Tagged: What to Wear to the Office
Don Draper’s Light Gray Thin-Striped Suit
Jon Hamm as Don Draper in “5G”, Episode 1.05 of Mad Men.
Vitals
Jon Hamm as Don Draper, mysterious advertising creative director
New York City, Spring 1960 and 1962
Series: Mad Men
Episodes:
– “5G” (Episode 1.05), dir. Lesli Linka Glatter, aired 8/16/2007
– “Red in the Face” (Episode 1.07), dir. Tim Hunter, aired 8/30/2007
– “The New Girl” (Episode 2.05), dir. Jennifer Getzinger, aired 8/24/2008
Creator: Matthew Weiner
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant
Background
Happy birthday to Jon Hamm, born March 10, 1971, and arguably most famous for his Emmy-winning performance on AMC’s Mad Men as suave 1960s ad man Don Draper.
Donald Draper? What kinda name is that?
The Apartment: Jack Lemmon’s New Suit and Bowler
Jack Lemmon as C.C. Baxter in The Apartment (1960)
Vitals
Jack Lemmon as C.C. “Bud” Baxter, mild-mannered insurance accountant
New York City, Christmas Eve through New Year’s Eve 1959
Film: The Apartment
Release Date: June 30, 1960
Director: Billy Wilder
Men’s Wardrobe: Forrest T. Butler (uncredited)
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The Apartment stars one of my favorite actors, Jack Lemmon, as bored, lonely office drone Calvin Clifford Baxter who, after nearly four years at the toxic Manhattan insurance company where he works (“one of the top five in the country!” he boasts), manages to climb the corporate ladder by lending out his West 67th Street apartment to his superiors for their extramarital affairs… though many of them don’t regard him any higher than “some schnook who works in the office.”
The Office: Secret Santa – Ranking Holiday Looks
As this week is arguably seeing a number of Christmas parties ramping up at offices around the world, let’s dust off last year’s concept of exploring the famous workplace celebrations at the Scranton branch of the fictional—and highly inept—paper company Dunder Mifflin on NBC’s The Office.
“The holidays have been kind to The Office,” wrote Nathan Rabin for The AV Club in his contemporary review of this episode—which he bestowed with an impressive A- grade—in December 2009. “Some of my favorite episodes take place on Halloween and Christmas, holidays that afford the show an opportunity to break up the visual monotony of business attire and workaday drudgery and indulge in killer sight gags involving Dwight dressed as a malevolent, mean-eyed elf, Michael as a half-assed God figure and geese running amok in unlikely places.”
One of The Office‘s better of its seven Christmas-themed episodes was “Secret Santa”, midway through the show’s sixth season. Perpetual prankster Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) has been promoted to co-regional manager alongside Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and also finds himself co-leading the party planning committee with Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson). Jim and Dwight seemingly put aside their differences to take on the Sisyphean task of motivating their uninspired office for the company’s time-honored holiday party tradition…
Jim: It is office camaraderie.
Dwight: It is warm feelings.
Ho ho ho and happy holidays!
Tidings are all but good when Michael’s “hurt, petulant Jesus” goes too far roasting Phyllis in “Secret Santa” (Episode 6.13).
Left to right: John Krasinski as Jim Halpert, Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly, Phyllis Smith as Phyllis Lapin (as Santa), Creed Bratton, Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor, Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, B.J. Novak as Ryan Howard, and Kate Flannery as Meredith Palmer.
True Detective – Rust Cohle’s Navy Corduroy Jacket
Matthew McConaughey as Rustin “Rust” Cohle on HBO’s True Detective (Episode 1.02: “Seeing Things”)
Vitals
Matthew McConaughey as Rustin “Rust” Cohle, nihilistic Louisiana State Police homicide detective
Louisiana, January 1995
Series: True Detective
Episodes:
– “The Long Bright Dark” (Episode 1.01, aired 1/12/2014)
– “Seeing Things” (Episode 1.02, aired 1/19/2014)
– “The Locked Room” (Episode 1.03, aired 1/26/2014)
– “Who Goes There” (Episode 1.04, aired 2/9/2014)
– “The Secret Fate of All Life” (Episode 1.05, aired 2/16/2014)
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Creator: Nic Pizzolatto
Costume Designer: Jenny Eagan
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Time may or may not be a flat circle, but birthdays come around every year and today is Matthew McConaughey’s 50th!
