, as I predicted she would. Will Betty go through with the divorce? It will be very interesting to see where the writers take her character.

My prediction post

Betty wore this white pleated dress, which was very similar to one I picked for her.

Betty wore this tight floral dress when she met with Henry at the cafe.

I missed on this one, as we saw Betty wear super tight pants with sweaters several times.

Betty wore this gorgeous aqua and gold evening gown to Don's award dinner.

And this brocade suit with white mink collar to Margaret's wedding.

More tomorrow!

Mad Men Fashion Oops!

Yesterday, Gladys asked a question about a possible wardrobe faux pas in Sunday's episode of Mad Men. In a scene where Peggy is shown hand washing her lingerie, there is a pair of pantyhose on a drying rack. I didn't watch the episode until last night, but I had my camera ready, just in case. And Gladys, you were right!!!

Here is Peggy in her kitchen hand washing her lingerie.

And, in a close-up shot, we very clearly see a pair of pantyhose that would not have existed in 1963. No way, no how. In doing my research for this post, I found that this is not the first time Peggy has been seen with pantyhose. In season 2, we see her actually putting on a pair of pantyhose in one episode. Big mistake, Mad Men costume department! Peggy would have been wearing either a girdle or garter belt with stockings, and that is what should have been shown on the drying rack.

It is commonly aknowledged that pantyhose were invented in 1959 by Allen Gant of Glen Raven Mills. However, while they may have been invented that early, they were still in development and were not in production at this time. I returned again to my stack of fashion magazines to search for ads for pantyhose. All the ads for lingerie show stockings worn with girdles through 1965.

It is not until 1966, when skirt lengths are getting shorter, that we see ads for tights in patterns. They were thick, heavy, and did not stay up well.

Women also resorted to wearing ballet tights by Danskin with their shorter skirts as a way to avoid showing stocking tops and garters.

It is not until 1969, that we see a new product called "bodyhose" by Round-the-Clock. However, even these were not pantyhose. Bodyhose was a body shaper.....

...with replaceable stockings that come up high and have an elastic top. They slipped under the panty edge of the shaper and did not require garters, but they are not pantyhose.

Again in 1969, Hanes has a two page ad with "The Fall of the Garter" as a big headline. They introduced the "Panty Pair", which was a two way stretch panty with separate stockings. You put on the stockings first, then slipped the panty on over them to hold them up. Close, but not pantyhose.
It is not until the early 70's that we see ads for actual pantyhose. As the industry grew, prices dropped and women became less concerned about throwing away the entire garment when you got a run in just one leg.

So there you have it. The pair of pantyhose on Peggy's drying rack is indeed an error. And if the costume department of Mad Men thought we wouldn't notice, they were wrong!

1963 Fashion for Mad Men - Hair and Makeup

This will be the final installment in my series on actual fashions from 1963 as inspiration for Mad Men. I'm so glad you've enjoyed it! It's been a lot of fun for me. Mad Men Season 3 premieres Sunday night at 10pm on AMC. Don't miss it!

In 1963, we begin to see "big hair" and a definite change in makeup. Of the three main female characters, I would expect Joan to be the early adapter of these styles.

Jackie Kennedy's bouffant do is the hairstyle of the time. We see all kinds of variations, with pageboy flips, lots of teasing, and height on top of the head. Hairstyles are held in place with lots of aerosol hairspray.

The bubble hairstyle also continues to be popular, but with more height.

For evening, hair becomes very elaborate and tall. Women use rats, falls, and even wigs to accomplish the look.

One has to wonder how much her head weighs with all that hair!

Makeup starts to change radically at this time. Revlon has a brand new product - powder blush. The emphasis moves from a strong brow and lip to a strong eye. Red lipstick is now passé. Lighter pinks rule.

Thick eyeliner and lots of mascara are used on eyes now. False eyelashes start to show up for evening. Light blue eyeshadow is just around the corner.

Brows are still very groomed, but are no longer "drawn on" with heavy brow makeup.

I would like to thank Vix for sharing this wonderful Vanity Fair interview with Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant. It's a great read, and you'll get some insight into why Janie dresses some of the characters as she does.