Tagged: Ad Man

Don Draper’s New Year’s Eve Plaid Sportcoat

Vitals

Jon Hamm as Don Draper in "The Doorway, Part 2" (Episode 6.02 of Mad Men).

Jon Hamm as Don Draper in “The Doorway, Part 2” (Episode 6.02 of Mad Men).

Jon Hamm as Don Draper, Madison Avenue ad man

New York City, New Year’s Eve 1967

Series: Mad Men
Episode: “The Doorway, Part 2” (Episode 6.02)
Air Date: April 7, 2013
Director: Scott Hornbacher
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant

Background

Mad Men‘s penultimate (or pen-penultimate, depending on how you look at it) season begins in Hawaii during the Drapers’ tropical vacation but soon shifts back to the cold harsh reality of Manhattan in December. While this sort of setting would have been idyllic a few years earlier during the Rat Pack era, it is now dominated by unwashed squatters living with teenage runaways and their violins. Continue reading

Mad Men – Don’s Brown Sweater in “The Grown Ups”

Jon Hamm as Don Draper in "The Grown-Ups", Episode 3.12 of Mad Men.

Jon Hamm as Don Draper in “The Grown-Ups”, Episode 3.12 of Mad Men.

Vitals

Jon Hamm as Don Draper, Madison Avenue ad man with a crumbling personal life

Ossining, New York, November 1963

Series: Mad Men
Episode: “The Grown-Ups” (Episode 3.12)
Air Date: November 1, 2009
Director: Barbet Schroeder
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant

Background

Best known for his sharp business suits at the office, Don Draper has a very clear weekend relaxation style that emerges during the series. In the cooler months of spring and fall, Don often pairs a white dress shirt with a dark sweater and trousers. This was first notably seen in the second season’s “Three Sundays” when he and the Sterling Cooper gang bustled around the office on a weekend to prepare the perfect pitch for American Airlines.

A year and a half later, the country is reeling from the recent tragedy of the JFK assassination. The sixties had yet to become the turbulent and violent decade it is now remembered as, and American life was still viewed as the idyllic Norman Rockwell painting or Father Knows Best episode. This all began to change in 1963 as the white picket fence of Leave It to Beaver gave way to presidential assassinations, city-wide riots, and unthinkable racial violence. Continue reading

Don Draper’s Yellow Gun Club Check Sportcoat

Jon Hamm as Don Draper on Mad Men (Episode 4.03: "The Good News")

Jon Hamm as Don Draper on Mad Men (Episode 4.03: “The Good News”)

Vitals

Jon Hamm as Don Draper, recently divorced Madison Avenue ad man (although I guess it’s safe to call him Dick Whitman here…)

Los Angeles, December 1964 and
New York City, Summer 1965

Series: Mad Men
Episodes:
– “The Good News” (Episode 4.03, dir. Jennifer Getzinger, aired August 8, 2010)
– “The Summer Man” (Episode 4.08, dir. Phil Abraham, aired September 12, 2010)
Creator: Matthew Weiner
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant Continue reading

Don Draper’s Hawaiian Vacation

Jon Hamm as Don Draper in "The Doorway", Episode 6.01 of Mad Men.

Jon Hamm as Don Draper in “The Doorway”, Episode 6.01 of Mad Men.

Vitals

Jon Hamm as Don Draper, vacationing Madison Avenue ad man

Hawaii, December 1967

Series: Mad Men
Episode: “The Doorway” (Episode 6.01)
Air Date: April 7, 2013
Director: Scott Hornbacher
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant

Background

As June progresses, I hope many of you are starting to think about summer vacations.

Season six of Mad Men premiered in April 2013 with “The Doorway”, a two-hour episode (technically two episodes aired consecutively, but whatever) set just after Christmas 1967.

When we first catch up with Don Draper again after the ten-month inter-season hiatus, he is in Hawaii on a business vacation, sticking his feet in the sand with his bikini-clad wife Megan. Continue reading

Don Draper Test Drives a Jaguar in “Christmas Waltz”

Jon Hamm as Don Draper on Mad Men, episode 5.10: "The Christmas Waltz".

Jon Hamm as Don Draper on Mad Men, episode 5.10: “Christmas Waltz”.

Vitals

Jon Hamm as Don Draper, increasingly disgruntled Manhattan ad exec

New York City, Christmas 1966

Series: Mad Men
Episode: “Christmas Waltz” (Episode 5.10)
Air Date: May 20, 2012
Director: Michael Uppendahl
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant

Background

Ah, did I hold my breath during this episode or what? Admittedly, I’m not much of a fiction “shipper”; I don’t care either way if characters get together on screen, but toying with the idea of having Don and Joan begin an affair was thrilling. It turned out for the best as they both left the bar without consummating their brief but clever flirtations, but I know I’m not the only Mad Men fan who was hoping for at least a drunken makeout between the two.

