Umm....Mrs. Cosgrove? There is no Mrs. Cosgrove, Ken is single. I'll have to rewatch the episode to figure out who you mean...perhaps Jennifer Crane?

Thank you for alerting us to the error, Deborah -- it has since been corrected. Sincerely, AMC.

Faran Krentcil is awesome. Thank you for this.

this is the worst entry on this blog yet

Another week, another disappointing commentary. AMC you aren't getting your money's worth.

There are so many things that could be said, but let's talk about the hottest scene of the night: Don corners the comedians wife, slips his hand up her skirt, and makes her sigh. Very hot. But wouldn't she have been wearing a girdle? If so, Don's fingers must really be magical.

i don't even think Faran watches the show, i think she just watches the commercials

I thought this was fun. And, um, girdles are not "panty girdles."

Faran Krentcil doesn't even write in complete sentences and references the same designers every week. It's a letdown for a channel with the stature of AMC to have such a trendy, quippy, drippy fashion commentator. I wonder how your costume designer feels about this truly lame blog.

I agree that this blog is lame. AMC, get someone who knows something about the fashions of the time and has something of interest to say. The constant focus on mention contemporary designers is of no interest to me. Faran seems too young/inexperienced for a show like this.

I agree that this blog is lame. AMC, get someone who knows something about the fashions of the time and has something of interest to say. The constant focus on contemporary designers is of no interest to me. Faran seems too young and unsophisticated (not to mention uninformed) for a show like this.

The point of this aspect of the blog is that it's not supposed to be a history lesson. It's a blog about the fashions of Mad Men and how to achieve the look. If you want serious dissection of fashion of the times, then pick up a book. Sometimes fashion is just fashion - it's fun. Stop taking everything so seriously.

*sigh*

A complete and total waste of time.

RE: "Harry's super-skinny tie. APC carries great ones; very modern rock star."

um..I'll pretend I didn't just read that.

Anyway, does anyone know the style of Fedora Draper wears in the series? A Stetson? Brooks Brothers? I want one!

Actually this one is far worse:
"She wonders when Urban Outfitters will launch a Mad Men collection..."

I think I'll barf right now.

You can achieve the look by buying any of the wear to work dresses at Nordstrom's and Sak's websites. Dresses by Dior, David Miester, Port 1961, Maggy London, etc. Target has Issac Mizrahi designing great retro looks. 3/4 cardigans and full skirt dresses are sooo cute. I even found button pearl earrings there too. Target also has lots of retro look pumps and ballet flats. This is such a cute outfit from Maggy London:

Maggy London ponte knit dress and jacket at Nordstrom.com.

i'm pretty sure faran would burst into flames if maggy london every touched her skin

You might say I have fashion (at least textile manufacturing) in my genes. I grew up in the industry, with my father owning a cut and sew and working for Mr. Mort. As you know Mr. Mort was founded by Mortimer Goldman in 1952. We produced fashionable sportswear (the poor woman’s Chanel). In 1959 Stan Herman became the designer at Mr. Mort. In the 1960’s, we were the cutting edge of fashion, and the first to show dresses over pants.

In the mid 1960s, the company was bought by Russ Togs and I left. Mr. Mort closed sometime in the 1980s. From there I cut and designed patterns for Mary Quant as Ernestine Carter said in the Sunday NYT’s: "It is given to a fortunate few to be born at the right time, in the right place, with the right talents. In recent fashion there are three: Chanel, Dior and Mary Quant”.

From there I worked with Bill Blass and Tom Ford. I have since retired and have gone back to school to teach and do graduate work in psychology.

When I started to read your blog, I thought they were spot on and had quite good insight. As Edith Head reflected, design is about capturing the atmosphere and the feeling of the time. . She was also known for her restrained designs, and during the 1950s was dubbed the "queen of the shirtwaisters" by her detractors. Her use of costume was intentionally designed to set a mood, and some of her design was dictated more by the storyline and studio. The studios did not want the costume design to become dated if they reflected a specific period fad.

Which brings me to the distracters of this blog. In Psych 101 we teach that when some one is unhappy with their life and insecure when they look in the mirror, whether they are truly unsuccessful or just envious of others, they try to pull
others around them down and attack those who are successful or talented.

But this blog is about fashion, then and now, and a great blog at that, not about the life of the detractors. Keep on writing, there are those of us truly love the show, the blog and your insights.

o-kay teach, sounds like you know your 101. but aren't blogs about good-natured (sometimes wry) discourse as well..

I too, DO truly love the show--and would like to see it's credibility kept intact--that's why I shudder at the tought of say, a MadMen clothing line at Urban Outfiiters. Why not a "MadMen Meal Deal" at Burger King? ..I'm k.i.d.d.i.n.g, people.

