Mad Men Redux

Not since the series finale of Seinfeld have we so anxiously anticipated a television event like we are the Mad Men Series 3 premiere this Sunday. And while the final episode of Seinfeld turned out to be a real dud, we have much higher expectations when it comes to the shenanigans of Don, Betty, Joan and the rest of the gang. We posted here earlier in the year about Mad Men-inspired fashion, and today we're focusing more on interiors and 60's home design style. Read on for a mish mash of Mad Men!

We've noticed while watching Mad Men that while Don and Betty's home is definitely more "traditional" and a holdover from a lot of 50's styles, the apartment of Pete Campbell and his (spoiled) wife Trudy definitely reflects the more modern tendancies of the time.

image courtesy The Giraffe

Their three-panel stylized giraffe artwork reminds me of something you'd buy at West Elm, doesn't it?

Dyna Moe has created a reprintable reproduction of the Campbells' giraffe artwork for true Mad Men enthusiasts.

Can't you see this ceramic elephant as something that would fit in with the Campbells' jungle vibe?

Ceramic Elephant, West Elm

Or, we could see these West Elm baskets that Nick Olsen flagged the other day also complimenting the style.

One of the things we absolutely LOVE about Pete and Trudy's apartment is the geometric screen. This almost says "Palm Springs style" to us rather than the UES, don't you think?

image courtesy Material Mixes

Reminds us very much of stuff Jonathan Adler is doing these days, namely:

Desmond Screen and Radcliff Edagere by Jonathan Adler

We found the episode where Pete has to go exchange the chip 'n dip to be rather hilarious. While we'd certainly seen combined chip/dip bowls before, we'd never actually heard the phrase "chip 'n dip." Had you? Below, behold the infamous chip 'n dip:

Image courtesy moot point

We're ok with leaving the 60's behind on this one and going for a more modern chip 'n dip, like these from The Main Lion. Aren't they fab? It's like functional artwork!

Chip 'n dips by The Mane Lion via Gifts that Give

The Jimmy Barrett character from Season 2 definitely made us cringe; he was funny at times, but for the most part totally grating. Take a look at the bar setup behind him in this commercial.

Doesn't that remind you of of these geometric bookshelves that are popping up at Target, West Elm, et al?

Above and below: Exotic Retreat Bookcase/Room Divider, Target. We like it used in the bathroom as a towel holder.

Finally, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention House Beautiful's great Mad Men feature right now- they have dusted off some of their 60's photos for an authentic taste of the decade. Below, some highlights from their kitchen slideshow.

We have to say, this kitchen from October 1961 is a lot more modern than we expected. Yes we see a formica table at the end of the island, but the stainless steel counters throughout the kitchen look pretty darn current, and we love the shape of the glass in the cabinets.

There are a few items that date this kitchen, but you've got to admit those drawers are totally back in style now! If this kitchen were de-cluttered and the pegboard was removed (must have been a Julia Child influence), then we could totally expect to see a kitchen like this in Metropolitan Home.

Yes! Finally a kitchen we can have a little fun with. Can you imagine drinking your coffee (or diet coke) in the morning with that wallpaper staring at you? Not a tranquil way to start the day. And the matching orange and avocado green dinnerware and napkins? Priceless.

From March 1966, and the colors show it! Much like we look at colors such as avocado green, rusty yellow, and bright orange as being products of the 60's and 70's, what colors these days do you think are going to end up looking like signatures of the 90's and 00's? We think celadon green is way up there on the list, and those rusty reds Pottery Barn has favored so much.

Finally, we have discovered our true dream job- being the set decorator for Mad Men! How amazing would it be to scour vintage stores and put together those fab 60's interiors? Amy Wells, are you looking for two lovely assistants?

Check out this fun article from the LA Times as Amy Wells goes shopping in Homegoods and reveals her favorite picks.

Enjoy the season premiere of Mad Men this Sunday!

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Mad for Mad Men

We at MoS were a little late to the Mad Men party, but now that we've discovered it, we are totally mad for Mad Men! A large part of the reason we're so excited to tune in is the show's obsessive attention to period details. Everything takes place in 1960's New York City and surrounding upscale 'burbs, and the costumes and set make use feel like we're really taking a glimpse back to another era when women dressed like women in flouncy and figure-hugging dresses, the death of Marilyn Monroe was enough to bring life to a standstill, and boozing and napping at the office were perfectly acceptable (and encouraged!). We'll toast to that!