Anyway, drunken make outs aren’t what Car Week is all about. This week is wrapping up with a post that ties in the recent theme of cars and the upcoming Christmas holiday. In “The Christmas Waltz”, the tenth episode of Mad Men‘s fifth season, our beloved Joan Harris (neé Holloway) has just received divorce papers from her jerk of a husband. She reacts like any of us would, throwing a model of an airplane at the office receptionist, but—luckily for her—Don Draper shows up to the rescue. After a few reassuring words in Jon Hamm’s voice, Don drapes his overcoat around Joan’s shoulders and leads her out to lunch. Continue reading

Autumn on Mad Men – Draper’s Brown Suit in Season 2

Yesterday was the Autumnal Equinox, or – as normal people call it – the first day of autumn. If you’re looking for a good suit to wear as the leaves change and months get colder, Mad Men offers a fine sartorial suggestion from lead character Don Draper.

Jon Hamm as Don Draper in the second season finale of Mad Men.

Jon Hamm as Don Draper in the second season finale of Mad Men.

Vitals

Jon Hamm as Don Draper, recently enlightened Madison Avenue ad man

New York City, October 1962

Series: Mad Men
Episodes: “Flight 1” (Episode 2.02); “Three Sundays” (Episode 2.04)”; “Meditations in an Emergency” (Episode 2.13)
Air Date: August 3, 2008; August 17, 2008; October 26, 2008
Director: Andrew Bernstein; Tim Hunter; Matthew Weiner
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant

Background

Don Draper only wears his brown suit three times in the second season – first in “Flight 1” (March), again when “entertaining” Bobbie Barrett in “Three Sundays” (April), and finally after his return from California in the finale “Meditations in an Emergency” (October, during the Cuban Missile Crisis). Continue reading

Don Draper at the end of Season 5

Jon Hamm as Don Draper on Mad Men.

Jon Hamm as Don Draper on Mad Men, episode 5.13 “The Phantom”.

This Sunday marks the return of Mad Men with the sixth season premiere on AMC. When we last saw Don Draper at the end of the fifth season, he was on a Manhattan bar stool, being propositioned by a couple of young barflies.

Vitals

Jon Hamm as Don Draper, twice-married Madison Avenue ad man

New York City, Spring 1967

Series: Mad Men
Episode: “The Phantom” (Episode 5.13)
Air Date: June 10, 2012
Director: Matthew Weiner
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant

Background

In the final episode of Mad Men‘s fifth season, “The Phantom”, the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce office is trying overcome their grief in the wake of a major death. Don Draper is hit hard, feeling responsible for the second suicide of someone he had rejected. Additionally, our protagonist is dealing with a throbbing toothache and his young wife’s desire to revisit acting. By the end of the episode, his tooth is healed, the company is buying additional office space, and Megan has had a successful audition.

Don, however, is at a crossroads: Does he move forward? If so, how? Continue reading

Valentine’s Day, Mad Men Style

Jon Hamm as Don Draper during the second season premiere of Mad Men.

Jon Hamm as Don Draper during the second season premiere of Mad Men.

Vitals

Jon Hamm as Don Draper, Madison Avenue ad man

New York City, February 1962

Series: Mad Men
Episode: “For Those Who Think Young” (Episode 2.01)
Air Date: July 27, 2008
Director: Tim Hunter
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant

Background

In “For Those Who Think Young”, the second season premiere of Mad Men, Don Draper teaches us that Valentine’s Day plans don’t have to be elaborate to be romantic. Of course, you kinda need to follow through. Continue reading

A Mad Men Wedding

Continuing our Week of Weddings, we have a two-parter today from “The Grown Ups”, the twelfth and penultimate episode of the third season of Mad Men.

Jon Hamm as Don Draper (left) and John Slattery as Roger Sterling (right) in

Jon Hamm as Don Draper (left) and John Slattery as Roger Sterling (right) in the third season Mad Men episode “The Grown Ups”.

I hope no one minds – nor do I care if anyone does – but we’re gonna switch up the format here and feature TWO people in one post. While you’re busy scraping your jaws up off the floor, let’s proceed to…

Pt. 1 – The Wedding Guest

Vitals

Jon Hamm as Don Draper, Manhattan ad man and Ossining family man

New York City, November 1963

Series: Mad Men
Episode: “The Grown-Ups” (Episode 3.12)
Air Date: November 1, 2009
Director: Barbet Schroeder
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant Continue reading

Don Draper’s White Dinner Jacket

Don Draper’s approach to a white dinner jacket, typically reserved for summer, defines the attitude of a lighthearted and classy celebration. Take heed for any New Year’s Eve celebrations this week.

Jon Hamm as Don Draper on Mad Men (Episode: "The Gold Violin")

Jon Hamm as Don Draper on Mad Men (Episode: “The Gold Violin”)

Vitals

Jon Hamm as Don Draper, Madison Avenue ad man with a dark past

New York City, July 1962

Series: Mad Men
Episode: “The Gold Violin” (Episode 2.07)
Air Date: September 7, 2008
Director: Andrew Bernstein
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant

Background

We’ve seen Don Draper at work and at play. But when he’s invited to a soiree at the Stork Club one warm Monday night, Draper channels James Bond and pulls out his summer dinner jacket.

By “The Gold Violin”, the seventh episode of the second season, Draper has engaged in a full affair with the wife of entertainer Jimmy Barrett. His professional life is on the rise and, as evidenced by his Cadillac, he’s “arrived”.

However, the party at the Stork Club proves to be a bad decision and marks the beginning of the end for Don and trophy wife Betty. Continue reading