The Mad Men Fashion File - Behind the Seams
This weekly look at the fashion of Mad Men is written by Faran Krentcil, the founder of Fashionista.com who currently works at Nylon and Page Six Magazine.
Do you know who should be dressing Bobbie Barrett in modern times? Laura Bennett, the hot, but slightly stiff (and completely uppity), designer from the third season of Project Runway. Before you shoot me for bringing a reality TV reference into the hallowed fandom of Mad Men, hear me out. With her funneled skirts and high waists and hand-beading and red lipstick, there's a real affinity there for "looking like a woman." Funnily enough, Diane von Furstenberg's motto -- well, one of them -- is "feel like a woman; wear a dress." And I guess if Bobbie Barrett existed today, she would wear some of DVF's more opulent pieces -- not the wrap dress, per se, that would be more of a '70s Bobbie Barrett -- but more of Diane's structured wools, silk block prints, and jacquard coats. I think Bobbie would also wear a decent amount of Michael Kors and Carolina Herrera, though perhaps tailored to be tighter on her body than MK and CH would like.
Actually -- confession -- my friends and I have started a game where we pick designers who'd dress these characters, or the archetypes of these characters, in modern day.
Of course, the most fun to guess about is Betty Draper, who'd wear a
good mix of Oscar de la Renta and Ralph Lauren -- maybe with some Gap
and J. Crew thrown in on the weekends. And what do you think Joan would
wear? I'm leaning towards Donna Karan and Dolce & Gabbana, and if
anyone would wear a wrap-dress to work, Joan would.
As for her wardrobe, here are some Joan facts you might like...
• Joan's bra was custom-cut from a brassiere that the costume team found at a thrift store in New Orleans. After they knew it fit Christina Hendricks perfectly, they cut the whole thing apart and then made several just like it, using the original (and dissected) bra as a pattern.
• Joan's cocktail dresses are often cut down from vintage pieces that are five or six sizes bigger than Christina. This gives the costume department more control over her silhouette, and also contributes to the feel that the dresses are sometimes handmade -- something designer Janie Bryant and her wardrobe team are very into.
• Joan's gold pen necklace was found at the Rose Bowl in California during the open-air market, and Janie says "as soon as I saw it, I knew it was the most perfect character accessory."
Check back later this week for an interview with Ms. Bryant about the women's wear for Season 2.
Joan's gold pen necklace was found at the Rose Bowl in California during the open-air market, and Janie says "as soon as I saw it, I knew it was the most perfect character accessory."
I've always adored her pen—the perfect euphemism for a woman who has confidently marked her territory.
Trudy Campbell would wear Givenchy.
FK...excellent way to come through...great improvement on previous efforts...you're expressing yourself as if you have seen the show and want to convey your enthusiasm, knowledge of fashion from an insider position. Well done...
I know just who Laura Bennett is (I'm such a fan of PR and Tim Gunn), and feel you have nailed your pairing of her and Bobbi Barrett! Great anecdotes from behind the scenes about the efforts to dress the cast! I'll be checking back to read the interview with Janie Bryant.
Faran, you are finding your stride now. Good column!
I just want to comment on the hand made cocktail dresses: in my town, you did not get a new gown or dress for the proms. There was a body of these dresses circulating and the moms got together after church and traded them around every prom season. So you would see your last year's pink dress with a bow added or removed or the yellow one you wore the year before with an over skirt added or cut away. If a girl ruined a dress, that was considered very bad and she would hear about it.
If your mother sewed, you were the most fashionable girl at the dance and your friends put dibs on that dress for the next prom.
Best blog yet Faran. But can we please have more of the second half of this blog, like the costuming etc. and cut out the part about the games your friends play or who would wear Gap and DVF because that is...silly? We get it. You know alot about modern fashion. You can move on now.
So it is a gold pen necklace! All this time I thought it was a drill bit which in an earlier Fashion File that was referred to the website, "The Frisky" and how to dress like Joan talked about it being a "drill bit". Thanks for clarifying.
I too found this much more satisfying to read. I love the info about how they are outfitting Joan's character, especially about the bra. As a bustier gal myself, I know how important the perfect fitting bra can be! Great job on your blog this time.
Pantyhose were very few and far between in 1962. Peggy would not have been slipping them on until after 1966...
Important Note to Costume Team:
In 1962 the only way women could hold up their stockings were with garter belts; it was an important rite of passage for mothers to buy their daughters a garter belt and sheer stockings and I received mine in 1965. Suddenly, in 1966 a new kind of stockings with elastic around the top were introduced which was supposed to hold them up without a garter belt: they did not work well, so they did not last long. Pantyhose was not retailed widely until 1967 or 1968: the first versions were made of thick, scratchy-but-stretchy material in non-natural "flesh" tones and they ripped easily. For those reasons, garter belts and sheer stockings were still used by many fashionable women.
The necklace was actually made by 1928 Jewelry in the early sixties when we first opened. I am work there - and have long discussions with our master designer here - he believes it's ours. We could only know 100% if we saw the clasp. We no longer make that model, only one inspired by it. It's a fantastic piece, best bet for the originals is eBay or a southern california flea market - like she found in pasadena. The site is 1928.com. Hope it helps.
- Jen.