Peggy Olsen has a quirkiness in the Mad Men T.V. series that
Joanie and Betty don't possess. Much of this is to do with her
upbringing and niceness. She is a girl who still likes big
sailor collars, spots, stripes and fun bags.
There is still a lot of the young girl in
Peggy's
dress style and unlike Joan or Betty she does not always
emphasise her curves. This red spring coat from Hobbs for
example flows over the body loosely and the style is very
typical of circa 1963. A slightly shorter version of this coat
is currently available at Hobbs for summer 2010.
Mad Men's
Peggy Olsen wears styles suited to her personality of a less
sophisticated female, floundering in a complicated world of men
who get what they want because they are men. Her clothes often
have a look of innocence and then she confounds us by wearing a
fashion piece that shows she can be more modern. I think these
clothes would suit Peggy well.
Above Left - PPQ Striped Red White Jersey Jacket by Littlewoods
Ireland - Stockist Tel: 01 811 22 22.
Bottom Left - Phase Eight Spot Cardigan £49.
Centre Left - Teatro, Pink Print Mix Spot Dress -
Littlewoods.com £59.
Centre Right - Reds Check Sleeveless Dress by People Tree - 100%
Handwoven Cotton £48. People Tree Spring Summer 2010 Eco
Conscious Clothing - Stockist
Tel: 020 7739 9659 or peopletree.co.uk.
The fun spot-cardigan is something Peggy would
buy and she would look good in the big madras tablecloth check
style frock or the easy dropped waist polka dot dress. Her
sophistication is developing as she becomes more attuned to big
city life. She is not afraid to be different, and I can see her
sporting this Florist picture bag by Lulu Guinness and looking
quite cute in her ensemble.
Far Right - Lulu Guinness Large Florists Shop Jenny
Handbag, Stone/Red. This bag costs £225 and is available online
at John Lewis. John Lewis have a huge selection of branded bags
in every price range.
»
For the office Peggy might wear neat collared pieces or
simple shape jackets. That striped and bow trimmed bag, like the
Lulu Guinness bag right, is also
one that would lift any outfit from dull to interesting.
Above Left - Monsoon Fusion Spring Summer 2010 - Green Marisa
Cardigan £45/€76 Eire.
Bottom Left - Striped Pocket and Bow Navy/White/Red Bag - NEXT.
Centre - Red/Black White Collar Cuffs Dress By Oli.
Top Right - Hobbs Luzia Striped Bow Sweater, £59 Hobbs Spring Summer 2010
Clothing.
Bottom Right - Hobbs Navy Madina Jacket £149. This simple
unstructured jacket is just the type Peggy might select.
On occasion, Peggy has a penchant for more unusual fashion
styles. Her love of collars and mixed prints means she is more
adventurous in some ways than Betty Draper or Joan Holloway who already truly
know their own fashion style. Peggy, like Ugly Betty
(America Ferrera) is still
experimenting and sometimes she comes up trumps.
Above Left - Green Dress by Monsoon.
Centre - House of Fraser - Mushroom Dress - Small Collar Detail
£75, Pied a Terre at House of Fraser.
Right - Nude Chiffon Asymmetric One Sleeve Dress £140, Pied a
Terre at House of Fraser - Both Products House of Fraser Stockist Tel: 020 7003
4000. See more
'Mad Men' fashion.
Mad Men's
Peggy would look great in this abstract print summer dress with
its large capacious pockets. It's just the kind of unusual dress
she would go for. For a conventional business meeting she might
wear this flat collar sheath dress and then confound the almost
all male team by turning up at the cocktail bar in this gorgeous
unconventional, unusual one sleeved draped chiffon dress.
Above Left -
FEVER Amalfi Empire Dress £65.99 This Fever Design is a large
floral print retro v-neck
yellow sash dress. FEVER Stockist Tel: 0207 6366 326.
Centre - Miss Selfridge Summer 2010 Outfit.
Far Right - Looking ahead to autumn. Monsoon Autumn Winter 2010
- English Heritage Purple Coat with Belt.
In the Mad Men series we often see
Peggy travelling to work. This purple coat for autumn has the big collar a feature
that Peggy
would love. She likes bows and trims like these focus waistlines
have.
All in all, Peggy is the new Mad Men woman to watch, as her style
develops so she grows into a more confident powerful
advertising woman who can think and look good. As the
series progresses Peggy develops her own look, becomes more daring, and maybe
she will eventually relax in shorts like these. Shorts,
especially white shorts were very popular with all young women
after the film South Pacific was a big hit in the 50s.
