Peggy Olson from ‘Mad Men’
As the fourth season of AMC’s Mad Men draws to a close Sunday, Oct. 17, one of television’s most acclaimed costume designers, Janie Bryant, reflects on the look she helped popularize and a favorite character in Peggy (Elisabeth Moss).
Bryant, at her Manhattan agent’s office, signs copies of The Fashion File, her book that hits the shelves next week. In it, she talks “about becoming your own leading lady and how to do that for your style and fashion,” she says. “And I talk a little bit about accessories and vintage pieces that can totally change your wardrobe; how to look for vintage; my style icons and inspiration; how to get the proper fitting bra and shapewear. And how to get a little crush on yourself.”
She’s done just that with this cast whose styles reflect the sleek look of late 1950s and early ’60s Manhattan.
Peggy, Bryant says, “is the most layered and interesting character on the show,” who has undergone the most changes in her life and as a logical result, in her wardrobe.
“I always see Peggy as the Catholic schoolgirl in some way,” Bryant says. “Those are her roots, how she grew up, and that stays with her, in her appearance of being earnest, as she was described.”
Earnest is the perfect word for any woman so at ease in Peter Pan collars and plaid skirts. Now, Bryant says, Peggy “is definitely a New York City working girl. She has her style, more modern as she has grown up and progressed in the company. And one of my favorite dresses for her this season is the black wool jersey dress with the windowpane beige and black skirt. It still carries through Peggy wearing plaid or windowpane, but it’s much more modern, sculptural, more of the times. The shape is A-line, and more modern ’60s silhouette.”
Many of Peggy’s clothes are Bryant originals, and she also sews and re-works older outfits. She buys many from costume shops and vintage stores and from vintage dealers who serve only film and TV shows.
Bryant also shops at local Los Angeles vintage shops Hubba Hubba, Jet Rag and Rose Bowl. When an outfit can’t be found, Bryant sews. She buys materials from B&J Fabrics and Mood Fabric in New York.
None of these clothes would hang right without the proper undergarments. She uses Rago Shapewear, which make longline bras, girdles and garter belts that are more practical than sexy. Bryant buys stockings for those belts from One Hanes Place.
Shoes are Mary Janes or kitten heels and come from vintage shops, as do the gloves. Jewelry is from eBay or Etsy. Bryant’s best advice to achieve this good-girl-makes-good look is, “Start the hunt! Go to your favorite vintage stores.”
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