Living rooms and television sets were abuzz Sunday evening, July 25th, as the fourth season of Mad Men started rolling on AMC.  As the characters we love to love, and love to hate, have once again returned, glistening in their impeccable 1960s attire, audiences all over America have once again been captivated as this deeply complex show grew in its level of provocative guesswork since season three in which we said goodbye to the year 1963.  Complete with the usual crisp white shirts and slim ties, skinny pants and peep toe shoes, and the narrow waistlines reminiscent of Jackie Onassis and Grace Kelly, the fashion of Mad Men looks as though it will once again steal our fancy, complementing each episode with its authenticity and nostalgia for America’s “Golden Years.”  With the ruthless and often unredeemable politics of Sterling Cooper, the fictional Madison Avenue advertising firm for which the series gets its name, we are more curious than ever to see where this new season will take us, and eventually, leave us hanging.

The show’s costume designer, Janie Bryant, is perfectly tuned into the stylistic intricacies of each Mad Men persona.  Betty Draper, Joan Harris, Peggy Olson, Trudy Campbell and of course the unfaithful yet dashing Don Draper, the people for which our eyes often turn, will undergo serious transformations of style in season four.  Maternity frocks, pussy bows, miniskirts, matching sweater sets, tapered pants, and fitted leather gloves will be replaced by the “Mod” looks of the late 1960s with uber-cool looks from London like culottes, boxy shift dresses, go-go boots, flowing scarves, bangles, and berets.  Soon thereafter the Woodstock Era will seep in with the psychedelic prints, peasant blouses, bell-bottom jeans, tie-dye tops, headbands, and sandals that made this “hippie” generation so memorable. 

Whether it’s the fashion, the tantalizing plotlines, or the dark inner secrets of each Mad Men character that attracts us, it is more likely the delicate dance of these elements combined that have left us feeling incredulous and so utterly charmed.


Images of January Jones (Betty Draper), Elisabeth Moss (Peggy Olson), Christina Hendricks (Joan Harris) and Jon Hamm (Don Draper), Mad Men, Season 4

Posted by : Courtney O’Kane Academy of Art University Alumna at 11:12 PM (IST)