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"Mad Men" Brings 60's Style To Fashion Week

Elizabeth Johnson |
September 19, 2010 | 2:50 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Proenza Schouler - Fashion Week (imaxtree)
Proenza Schouler - Fashion Week (imaxtree)
The women of "Mad Men" aren’t just taking over television. They’re on red carpets; the front rows of New York Fashion Week; walking the dog and sipping coffee on a veranda. Don a boxy blazer with oversized buttons, or a tweed pencil skirt à la Peggy Olson and you too can be one of the 60s vixens.

"Mad Men"’s iconic style is taking fashion in a direction far from its current counterparts. As queens of pop such as Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera and Lady Gaga up their shock factor in latex and unitards, American fashion is becoming of two minds: the sexy, 80s-inspired cut-outs and sheer clothing influenced by the pop music scene, and the more demure, lady-like style epitomized by "Mad Men."

Christina Hendricks’s character, Joan, has played a large part in this fashion movement as the sultry secretary who shows off her hourglass frame with low décolletage and solid pencil-skirted dresses in bright turquoise, pink, and cherry red. Other ladies from the show are emulating this classic style in their everyday wardrobes.

Alison Brie, who plays Trudy, was seen in the front rows of BCBG, Nicole Miller and Charlotte Ronson at New York Fashion Week wearing quintessentially Joan silhouettes: a retro lilac dress with pleating and floral detail and a draped nude long-sleeved mini-dress.

So what is the easiest way to adopt a little "Mad Men" flair of your own without looking too much like you just stepped away from your secretary’s desk at Sterling Cooper?

Sheer, silky tops and sheath dresses paired with modern, oversized accessories and, preferably, a sky-high platform pump. Unfortunately for lovers of the retro kitten heel, towering stilettos are here to stay. As the holiday season approaches, the already ubiquitous style will be seen everywhere from Forever 21 to Marchesa.

To avoid a literal translation of the "Mad Men" trend, keep the look fresh. The mustard yellow color of Peggy’s work blouses is updated when seen on a draped chiffon J. Mendel dress (worn by Melissa George at New York Fashion Week here).

Proenza Schouler’s Spring 2011 collection utilized bold colors and graphic designs, marrying the daring look of 80s style with classic 60s silhouettes, to update simple boxy coats and belted sheaths.

Proenza Schouler – Fashion Week (imaxtree)
Proenza Schouler – Fashion Week (imaxtree)
So whether you’re a lover of latex or classic chic, there is one simple way to be inspired by "Mad Men" fashion. From “dowdy” Peggy to bombshell Joan, these women own their style – in the office and on the town, their clothing is deliberate but effortless, and inescapably feminine.

And that’s good advertising.

Reach Elizabeth here.

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