The Mad Men Fashion File - Go to Jail; Do Not Pass Go
Maybe this entire episode draws its focus from Don Draper's tie, the one he wore in the hospital waiting room while Betty gave birth. It was skinny, expensive, and black-and-white striped. When he first sat down, it was the jewel on his corporate crown, the final statement piece that confirmed he was a rich, controlled career man. But after his conversation with Dennis, the prison guard, the striped tie looked like jailer stripes on a hard-labor uniform, a ball and chain.
(A quick note on Dennis -- his coat was fantastic. The buttons, the length, the fit. It's a uniform now, but if this series goes through the Mod period -- which will begin slowly in 1965 -- you'll see those buttons and that fit get subverted by shaggy-haired boys in Manhattan, and The Beatles.)
The prison theme was highlighted in that scene, but really it was everywhere: Peggy trapped by her salary; Betty held hostage by her "perfect" suburban life; Pete stagnant in his pride. The costumes reflected that. Betty's figure was freed from pregnancy in her hallucination (and the wasp-waisted Technicolor dress emphasized January Jones' strength and youth beautifully). Peggy wore the exact same shape as always, complete with (yes!) a bow at the collar -- she's completely stuck in a closet rut to reflect her life situation in this episode. (In fact, in my notes for this week, I scrawled, "Peggy -- I hate you meeting with Duck AND I hate your outfit!" during her lunch scene.) There were also a lot of uniforms in this episode: Vintage nurse outfits, elevator operator suits, waiters, people defined by what they do.
In fact, it seemed the only person who wasn't trapped was Suzanne
Farrell, Sally's teacher. We first saw her as a free-spirited nymph dancing around
the Maypole a few episodes back. This week, she was wearing a springy, striped dress for her meeting with the Drapers. If that wasn't expressive enough, she then called Don at home. I'll say that's pretty free-spirited!
What a great post! I love your observations. Everything seems to be so much clearer now. I love the point about the uniforms. Even Pete was locked into his uniform whereas Duck was "free" in his turtleneck, etc.
Great observations about the way the clothes add to the subtext of this episode . . . there are so many layers of information to explore in this show. I love it!
Interesting perspective. I have to admit, as a child of the 60s, I do get a bit defensive about how terrible that era was, so I don't readily agree with your observations--but that's my issue. I thought the underlying theme was time--it was mentioned so many times: it was Peggy and Pete's time, it was time to go to the hospital, it was a sensitive time to discuss integration (Admiral tv) ,Don said something about time standing still in the waiting room, and,of course, the young guard of prisoners doing time. All are ,each and collectively, right on the cusp of a huge change--a change of times-- in his life and in the culture of the country. And don't be angry with Peggy! I don't see her clothes as a fashion rut reflecting her life. I don't think she is in a rut. Peggy has bigger fish to fry than being the office fashion maven. I see her as pretty non-sexual(hence the modest clothing) right now--yeah, yeah, I know her history-- but I think it was all an attempt to fit in with the Manhattan girls not with the guys, where her true ambitions lie. I think that's why Don likes her--he doesn't see her as a sexual person, so there's no tension with him (and they share some secret, of course). I can't blame her for looking to greener pastures, she's ambitious, she keeps up with the guys, and is beholden to no one. Don would get it.
.....Peggy's fitted, wide-madras-plaid dress was something of a step up, for her, in terms of addressing the slightly more colorful and modern fashion trends of that season.
It's interesting that she and Pete are sometimes seen in that same shade of peacock blue, likely meant to mirror each other. Does anyone else wear that color to the extent that Pete does?
Peggy's clothes remind me of the 'dress for success' style for that era. They are professional and tailored. That madras dress was wild. She is starting to get into brighter colors.
.....Curious when (and if) Peggy, as the only woman at Sterling Coo who is NOT a secretary (beside Joan), will graduate to the feminine version of the professional mens wear - the skirt suit.....she does wear a few now and then, but they don't scream "R-E-S-P-E-C-T."
As a woman in business (and this is a modern take, not a 60s take), I found that delineation to be very important in terms of image.
In companies not sporting "business casual," the secretaries generally wore sexier or more frivolous and feminine, less tailored dresses and skirt outfits, unless it was a special meeting or conference, while the female executives (or non-administrative staff) typically wore suits......
It isn't in the grand gestures, but the details.
Have not seen anything on this,so if anyone has an opinion,please share.
When Don is picking up Betty at the hospital,he passes Dennis,{the prison guard},and his wife leaving as well. They both have no baby,and distraught looks on their faces.
Don gives a curious look as they pass....Did they loose their baby????
Re: Time -- Cosgrove's new watch/time quote: "What time is it? What time isn't it?"
I'm with Margarethonest about Peggy. I see her as the least character in a rut---each day of her life she is progressing, thinking, learning, developing her keen sense of copy.She is already attractive in the clothes she wears and she definitely does have bigger issues at hand...
Going to Duck? Of course, see what's up, but she knew to leave also.
I did not see the episode as prison, not to say it can't be seen that way.
I actually saw the episode as a shift for everyone, moving to next phases.
I have my own version of "The Mad Men Fashion File - Go to Jail; Do Not Pass Go" - and I'm sure I'm not alone in this...
The "Top 10" men's finalists in the Banana Repubic Mad Men style contest!
I too wonder about the status of the prison guard's baby. The look that was exchanged between Don and Dennis as the wives' were being wheeled in opposite direction's seemed strange. I'm glad I'm not the only one that noticed this. Also, I look forward to more flashbacks of Grandpa Gene. Maybe this will help explain some of Betty's quirkiness.
