Feature

Dressing the Part

Inside the Stylish World of Mad Men

 
 

There were seven deadly sins practiced at the dawn of the 1960s: smoking, drinking, adultery, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism and racism ... Mad Men on AMC taps into all of them."
- The New York Times

By The Staff of Valet.
Published on July 24, 2008

  It's won a Peabody Award, two Golden Globes and it just swept the Emmy nominations. But let's be honest. Mad Men's real feat is being the most stylish show on TV today.

It is for men, what Sex and The City was for women—smartly written
dialogue and extreme characters we secretly wish to be, all wrapped up in a super stylized package. Mad Men, which returns to AMC this Sunday for its second season, is set in the sleek world of advertising in 1960s New York. Where offices such as Sterling Cooper have no need for such quaint modern-day notions as political correctness or casual Friday. Where no man is complete without the morning paper, his tie and a post-lunch Scotch.

The woman behind that slick Eisenhower-era styling is Janie Bryant, the award-winning costume designer who outfits the cast in both custom costumes and tailored vintage finds. "The '60s were such elegant times for America, when men came to the office in these gorgeous slim-cut suits" says Bryant. "You know, that's a good look for a guy."

We couldn't agree more. Break out the bar cart.

 

Mad Men, Season 1, $32 (with free shipping) at Amazon, or $20 (without the extras and Zippo-style case) on iTunes.

Mad Men is filmed at the same studio as Nip/Tuck, Ugly Betty and CSI. Los Angeles Center Studios, 450 S. Bixel St., Los Angeles, CA

 

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