Classic Menswear and Fashion in the Hit TV Show “Mad Men”

As it enters its fourth season, AMC’s “Mad Men” remains one of the best-looking TV shows out there. Vintage interiors and clothing give the series a classy look that people are starting to turn to in modern fashion — and not just the women’s wear. Enjoy our overview of the men’s fashion in “Mad Men,” brought to you by the creative team at  http://www.matthewaperry.com/ , and be sure to look for the individual articles about each of your favorite Mad Men as well!
Classic Menswear: The Well-Dressed Man
Part of what makes the gentlemen of Mad Men so good-looking is that they’re not just period pieces. Their style isn’t immediately and exclusively recognizable as “early 1960s menswear” — there’s a timelessness about their habits of dress that would make them sharp-looking in any era. Men looking to emulate the Mad Men style will want to remember the basics that Don Draper and company are paying close attention to.
Fitted Suits and Jackets
The boys at Sterling Cooper have more important things to talk about than their clothes, so we don’t always get a lot of detail on whether a character’s suit was custom-made or just fitted by a tailor — but there’s no question that everyone’s suits are personally fitted. Off-the-rack suits were taking off in the 1960s, with Brooks Brother’s American sack suit leading the way, but a close look at any of the Mad Men shows that they’ve had their jackets and trousers carefully cut to suit their bodies and styles.

A look at Don Draper’s bespoke suit gives us a good idea of the well-fitted style: the soft shoulders drape neatly over his shoulder-blades without going past the end of them, and the fabric where the sleeve meets the jacket is free of any bunching or sagging. The jacket sleeve ends just below the large bone in his wrist, allowing a half-inch of shirt cuff to show past it. His trousers sit high on his natural waist and are cut loose enough to present a smooth, unbroken front, presumably with his keys and other small items in them. While the suit jacket tapers at the waist, it isn’t tight, and at no point does it come to a sharp point or crease.

While most men today see it as a luxury, this kind of carefully-tailored fit was a standard of dressing for men like Don Draper. Without the exacting fit, their style would be nowhere near as striking, no matter what other choices they made in their clothing.