The Mad Men Fashion File - Q&A With Lucia Mace and Lana Horochowski (Hair and Makeup)
Lucia Mace and Lana Horochowski are the two you should thank respectively for the hair and makeup on Mad Men. And now, these crew members are sharing how they styled Betty's Roman look and how you can model your own look on the show.
Q: How did you first meet? Was it like a professional blind date?
LH: We both worked on the first season of Mad Men, even though we were department heads. We met on-set.
LM: But then we fell in love!
LH: It's actually true. Now I can't stand it if I'm working without her. We did become best friends.
Q: Does that make it easier or harder to work together?
LH: Oh, easier. We run everything by each other before we start working.
LM: We even do our schedules together. We even work out what time everything is happening in our studios.
Q: In this week's episode, Betty's hairstyle in Rome was amazing. That must have taken a lot of work.
LM: Yeah, it took a bit of time. I actually had to put a form inside of her hair just to get it to stand up the right way. And it was definitely all hands on deck for that one. I knew the only way it would work is if I just built it right on January, so she sat in my chair and we just constructed it before she walked on-set.
Q: Where did you get the visuals for it?
LM: I was looking at a lot of Italian Vogues -- actually a lot of Italian magazines! The research department went to Rome and pulled magazines from 1963 from various archives. It was such a privilege to have had all of them back in Los Angeles, but we had to be very careful -- they were so old and we had to give all of them back at the end.
Q: Is a bigger challenge getting the men to shave correctly?
LM: Oh, the shaving! Yeah. We tell them exactly when to shave -- Lana's biggest nightmare was Jon Hamm's beard!
LH: Oh god, don't talk to me about it. And that's an everyday issue -- as the day progresses, we'll have day scenes and night scenes. Jon's beard grows really quickly -- we'd do scene order based on when he'd need a shadow, we'd tell him to shave at midnight so at 8AM, he would have a shadow when they were filming...
Q: I imagine telling them when to tan and when to stay out of the sun is also an issue.
LM: Always. We do sunscreen them when they're outside; we do our best. And then the hell we go through with Michael Gladis' beard -- we dye it, we trim it, gosh. It's like a Chia pet. Constant grooming! We needed a separate beard department on this show, with its own trailer.
Q: Any advice for how men can get the same kind of look as Don Draper?
LM: Obviously, if you use an electric shaver, you can get a very precise and smooth shave. But back then they'd go to barbers and get their shave, so if you can do that, it's the best way. There are a lot of stores popping up now, old fashioned barbers. It's getting trendy. I'd like to think we had something to do with that.
Q: And what about makeup? Can women who want to look like Joan buy it in drugstores?
LH: Actually, Revlon has their full matte lipstick line, and that was popular back then as well. If you go to the Revlon counter at the drug store, they still make Revlon Red, which is the truest color and the best -- it lasts forever and it's perfect.
Q: What about for pink lips?
LH: I use Nars velvet lip pencils, and I use a lot of M.A.C because they a really solid matte lipstick line, especially their nudes. That was definitely the challenge because nowadays everything is gloss or high satin finish. That's exactly what you don't want if you're trying to replicate a Mad Men look.
Q: Which everyone is.
LH: You think? Red lipstick's coming back in, and I'm hoping it's because of the show.
LOVED Betty's Roman look. Some viewers said it made her look like a prostitute, but that was Italian hi fashion in the early 60's.
Much as I adore John Hamm, I think he should laser his beard. It would not kill all the hair, ,just knock back some of it to a manageable amount.
The conversation between Betty and Don in the piazza recalled a similar scene in 1963's "A New Kind of Love." Joanne Woodward played a plain-Jane fashion merchandiser who allowed herself to get all dolled up in Paris during Fashion Week and attracted the attention of a jaded American journalist played by Paul Newman who thought she was a high-priced call girl. Same hair do, same diffidence. Wow! And I LOVED the Pucci dress Betty wore later in the episode. Some souvenier!
I loved Betty's look. I can still remember the women on TV and in the movies in the 60's with the really high hairdos. You guys did a great job on hair and make-up; no more Grace Kelly-at least this episode- she looks like Catherine Deneuve in the bar scene.
I've been playing with makeup for years. I also sell cosmetics, and I'm not saying this simply because I sell it. Shades like Revlon Red are too bright with my skin tone (kind of light to medium). The only red that looks good on me is Avon's Ultra Rich in Red 2000. Along with navy smoky eyes with winged eyeliner, I'm hot! LOL! I'm still trying to get my hand to "wing", but I'm getting better. Anybody got any tips for liquid eyeliner, or do I have to go to gel to get the best results?
I love, , love Betty's , Rome look.
Oh, to look through Italian Vogue issues from 1963, Oh to dream......sigh. Those must have been glorius.
Betty looked gorgeous darlings! Thank you Lucia and Lana.
You all do fabulous and beautiful work. The one thing that bugs me though is Betty's nails. They seem so fake...as in contemporary gel nails...there's a look to them that is obvious and for a show that prides itself on accurate details of the period, why go that route? I can't stop watching her hands and she seems uncomfortable with them too. What's up?
I loved her look-I remember my Mom dressing in high style with a very high french twist in the 60's- Women really knew how to dress sexy back then- it was ultra-feminine. I think her make-up and nails look very authentic for that period- I can almost smel the Arpege or Chanel 5 from the screen! You did an amazing job with that hair- so it brings to mind an expensive call girl- so what? She knew she looked good and played it to the hilt- January Jones continues to surprise me in this role.I only watched this episode 3 times to relish that scene! I was let down my Connie not making more fuss over Betty when he met her for the first time. I wish they'd show what his mistress looks like but he seems to keep much to himself as well he should.
Great episode! Good eye Laurie about the comparisons to the Joanne Woodward movie. I saw that movie years ago and I also see the similarities. Hey oldsoul55 about the liquid eyeline, I were it too and the only way is to practice, practice, practice and you'll get it. I would say to GRgirl about the fake nails that those were what they had back then. I remember seeing them a few times on my Mom and I believe you peeled and pressed or glued them and they came in a package so I think they are authentic on Mad Men. I only feel sorry for January Jones having to wear them. Wonder if they do the gel nails on her because they do look the same as the old ones.
This is the only show that remains in my cable recorder for weeks so that I can go over the episode's fashions, set decorations...
My mother was a very stylish woman who dressed in between Joan and Betty's style and its probably why the 60s is my favorite era and why I am hooked on Mad Men.
Mom wore her hair in this style on special occasions, matching lipstick and red nail polish, the moon of the cuticle was left unpainted. I wore my nails in this fashion for some time in my late 20's early 30s.
Thank you for a peek into Lucia and Lana's skilled talent.
I want to BE Betty Draper (sigh)