Its a Mad , Mad World - The Boys of Mad Men May 31st, 2008
The sixties, as a fashion reference point, has been strong for the past few seasons, and right now is getting a little tired, but as current menswear continues to evolve, the sixties, in the midst of hipster/faux indie dominance feels refreshing and, at the very least, is a reprise from the stronghold that skinny jeans and thin cotton t-shirts seems to have on mens fashion lately. As with anyone with a television set, cable, and appreciation for great writing and acting, I have fallen head overheels in love with the AMC series Mad Men, and can barely stand the wait for the second season to begin, July 27th. To say that one of the main reasons I love the show is because of the amazing period styling and clothing, is a bit of understatement. But I'm much more fascinated by the sharp tailoring, clean lines and narrow cuts of the suits worn by the male characters then I am about the high-waisted and pre-mod pattering of the womenswear worn by their female counterparts. Whiles the sixties,even done in the right way, for womenswear can easily feel dated or rehashed, in menswear the early sixties simply represent clean lines , modern and fitted tailoring, which results in a timeless masculine chicness that bold pattern and changing hemlines have a harder time achieving or competing with. There has been plenty of noise made already from the series' debut about the costuming, but I watched the whole series from the first to the last episode again , and simply can't get over how sleek the cast looks. the styling is spot on, and seems particularly relevant as menswear is going through a bit of a classic American Sportswear revival at the moment, especially for spring/summer. Also I haven't done a post on menswear in quite awhile, and whiles running the risk of turning my blog into a video catalog, I couldn't resist posting this video from the AMC blogs featuring the stylists of the show discussing the looks and their piecing together of the Mad Men wardrobe, and essentially how they are able to create a look that feels authentically early 60's and American. Enjoy!