Right - Matalan - Be Beau Nautical Hot Pant £12 - Matalan SS10 -
Key Shapes - Matalan Stockist Tel: 0845 330 3330.
By 2010 the Mad Men T.V. series has achieved a large
following and consequently its leading ladies have become
fashion icons. What we are seeing is how the
actresses of Mad Men fame have been inspiring women to
regain that feminine look of the early 1960s. Role-models like Betty Draper (January Jones), Joan Holloway
(Christina Hendricks) and Peggy Olsen (Elisabeth Moss) are women
who illustrate how curves, and good fit combine with grace
of movement to offer a
more subtle sophistication than any strident warrior woman look might
achieve.
»
By the early sixties, dress styles from the 1950s (based on the
Dior 1947 New Look) had exhausted all the possible bodice and skirt combinations. Features
of this era included covered wide belts, halter necks, swathed draped slim
sheaths or full skirts and both silhouettes used bold
floribunda - tea and cabbage roses. Each of these fashion elements have been
reworked into new styles by designers of the 21st century.
Fashion designers have raided the
archives for style inspiration that is too good to be left unseen by a
new generation.
For 2010, 'Mad Men Ladies' have inspired pretty trends which
put girls into slinky Joan
Holloway hour glass silhouettes, or crinoline
inspired Betty Draper prom dresses. To adapt to the 2010s these
1960 designs need to be
given a little edginess. Footwear, bags,
jewellery and scarves can all be jiggled to add diversification from the original concept. Mad
Men is translating well to modern times, and will have fashion
influence for some time yet.
For Autumn/Winter 2010/11 the catwalk has already declared
that better cut classic pieces will be the fashion look that an
economy aware society needs, rather than throwaway cheap
garments. Betty Draper looks so good in classic dresses,
and so too will you once you find the right silhouette for your
body shape.
Janie Bryant is the costume designer behind the women's' clothes on
Mad Men. She has been hailed as the new Patricia Fields of Sex
And The City costuming fame. Janie Bryant pays attention to
small details, as a fashion history critic, I find it hard to
fault Janie. She always begins with
great foundation garments
just like the
underwear styles women really wore in the early 1960s. Long-line bras, power girdles,
stockings or
under slip petticoats and tulle net tu-tu slips all help
to create the key looks of the 50/60s era. Just wearing a boned-to-the-waist bra makes a woman hold herself differently,
and this changes her posture.
Whilst there are many modern bustier bras and corsets on the
market today, one of the few long-line bras that has the audacity
to resemble the sort worn
in Mad Men is the long running Triumph Doreen bra. The
'Doreen' comes as a long-line,
midi long line or short bra. I have discovered that over
their authentic foundations the actresses
wear garments that are either made in house, bought from vintage
shops, or rented from costumiers.
To create this early Mad Men look you need to absorb the key
elements of the era. The main styling elements in the early
1962/3 series are quite different to the very modern Twiggy styles
people
associate with late 60s mini
dresses and dollybird fashion looks.
The simplest way to get
an early 60s look is with a perky fuller skirt
hovering around the knee, like this spotted skirt at £40 from
Oasis. Add a cropped
button cardigan, with short or pushed up sleeves, and the look is
easy and everyday. In fact the style is similar to
outfits worn by Fonzie's girlfriends in the Happy Days
T.V. shows. Hobbs do a great cardi called the Hobbs Eve
Cardigan, £59 and this is shown in citrus sulphur lime right. This cardigan is just the right
style to team with Mad Men inspired pants, dresses or skirts.
Otherwise my Mad Men Ladies fashion Tips below will guide you.
For following the early 60s fashion looks pay attention to:-
Silhouette in dress and form - curvy bodies, curvy fit. Wear structured underwear to achieve early 60s shaping.
Corselets and long-line bras by Miss Mary of Sweden, Rago,
and the famous Triumph 'Doreen' may seem severe, but they all knock the body into
early 60s curves and can be bought from Woods of Morecambe,
Damart, Daxon, Grattan or Littlewoods. You can also
get modern softer control bodes from Marks & Spencer, Figleaves and BHS. Right -
Marks
& Spencer Control Body. These control shapewear
bodies are ideal for
Bombshell Dress looks.