Mad Men, 1969 Style – Don Draper’s Brown Suit
Jon Hamm as Don Draper on Mad Men (Episode 7.05: “The Runaways”)
Vitals
Jon Hamm as Don Draper, displaced ad man seeking to salvage his professional and personal lives
New York City, Spring 1969
Series: Mad Men
Episodes:
– “Time Zones” (Episode 7.01), dir. Scott Hornbacher, aired 4/13/2014
– “A Day’s Work” (Episode 7.02), dir. Michael Uppendahl, aired 4/20/2014
– “Field Trip” (Episode 7.03), dir. Christopher Manley, aired 4/27/2014
– “The Runaways” (Episode 7.05), dir. Christopher Manley, aired 5/11/2014
Creator: Matthew Weiner
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
On #MadMenMonday, we turn again to Don Draper’s style for the office with a chocolate brown suit that clothed our ad man through many episodes of the show’s penultimate season, set in the early months of 1969 as he flounders in virtual unemployment after his unpredictable behavior made the one-time advertising hotshot a liability for Sterling Cooper & Partners.
Walter Matthau’s Navy Striped Suit in Charade
Walter Matthau as Carson Dyle in Charade (1963)
Vitals
Walter Matthau as Carson Dyle, posing as CIA administrator Hamilton Bartholomew
Paris, April 1963
Film: Charade
Release Date: December 5, 1963
Director: Stanley Donen
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today commemorates the 99th birthday of the great Walter Matthau, the New York-born actor and comedian. After playing heavies in movies like the Elvis vehicle King Creole (1958) and his self-directed Gangster Story (1960), Matthau got a chance to exercise his versatility and comedic chops with a delightfully duplicitous role in Stanley Donen’s romantic comedy thriller Charade (1963).
First Man: Neil Armstrong’s Gun Club Check and Omega
Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong in First Man (2018)
Vitals
Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, NASA astronaut and former U.S. Navy pilot
Houston, Texas, August 1962 through March 1966
Film: First Man
Release Date: October 12, 2018
Director: Damien Chazelle
Costume Designer: Mary Zophres
Background
In addition to being my 30th birthday, today is also the 50th anniversary of when Neil Armstrong became the first person to step onto the surface of the Moon at 02:56:15 UTC on July 21, 1969, six hours after he and Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle as part of the Apollo 11 spaceflight, a mission also manned by command module pilot Michael Collins.
Last year, Damien Chazelle directed Ryan Gosling in First Man, a biopic focused on Neil Armstrong’s life and career through the 1960s from the tragic death of his young daughter Karen to his triumphant first steps on the Moon… “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Continue reading
Don Draper’s Gray Plaid for Summer, Part 2: 1970
Jon Hamm as Don Draper on Mad Men (Episode 7.08: “Severance”)
Vitals
Jon Hamm as Don Draper, somewhat less mysterious advertising creative director
New York City, Summer 1970
Series: Mad Men
Episodes:
– “Severance” (Episode 7.08), dir. Scott Hornbacher, aired 4/5/2015
– “The Forecast” (Episode 7.10), dir. Jennifer Getzinger, aired 4/19/2015
Creator: Matthew Weiner
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Ten years after Don Draper (Jon Hamm) walked the halls of Sterling Cooper in a gray-blue plaid summer suit, let’s see how the ad man updated his look for the summer of 1970.
As Monday’s post highlighted a suit worn in the eighth and tenth episodes of Mad Men‘s first season, this post looks at a similar suit worn in the eighth and tenth episodes of the seventh and final season as the late spring of 1970 extended into the summer.
Don Draper’s Gray Plaid for Summer, Part 1: 1960
Jon Hamm as Don Draper on Mad Men (Episode 1.10: “Long Weekend”)
Vitals
Jon Hamm as Don Draper, mysterious advertising creative director
New York City, Summer 1960
Series: Mad Men
Episodes:
– “The Hobo Code” (Episode 1.08), dir. Phil Abraham, aired 9/6/2007
– “Long Weekend” (Episode 1.10), dir. Tim Hunter, aired 9/27/2007
– “Six-Month Leave” (Episode 2.09), dir. Michael Uppendahl, 9/28/2008
Creator: Matthew Weiner
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy first full week of June! As the weather warms up, let’s take a look at comfortable yet appropriate dressing for the summer workplace with a few cues from the dapper Don Draper. Continue reading
Gig Young in That Touch of Mink
Gig Young as Roger in That Touch of Mink (1962)
Vitals
Gig Young as Roger, neurotic financial advisor
New York City, Spring 1962
Film: That Touch of Mink
Release Date: June 14, 1962
Director: Delbert Mann
Background
Though not regarded among the best of either Cary Grant or Doris Day’s filmographies, That Touch of Mink will always have a special place for me as one of the movies I used to watch with my grandma, who introduced me to many classic stars from the era through her collection of VHS tapes that we watched nearly to oblivion.
In this romantic comedy, it’s the leads’ best friends who are the most fun to watch, both Audrey Meadows (who Grant—a fan of her work on The Honeymooners—campaigned to have added to the cast) and Gig Young as Grant’s right-hand man.
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