The women of Mad Men, from left to right: Betty Draper, the wholesome suburban housewife, Joan Holloway, the voluptuous head secretary at Sterling Cooper, and Peggy Olsen, the secretary turned copywriter who's serious about her job. Each woman's style says something about her personality, and you don't have to look to hard these days to find how these styles translate to the 21st century.

In looking around for Mad Men-inspired clothes, we discovered that quite a few designers this season seem to be inspired by the 60's aesthetic. Take this Valentio Red printed silk dress. It looks just like Peggy's in the picture above!

Channel your inner Betty with this gorgeous electric green dress by Oscar de La Renta. We even love the peach shoes. This would be perfect with your best pearls or even a statement necklace. Betty would approve! If Mr. ODLR is not in your budget these days, we bet that Milly makes similar dresses for a fraction of the price.

This yellow dotted mattlessee dress is Betty all over. We see her wearing it to lunch at the club, and we see ourselves wearing it to a poolside luncheon or dinner party.

Full figured women these days should take notes from Joan! Rather than hide her curves, she harnesses them. She never shows much skin, but her character on the show oozes sex appeal.

Joan's trademark is curvy sheath dresses, and this sheath scuba dress by Michael Kors would look right at home on the Mad Men set.  We love how you could wear it to the office with a cardigan to tone it down, or to a party after work. The black seams are slimming and flattering.

We love the polka dots on the sheer panel of this black dress. Probably too tame for Joan, but we'll still take it!

As Joan shows us, sheath dresses are such a versatile wardrobe staple.

This red sheath dress will stand out in a crowd!

                

Were Joan around today, we're sure she'd make a beeline for this figure-hugging Ali Ro bandage skirt.

Peggy started out a little mousey in Season 1, but in Season 2 she finally realizes that in order to be taken seriously at work, she needs to start trying a little harder in the wardrobe department!

Who knew that gingham was back? If Dior says so, it must be true! This torsade gingham dress is definitely a fresh, modern take on this oft-country fabric.

And obviously Michael Kors agrees too!

Betty (pictured with her signature glass of red wine!) often wears buttoned up shirt dresses that might look a little costumey today.

However, this fab Ginny Sleeveless Shirt Collar Dress from J McLaughlin is a fresh take on the shirt collar dress. How much do we love this? At $195, it's the Mad Men-inspired bargain of the day!

Betty looks gorgeous, even in outfits that we might normally consider a tad matronly. We'd try for the same effect, but tweak them to be a little more modern.

For example, we love this Diane von Furstenburg key scarf. The navy/red/white color scheme and key pattern are fresh, but classic.

And instead of Betty's baggy sweater, we would definitely layer up the look with a fitted cashmere tee from J. Crew.

We love watching Mad Men as much for the decor as we do for the fashion.

What do you think about Don's office? We're really digging the MCM look! It's streamlined and masculine, and with a few minor tweaks, would look totally swank today.

We'd keep:

• The fab painting 


• The armchairs


• The coffee table

We'd lose:

• The ash tray 


• The wood paneled walls (can't you see a dark lacquered wall complementing this look?)
  


• The lamp.  Or at least paint it!

What do you think of Betty and Don's over the top teal tufted headboard? It's definitely a statement! We love tufted headboards, and we love curved headboards, but together it's a lot. We'd probably suggest a fresher alternative, such as:

This chartreuse tufted headboard from Horchow is definitely still glamorous, but a little more modern and toned down.

We also love this Camden tufted headboard in Danish Linen from Ballard Designs. The price is right, and you can chose from a zillion different types of fabric.

What do you think of Betty's kitchen? We've studied this hard, and there's not much we would keep! We do love the plaid wallpaper- how great would that look in a study? We love the retro style of the refrigerator too. We're seeing more and more retro-looking appliances these days. It's definitely a fresh alternative to the ubiquitous stainless steel look!

Why the long face, Betty? Well, we guess we'd be a little pouty too if we had a spoon collection on the wall! That is one trend we'll definitely leave in the 60's!

Mad Men Season 3 is rumored to begin sometime in August. In the meantime, you can catch up on past seasons on AMC or by ordering them on Netflix and iTunes. Trust us, it's worth taking a look!

Who is your style icon on Mad Men? Are you a Betty, a Joan, or a Peggy?

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It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Halloween

While the MoS Girls may eschew the creepy, cheesy aspects of Halloween festivities (no fake cobwebs on our front porch or plastic tombstones in our yards, please!), there are two aspects Halloween that we wholeheartedly embrace: 1) candy corn and candy pumpkins (I cannot even buy them or I will eat the whole bag in a day!) and 2) costumes! I'm sad to say it's been a few years since I actually had a reason to dress up, but this year there are so many good costume ideas out there that I may just have to don one regardless.