Pay attention to waistline curves - buy
with a wide band as above. Alternatively, belt
the waist or wear a contrast colour cummerbund, or use a sash as
shown right. Right - Jane Norman Spring 2010
Pacific Fern Knee Skirt £32. No waist - then use an over-blouse feature (about 6cm
covering below the waist area) or choose to empire line with higher empire lines that are finely belted,
emphasised with a neat bow trim, change of print or contrast colour way.
The empire styles may have slim sheath skirts or gently flare in
A-line silhouettes in the style of Jackie Kennedy.
Pay attention to skirt length. Not too long - not too
short. Choose knee length clothes that are hovering on the
knee, but not especially above it. You want to show a shapely lower
leg with the promise of more mystery above. Knee length
clothes give a balanced silhouette, yet create a ladylike
effect with a sense of decorum and subtle allure of more to
see. The whole point of Mad Men looks is that it
revives
elegance. If you are under 25 shorter skater looks
can also work well.
You will need 3 definite types of clothes - day,
office and night pieces. Plus you might consider adding coordinated
beach/pool wear which can fall under daywear, but is
activity specialist.
Fabric - Look for checks, spots, stripes, floral and
border prints. But also consider modern takes on flora
such as digital prints which bring the material up to date
whilst paying homage to all the funky Matisse inspired
abstract designs of the fifties and sixties. Right
- Floral Border Print Summer Prom Dress by Apricot SS10.
Physically the fastest way to get this Mad Men fashion look is to pay
attention to grooming. Be perfectly groomed and stick to
your natural skin colour without overdoing fake tan. Facially, opt
for true red or coral red lips with made up skin looking
clear and fresh and add perfectly applied winged flick upward eyeliner. The
flicks are not as
Egyptian influenced late sixties Elizabeth Taylor, but
artfully enhance and lift the eye in a sophisticated
screen star manner. Upwardly winged spectacles also help
re-create the early 1960s era. Next to lips go for
matching red and coral nails, never the French manicure or squared off
nails. 60s nails were almond shaped ovals, and mostly painted
scarlet red, pearlized pinks or peachy corals. Forget
fancy stick on designs if you want the 'Mad Men Lady' look.
There must also be an obvious trademark 'suit the face
shape' hairstyle. This is not a look of recent years,
where the concept of one hairstyle suits all, with cloned
hair straightened looks as the winner. This is the opposite
of lookalikes. Here every woman wanting to do the Mad Men look should
think about how hair best suits her face shape and how
can she make it look different to her best friends by colouring
her hair, curling it,
waving it, smoothing it or flicking it.
Another physical aspect is not to overwork the muscle
tone.
A little exercise like regular walking or basic workout will give a toned shapely figure, but too
many muscle and definition workouts will kill the soft womanly look.
Think Dita Von Teese softness rather than Madonna muscle
definition.
In the main this look is a pretty, preppy, pink Palm Beach style
as far away from
utilitarian khaki as possible.
Vintage and
couture
garments have all the elements of this way of dressing. Among all those cute dresses look out for vintage belts,
covered belts and cute buttons.
Cult TV series, such as 'Mad Men' emphasise how a woman can
easily use her appearance to her advantage through good grooming
and dressing.
Characters of the 1980s
series
Dynasty and Dallas and 1990s Sex and the City
are TV programmes which have all become leaders of key fashion
looks. Desperate Housewives, The Good Wife, Cougar Town
and Ugly Betty all typically influence what we may come to wear. Some pieces once viewed take on an instant viral effect,
as a result items soon
become this years must-have trends. Clearly the 'Mad Men Women'
look is here to stay this year at least.
Fashion-Era.com looks at women's costume and fashion history and analyses the mood of an era. Changes in technology, leisure, work, cultural and moral values. Homelife and politics also
contribute to lifestyle trends, which in turn influence the clothes we wear. These are the changes that make any era of society special in relation to the study of the costume of a period.
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PPQ Striped Red White Jersey Jacket by Littlewoods
Ireland - Stockist Tel: 01 811 22 22.
Whilst there are many modern bustier bras and corsets on the
market today, one of the few long-line bras that has the audacity
to resemble the sort worn
in Mad Men is the long running Triumph Doreen bra. The
'Doreen' comes as a long-line,
midi long line or short bra. I have discovered that over
their authentic foundations the actresses
wear garments that are either made in house, bought from vintage
shops, or rented from costumiers.
Cult TV series, such as 'Mad Men' emphasise how a woman can
easily use her appearance to her advantage through good grooming
and dressing. 