Yes, Dry, I know what you mean about Joan's outfits commanding attention but not necessarily respect. Like in Maidenform, she's a Marilyn or Marilyn's a Joan. She will probably get into the business type suit if she dumps Greg and tries for a true Administrative Manager type position or better still, a Creative job, but she will always be Joan. That want ad she composed off the cuff for Peggy was killer. If Don ever notices, he'll make her a copywriter just to spite Roger!
Also, Heavie Kevie, I watched the episode 4 times, and I missed the missing Hobart baby. I think this implies that they did lose their baby, and will give Don more to think about. It could mean, too that there were complications with the baby and he's in ICU. The baby was Breech. Re-watch The Hobo Code from S1. Hobart is a type of the Hobo, and remember the Hobo deliberately lost his family. Don may still lose what's left of his.
Also, Dry, I think Don is going to London before the season is out or Betty is going to take a trip, sans Don, ala Jackie Kennedy. I can't wait for tomorrow night's episode. I hope Jon wins the Emmy.
Interesting observation on the uniforms, but I'm not so sure about the outfit of Sally's teacher. She was wearing a shirtwaist dress in a very springy fabric which was completely typical for an elementary school teacher at that time. It was a look worn by everyone from young girls to housewives and perfectly acceptable and fashionable for all as well.
An elementary school teacher was something of a mother figure in the classroom and that would have been a uniform of sorts. I also remember several lines of clothing who specialized in that look---Lady bug, Villager, John Meyer of Norwich, McMullen---that were de riguer for girls a few years older than me and can remember wearing them myself myself early in Junior High.They were a uniform for the girls of the right sets and it was relatively easy to spot bad immitations. She is also wearing a crinolin under the skirt of her shirtwaist---a very proper thing to do at the time. What is revealing about her is what we see when she calls Don from her dimly lit bedroom after five. She's still wearing the shirtwaist, but it's coming unbuttoned and the strap to her proper full slip has slipped carelessly down her arm. She is also drinking something alcholic and straight up on the rocks that she rattles suggestively as she holds it to her face to cool down while talking to her student's hansome Daddy about not having a Daddy of her own. Unlike the stewardess in the previous episode, she has no qualms about disrespecting her uniform by having a drink and a personal chat with Daddy and having even more personal thoughts about him.
Yeah, Suzanne, the teacher is trapped too. She trapped in that buttoned down shirtwaist and under that proper covered up full slip with the itchy crinolines. Proper girls all wore full slips in the fifties and sixties, it was indecent to see woman or a girls legs through her skirt when the light hit from behind and the crinoline did an even better job of covering up by obliterating any hint of what the woman looked like below the waist and above the knee. (I'll bet her crinoline was on the floor in a heap before she picked up the phone to call.) She's starting to get unbuttoned, but she had to pour herself a stiff drink with lots of ice to make that call.
She is a proper girl with a proper degree in early childhood education, but she hasn't been out of college all that long and she's been exposed to some more liberated behavior than Betty did when she was at whatever one of the seven sister colleges she went to. This girl went to one of those schools too and that's why she's so current on her maypole skills.
Hi Kathie Marie... check the main ep thread (I know.. its huge..) Pretty sure that Dennis is wheeling his smiling wife to see the baby in the nursery...
I had to go back and watch the odd lack of exchange
between Don and the other new dad. The couple was smiling, so I think you are right... They were going to the nursery. So why was Don snubbed? I think, perhaps, the new mom may have heard some of the nurses' scuttlebut about the Drapers. Recall the nurse's reactio to Betty's foggy
accusation. Don isn't so honest, and perhaps mr. Security felt
Foolish and angry for being so open and so wrong about this
"successful" man's character.
Melba and Margaret, I think you both are right about Dennis's smiling wife. Maybe their baby was sick so they couldn't have it in the room and had to go to see it. Maybe Dennis was ashamed at being so vulnerable and perhaps revealing too much to Don so that's why he snubbed him. Or, as some have suggested, Don had his own fog and imagined much of the exchange. It has sure kept us all talking.
Miss Farrell sure did get unbuttoned in order to make the call, but she also had no idea she was going to actually speak to Don. She was about half drunk, though, and appears to be more of an emotional mess than either Betty or Don. I sure hope Don does not get mixed up with her. He does not do well with emotionally needy females. He clearly needs an outlet for the stress of home and work. That's where Midge served so well until he discovered she was not all his. He cannot be all any woman's, but they have to be all his.
I would check out the main threads on all the episodes, but I am still having this problem with my computer. Every since I tried to download my avatar, (weeks ago) I can only go on the blogs page not the MM main page or talk. I think it has to do with my virus protection, and I don't know how to fix it.
I love the clothes of the 60's and wish they would come back. They were comfortable and practical and when you dressed up for an event, everyone was beautiful looking. The look I liked was a blue shiny dress and crystals around your neck. I still think of my mother's crystals sometimes.
Did the jail guards baby live? I didn't see the mother taking the baby home. The father looked both sad and mad.
@PennePasta: Mean Gene is in hell and they won't show that on a 60's show.
This has nothing to do with the above thread, but it's been on my mind since the latest introduction of Betty's father, Gene.(Was he on Mad Men prior to this?) I am very interested in the relationship between him and his granddaughter, Sally. Did she like her grandfather, fear her grandfather? What? Why did she steal his money? I'm sure Gene knew all along that Sally took it. Then he dies, and now she's afraid of the "ghost of grandpa." Any observations on this short but complex relationship?
In regards to the "snubbing" of Draper in the hallway: My manager, Jane, had an interesting take on the subject: she mused that perhaps the flattering comments made to Don by the Security Guard were a figment of Drapers imagination, yet another "dream sequence" so to speak. Could be.
It's a reoccuring MM cinema trick once, and I recall being temporarily fooled by it during Season 1- the memorable entry-way scene when Draper arrived to an empty home.
That's why I love this show. It never verges on the transparent.