If you're still looking for costume ideas then we highly suggest hopping on over to this handy Mad Men Halloween Costume Guide courtesy of MadMenShow.com.  The site has plenty of tips for channeling your inner Betty, Joan, Peggy, Don, etc., along with tips about getting the atmosphere just right with appropriately themed music, decor, and movies. Plus it even gives a shout out to our previous blog post about Mad Men fashion!

We think that going to a Halloween party as your favorite Mad Men characters would be a fantastic his 'n hers costume, and the best part is that vintage clothing and accessories can be had on Ebay for a song! And while you might not wear full on 60's style regalia in your day to day life, I think that many of these dresses and accessories would incorporate quite nicely into your year-round wardrobe when worn with more current pieces. For example...

Thia pink empire dress and duster is a perfect "formal Betty" outfit. When you're done, lose the duster and cut it off to be short. Now if only we could get her chic hairstyle down pat...

Best. Maternity. Dress. Ever.







I LOVE this "Betty goes to Italy" floral maxi dress. I'd probably cut this off to be a shorter dress because I don't think I could pull of a maxi dress. That's the great thing about vintage stuff on Ebay- since most of it is inexpensive you don't have to be afraid of tweaking it to fit your own, modern style.

This 60's green dress reminds me SO much of a ruffled wrap dress that Milly made a couple of seasons ago. I could see Pete Campbell's wife, Trudy, wearing something like this, couldn't you? Bonus points if your date goes as Pete, and the two of you spontaneously decide to dance the Charleston in the middle of the party!







Love this classic pin up dress- I could see it going with a Betty costume or a Peggy depending upon how it was styled.







There are plenty of full-skirted crinoline dresses on Ebay, but for costume purposes they can be a a little pricey- good ones like this garden party dress go for about $100-$300.







For an office inspired costume, we love this Vintage Sheath Dress. It's modern enough to wear to your own office, don't you think?







The ultimate Joan dress- a Red Dress with Matching Jacket. Fire engine red, slinky, form fitting- just like the dress I'm wearing at work today (kidding!).







The 60's was big on brocade and we think you could style this Asian Brocade Dress in a lot of different ways. We love the gold belt paired with it.







For a "pre-makeover" Peggy, this basic pink and white check dress is definitely something that she would have worn outside of the office.







It reminds me of a more casual version of Peggy's church dress.

Of course there's a chill in the air these days, so a fabulous 60's cost can both enhance your costume and keep you warm on Halloween! Ebay is chock full of fantastic vintage coats- we could spend days looking at them all!

How classic is this vintage coat with a faux fur collar? Love the vintage appeal of the swing-coat silhouette, the big buttons, and the collar.







Reminds us a lot of Betty's camel jacket that she wears after riding.







We see Peggy sporting this blue tweed coat. We love the color and, of course, the dramatic collar.







This Striped Jacket holds retro appeal but would actually still look current today, don't you think? Very Kate Spade!

Complete your Mad Men look with a touch of vintage fur. Here's a tip- they practically give away vintage fur on Ebay. Stoles, wraps, jackets, collars, you name it- it's almost sad how cheaply you can buy it.

I have my grandmother's Mink Stole similar to this one and I love slipping it on for a special occasion!







This Vintage Mink Stole and Hat set is so 60's! I see Trudy wearing this!

What fantastic vintage Feather Hat. I wish people still wore hats like this!







Don't forget some glasses- cateye for you....







And geek chic for him.







And of course, the accessories you choose will make or break the outfit. We think Betty would pile on some big bead necklaces, like this Bead Necklace and Earring Set.

For something a little dressier, we'd wear this texture bead necklace. It would look absolutely fantastic with a non-Halloween outfit too!







Of course Joan loves the long pendant necklaces like this 60's tassle necklace.







It's very similar to this one that Joan sports quite a bit.







There is no shortage of vintage owl pendants on Ebay, and they are so fantastic. Will someone please tell Kelly Bensimon that she did not invent owl jewelry? You can show her this colorful owl pendant to prove your point.

You're almost ready for the party...before you go, don't forget to grab your crocodile purse...







Or your wicker one with lucite handles, depending upon the occasion. Though Kate Spade brought back wicker bags, I love seeing the original ones on Ebay that are a fraction of the price of Kate's!







Finally, you might want to pick one of these Brooks Brothers limited edition Mad Men suits for your date ($998), although according to the website they're already sold out (and they just went on sale Monday). Only 250 were made, which might explain the shortage.

Hope you have a Mad Men inspired Halloween. Are you planning to dress up? What is your costume of choice? Do tell!

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