Ah I see. Although every single 1970's starched or perma-prest point collar is listed as a button-down in the above link, the one Brooks bd that I did come across is an 80's 7-button placket. I'm surprised any of this stuff even made it into the series to be honest.

Guess I'm in the minority but I didn't think the wardrobe in the show was that bad. Especially not in the later seasons as the encroaching hippy movement became a stronger influence. Not a lot of true "Ivy" in the show, sure, but a decent mid-century vibe.

In a quality show like that, the primary function of the wardrobe isn't to satisfy an online faction of 1960s purists but rather to serve as a visual representation of character development. Don's typically muted wardrobe of gray suits, white shirts, and black shoes is supposed to represent his cold demeanor or whatever, and Roger's three piece and double breasted suits (and his jewelry) are supposed to highlight his privileged upbringing, which was an important factor in his overall characterization (always feeling entitled, doing whatever he wants, etc.) Sure, I'd personally enjoy the show if they're were more creative and/or high quality garments (the typical absence of 3/2 jackets in the show is particularly sad) to ogle at, but I appreciated the costumes for what they were, and I believe the costume designer for Mad Men accomplished her goal of creating a believable and meaningful wardrobe for the characters in the show.

Last edited by Joey (2015-07-30 19:52:47)

Even the art and accessories are pretty tacky. It's the kind of kitschy 60's junk that you find in most CA garage sales and not something a six-figure Madison Ave man would be spending his paycheck on.

I enjoyed MM initially, there were the odd highlights like an episode where one of the characters hosted a party at his apartment and several guests wore madras jackets. I lost interest after the first couple of series, I can only watch so much 'slow burn' TV, an hours episode would drift by with nothing much having happened. I would rather spend time on something deep and meaningful e.g. trawling ebay for old clothes. 

I've always liked the fact that, although Get Carter was filmed in the early 1970's, it was set in the late 60's. A difference of some five years, yet they actually designed the lead characters' costumes to look right. Imagine that now, a near contemporary drama bothering to design costume that look five years older. I suppose that would equate to having young male characters who, instead of looking like Victorian cricketers, look more like Justin Beiber.

There were odd moments,  a few 3/2 rolls, occasionall bd with good roll- although mostly tiny collars picked up cheaply, the odd decent pair of shoes... but as Yuca often points out in relation to such series or films only a limited amount of effort was made towards keepung the costumes accurate?

I did quite fancy January Jones in the first few series though.

^ Yup, agreed.

It's one thing to be on the "spectrum", another thing to expect everyone else to be.

Like those blokes that bore you witless about trains, or reptiles, or whatever the hell else they're obsessed with.

Last edited by Harpo (2015-07-31 06:32:13)

Last edited by Kingston1an (2015-07-31 07:00:10)

Waitaminute... Did Bop just call Le Samourai a shit film?!

I hope you know dat dis means war.

If you're going to do something, do it properly. If the clothes are crap (in relation to their purpose), generally speaking you can bet the series/film will be too. In other words, if someone makes an effort with the characters, script, casting etc etc they'll want everything else to be of a decent quality too.

I'm not saying the clothes have to be 100% accurate - how would we even now if they are? I for one am not that expert. But when they blatantly look like the garbage I see on the high street - forget it. There are an infinite number of films, TV shows and photos from the period in question, and they look a hell of a lot different to any shots I've seen of MM.

To be fair, a lot of the costuming on 'Mad Men' was done for symbolic relevance more than nitpicky period accuracy. The costuming impressed me massively and the costume designer Janie Bryant is a very smart woman if you hear or read her in interviews. For more on symbolism in the costuming see Tom and Lorenzo's Mad Style recaps and you'll see what I'm talking about: http://tomandlorenzo.com/tag/mad-style/