Gosh rough audience above..RE the girdle..I was young at the time (51 now) but I DO remember my mom's panty drawers and her girdle was open with hooks hanging for her nylons. Use your imagination here kids. Wiping his hands was just the final slap and the whole vibe was gross and up to the par of Sopranos (which i loved and am from jersey too)
Anyway, the clothes ALL remind me of my parents and their friends from that time.
Great Job AMC! and love to the terrific cast

I enjoy comments regarding the fashion of the show, but I think that the design/decor is equally interesting. I am a huge fan of mid-century modern design, and I think it would be great to hear and see more comments about their great style and how it is still popular today. ( I am sitting on my favorite mid-century Danish Modern sofa with my lap top as I write this. My Curtis Mathis stereo console is playing in the background.)
My point is that the decor of the era, the truly modern stuff that you see in the offices of Sterling Cooper and the swank NY apartments, is timeless. I'm not talking about the mostly traditional decor you see in the homes of the Draper's neighborhood, just the modern designs. (i.e. Knoll, Eames)
Is it just me, or is anyone else salivating over the this too? This was a golden age of design as well!
I'd love to hear what others are thinking too!

Uh, "insights?" You mean as in where to buy stuff that kind of looks like this? That's not insight, it's commerciality.

This could be such a great blog! But it really sounds as though she (he?) just glances at the show, writes a few short notes and then cuts to where to buy it. Very disappointing. Fashion and History are sisters! You could trace the entire evolution of women just by looking at their clothing. The writer just is not getting it.

I agree that this is on the surface. I just thought that if there was mention of the fashion in clothing, why not comment on the design/decor?
You are right that there could be a lot more to this in discussion of style from a history stand point, but I am not sure that is what people are looking for if they are fashion conscience. I think that they recognize good style trends that are still emerging in contemporary times. My point is, good fashion doesn't go out of style, it is just modified.
From a historical perspective, you are quite right about how fashion, especially for the women, said a lot about what was going on with them from a social perspective. I am glad that they are staying true to the style of the era by having the actors wear proper undergarments as well. The actors have complained that they are in "torture chambers" underneath all of those swanky dresses and tight skirts, but that is what women put up with to fit into the highest fashion standards of the time.
Joan looks so good even with her curves (and I must add that I like that they have an actor with great real curves still looking sexy) because she has the proper undergarments on. The undergarments were a crucial part of making the fashion look as good as it did for the time, and also as a fashion historian would know, said a lot about the society.
Why do you think women burned their bras in the late 60's and early 70's? Although we liberated ourselves from the girdles, we also quickly realized that those styles no longer worked without all of the undergarments, or foundations as they were pleasantly called, unless you were pencil thin. About the only time most of us are willing to put ourselves through such vices of torture is on our wedding day under our dresses, or as a quick hot get up to entice our significant others as a prelude to a good roll in the sheets. We tolerate this of course because the wearing of the apparel is short.
Then again what am I saying? Aren't we the same ones that now wear thong underwear to avoid panty lines? I worked in langerie for a major department store in the early 90's when they emerged on the U.S. market. We all thought it was a joke at first, but little by little we started wearing them, and I bet now you can't even find many 6th graders that would be caught dead with a panty line under their short-shorts!
So now that this conversation has taken a complete turn again, I'm wondering what the guys think?
I think the men love all of the girdles and stockings that hook onto belts. I bet they drooled over Betty Draper in her little black number w/ garters attached to her stockings in the Season 2, Episode 1, scene on Valentine's Day at the hotel w/ Don. They will always think it's sexy.

I thought that scene of Draper walking to the mailbox at night was great!! It was so well done! The scene was at night, and the mood of the scene with the verse being read was dark and somewhat depressing. Having Draper wear the fedora was a great idea! It made him look mysterious, masculine, interesting, appealing, alluring, and a bit menacing......and enhanced the dark mood of the scene!! I love it when he wears that hat!! Jon Hamm has that dark, masculine, rough look that was so appealing about Sean Connery in the James Bond series......that fedora enhances his masculine appeal!! I assume it is a fedora, right?

I remember my mother and aunts putting on their rubber girdles--using baby powder to try to get them on easier---especially in hot summer weather! (no air conditioning). They had to roll them on because it was tight--make you slimmer. I was young girl and asked why they wore them--I was told this is done to be beautiful. Bras had pointed cups and were cotton. Hourglass figure was desired everywhere, even for models--not anorexia looking models are now. I remember going to lingerie dept in large clothing store with my mother. Stack upon stack of very thin boxes of each pair sheer silk hosiery, several types of girdles, stiff starchy can-cans, etc. Women would check the seams of their hose to see if they were straight, take white gloves and hat to go out.
I enjoy Mad Men sticking to 50's decor and dressing plus hairdos of women not puffy--flat like Grace Kelly. I remember my brothers and I (baby boomers era) drinking Frizzies, wearing Davy Crocket hats, watching Howdy Dowdy on TV, etc. I hope they do not rush into the 60's as other shows use that era for their series.
The writers and designers of Mad Men are truly great. The cast is superb making it all connect and draw you back into that era's morals, family strength, religious influence, deceit, etc.