Mad Men influences modern fashion trends - Chattanooga Times Free Press
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Courtney Simmons models a dress by Criss Cross with a bracelet and necklaces from Francesca's Collection.
Its not unusual for celebrities to spark fashion trends, but in the last four years, an Emmy Award-winning TV series has been wielding that power.
Mad Men, which starts its fifth season next year on AMC, has brought 1950s to mid-1960s fashions to the forefront and caused other designers to turn back the clock to create todays must-have styles.
Last month, Banana Republic launched a Mad Men Collection limited-edition line for men and women. Designers from Banana Republic collaborated with the shows Emmy Award-winning designer, Janie Bryant, a native of Cleveland, Tenn. The line features nearly 65 pieces of 1960s-inspired apparel and accessories.
In a recent interview posted on the Time magazine website, Bryant talked about the nostalgia for retro and vintage fashions.
I think people love to romanticize the early 1960s, Bryant told Time. Its the period of our American Camelot and our Kennedys. People think of that period as the most glamorous and elegant in time.
The eras silhouettes are classic, ageless looks, according to Bryant. Pencil skirts, sweater sets and pearls they never go out of style, she told Time.
Matthew Wilson, owner of Wilson & Bow Fine Neckwear in East Ridge, said the show is also influencing mens styles.
Wilson said Brooks Brothers has a mens clothing line based on Mad Men.
There is just something very appealing about that look the dark suit with a black tie and slicked-back hair is a bold, no-nonsense fashion statement that worked in the early 1960s and works very well now. If you could only have one clothing item to capture that look, I would choose a solid black tie.
Betsy Parks, assistant manager of Francescas, a womens fashion boutique in East Brainerd, said she loves the femininity of Mad Men-inspired womens fashions.
The clothing from that era is so different from the styles in recent years, she said. I love that the styles show a womans curves and highlight her silhouette. The pencil skirt, the full skirt with the cinched waist, the bows, the sparkle, the lace and the sweetheart necklines are ultra-feminine.
Parks said photographs of her grandmother shows her wearing similar styles.
I particularly noticed the waist of the pencil skirts shes wearing actually goes up to her true waist and not on the hips like most skirts do today, she said. Thats the exact style thats being portrayed on Mad Men.
Fashions inspired from the show have been bestsellers at Francescas, Parks said.
Gathered skirts made from a light, flowy fabric and cinched at the waist are very popular, especially worn with blouses that are sheer and lacy, she said. Were also seeing the midi skirt. Its a length that hits right below the knees and was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. You wear it with a sweater set or a blouse that you tuck in at the waist.
Feature writer Karen Nazor Hill covers fashion, design, home and gardening, pets, entertainment, human interest features and more. She also is an occasional news reporter and the Town Talk columnist. She previously worked for the Catholic newspaper Tennessee Register and was a reporter at the Chattanooga Free Press from 1985 to 1999, when the newspaper merged with the Chattanooga Times. She won a Society of Professional Journalists Golden Press third-place award in feature writing for ...
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