Mad Men is supposedly coming back this summer. It amazes me that a show that has earned so many awards and such critical acclaim could be in danger of not being picked up for another season. Though most people can't even remember what channel it's on, Mad Men attracts everyone from college co-eds to the now middle aged baby boomers. This made me think, why are people of all ages drawn to a show that seems to be, at first glance, about aloof, chain smoking ad executives and their beauty pageant wives?

Maybe you've never heard of Betty and Don, or perhaps you only watched the first episode MAD MAN and have never understood the hype. After all, like one of my daughters said after doing just that, "I'm not really that interested in watching a show about a secretary."

You were probably sure you'd already figured out who would play both the heroes and villains and assumed the story lines would be nothing more than predictably formulaic. Even though you even reluctantly acknowledged the period perfect sets and costumes, you eventually changed the channel to PBS or a dramatic cable series with real, hard edged plot lines that are relevant to today. You might have even patted yourself on the back for being in a superior intellectual class.

Maybe those of us who continued to watch, and thought we'd discovered a fun new secret, weren't much more enlightened. Initially, we enjoyed watching to proclaim "how far we've come" and we almost looked forward to cringing at the sexist comments and collectively gasping at the absurd amount of alcohol consumed. Those of us who are women felt superior to the silly little wives who seemed to find happiness only in maintaining facades and appearances. And men were very happy not to identify with the arrogant male characters who focused only on their careers and achieving success.

If you would have continued to watch into the middle of the first season, you would have soon discovered, along with the rest of us, that Mad Men is only disguised as a weekly dramatic series. It is really more of a voyeuristic lens, offering both a retrospective and introspective view into the struggles that both men and women face in regards to sexism, marriage, divorce, family dynamics, gender roles, aging, racial issues, addictions, infidelity, sexuality, and even mental illness. The characters are layered with complexity and just as you are comfortable with loathing one or loving another, the tables turn on your perceptions and you start to realize that, in Mad Men, mirroring life itself, absolutely nothing is what it seems.

You almost forget that the show takes place in the 1960's and discover that your own struggles aren't as unique or revolutionary as you'd thought. The wives, on the verge of valium while trying to maintain balance on very shaky pedestals, are anything but silly and the men you initially hated for their obvious ignorance, demand your compassion and empathy. The timeless human issues are revealed and you start to think that maybe we haven't come that far after all.

What does all of this have to do with clothing? Well, I said you "almost" forget that Mad Men takes place in the 60's. The authenticity of the set and the talents of The Costume Designer, Janie Bryant, remind us every week of exactly to which era we are time traveling. The attention to detail and accuracy that is behind the clothing selections appears natural and effortless, an indication of sheer brilliance. It is easy to provide costumes for a 50's sock hop, wartime clothing for a swing dance scene, or depression farm clothing for a production of The Grapes of Wrath, but Ms. Bryant has taken ordinary people and given them a style identity without using Kitsch or stereotypes. The right people are wearing the right clothes. You'd be surprised at how many major Hollywood movies and network television shows get that wrong. I personally get annoyed when a character supposedly earning a modest wage goes to work in a Marc Jacobs suit or wearing pair of $400 shoes. In Mad Men, for example, Betty Draper wears higher end 1960's designer clothing while the secretaries wear a range of styles that are more affordable. Their clothing also matures with them, reflecting the realities of changing ages, stages of life, and salaries. After all, costume selection is just as important as costume design in establishing the personalities of characters, and it is insulting to the viewers to assume that making the actors and actresses look attractive is enough.

Ms. Bryant's sublime choices are the trademark of this show and everything from the shoes to the jewelry is appropriate to the personality, socio economic status and age of the characters wearing them. One ad campaign suggested on a Mad Men episode that "most women want to be either a Marilyn or a Jackie." The majority of women know that those kind of absolutes just don't work for them. Janie Bryant is in touch with that reality and shows that through a huge spectrum of clothing choices, people can be defined beyond rich vs. poor, old vs. young, Jackie vs. Marilyn. She understands that in the real world, most of us live somewhere in between and that clothing can be a perfect reflection of that reality.


So, just in case Janie Bryant is bored one night and finds this little piece somewhere in cyberspace, I'd like to say, "thank you" for taking your job seriously and for understanding that what we wear is more than clothing and that how and when we wore it matters. By respecting the details, you've shown respect to the people who actually wore those outfits every day and to those of us, even humble vintage clothing dealers, who value what we do. Hopefully you will continue to awe us with additional seasons of Mad Men, and others will find your example inspirational and be challenged to reach for excellence.