WE'RE MAD FOR IT - WHY TV SHOW MAD MEN IS SHAPING WOMEN'S FASHION...

Every so often a television series comes along that is not only addictive viewing but which also sets a fashion trend. The US series Mad Men is such a show. The sleek suits of its advertising executive Don Draper, and rear enhancing frocks of Joan Holloway have a cult following all of their own.

With its impeccable sense of style and painstaking attention to period detail (not to mention the stellar writing and acting that helped it to garner 17 Emmy nominations!), Mad Men has truly taken the fashion world by storm. Michael Kors has designed his entire fall/winter collection around the silhouettes, and retro-styled garments abound in all the high street stores.

Vanity Fair said that it "Is the most stylish-and perhaps best-show on television," and not without reason, the styling, acting and tone of this acclaimed series is absolutely spot-on.
The show's early 1960s costumes are enough to make even the most forward-thinking men and women swoon - and no one wears them better than actress Christina Hendricks. The instant she swished on to TV's Mad Men, as flame-haired office manager Joan Holloway, she gained a legion of fans.

It wasn't just her ample cleavage that drew the eye - after all; even stick-thin Victoria Beckham has one of those these days. It was that tiny waist above classically feminine hips that gave her an old-fashioned va-va-voom. Looking like a Marilyn Monroe body double she suddenly made it desirable to have curves again and no one looks as good as Joan in a fitted pencil skirt with heels.

It would be fair to say that we are all lusting after her incredible on-screen wardrobe, which takes its inspiration from the early sixties. The shapes are straight from the glamorous Screen Siren era, when skirts were full and sweaters were tight and sexy. And the colours are pure candy store - baby blue, pale pink and yellow, with stripes and polka dots thrown in.

MAD MEN  fashion with a modern twist...

So how can you get that look without breaking the bank?
Devoted 2 Vintage have a huge range of authentic original 1960s vintage clothing for both women and men and specialist shops such as Beyond Retro are fantastic options if you want the Mad Men look - without the smell of mothballs. Many high street stores such as Monsoon, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams and Wallis are stocking cocktail dresses, pencil skirts and vintage style blouses - so they are well worth a visit.


"You don't want to look like you just came out of a vintage shop." says Mad Men's costume designer Janie Bryant. "I think the jewellery from the period is so gorgeous. If you're doing pearls, wear multi-strings of pearls but mix it with something modern, like a pair of skinny jeans. I do think it's about mixing it up and creating your own style. If you wear a sheath, wear a pair of modern shoes - a pair of modern pumps or sandals at that. You don't have to have a matching bag like they did in the days of Mad Men."


To finish the look just add seamed stockings and a smile.







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Flirting with the Fifties...

From Twenties flapper style to Fifties chic... it seems today's cutting-edge designers are obsessed with one thing - yesterday.

We remember the fifties as an age of hula-hoops, beehive hairstyles and Dior's New Look, of Sunday roasts with Yorkshire pudding; an age of Bakelite telephones with letters to dial the exchange, vans delivering the groceries and children walking to school without risk of harm; an age of rock 'n' roll, cup cakes, Elvis, poodle skirts and Brylcreemed Teddy Boys.

Hardly anyone who lived through the Fifties does not feel nostalgia for that somehow uncomplicated time of steam trains and holidays by the seaside. In these difficult days, it's no wonder we are harking back to an era when life seemed so much simpler.
The fifties has to be one of the most feminine of decades when it comes to fashion. From nipped-in waists to cropped pants and pumps, there's a certain romance about the decade that gave us the elfin looks of Audrey Hepburn and the elegance of Grace Kelly.

 Whether it's Dita Von Teese or your vintage-savvy best
friend, it seems everyone wants to look like a pin-up or vampy '50s housewife these days.


It all started with the Dolce and Gabbana advertising campaign, featuring Scarlett Johansson. She smoulders in front of the camera, all bust and hips and pale flesh, looking unapologetically curvy - and boy, does she look sexy. This return to form marks the start of a backlash against the waif-like models that are used in most fashion campaigns and harks back to an era when women looked glamorous when they went to the shops. The style is nostalgic, but Johansson makes it look modern - putting the fifties look firmly back on the map.

Fifties fashion was feminine, flattering and - unlike the size
zero silhouette - achievable. In the first decade after the war, the icons of the time - Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor - were full-bodied and glamorous women, not skinny girls. The clothes they wore celebrated, emphasised and flattered their hourglass curves. Compared to today's impossible body ideal, it seems a much more attainable look. No wonder the fifties, when cellulite had yet to be discovered, are remembered so fondly.

The revival of its shapely silhouette - nipped in at the waist and flaring out over the hips - is good news for women. During the Fifties, clothes were a celebration of the female form, and the bust became the focal point of this celebration. Jane Russell and Sophia Loren, showed off the full potential of their figures in corsets, strapless bras and babydoll slips.

For Spring/Summer '11, the world's top designers are moving away from recession inspired 'less is more' and offering more playful collections.The mood is feminine, frivolous and unashamedly sexy.


On the catwalks, the fifties trend was done best at Christian Dior , where full skirts in pretty pastel shades dominated the catwalk.The looks were completed by Forties-style hair and make-up, with hair pinned up into twists and curls, and lips in eye-popping red.Some models even had their eyebrows painted red, which was rather less Fifties, but chic in context nonetheless.

Perhaps sensing a money-spinning trend (i.e., one that can be worn by more than 1% of the adult population), the high street has been quick to pick up on the look. Debenhams, Miss Selfridge, Monsoon and Jane Norman are full of pretty prom dresses, and Marks & Spencer - which, judging by recent results, needs a hit in the fashion stakes - has made introduced a selection of pretty fifties style cocktail dresses to its recent spring collection


More and more young fashion chains have gone for the dressed-up, girly look this season, and many have introduced inexpensive accessories to complement their main clothing ranges. So you can team your cocktail dress with a fluffy bolero, skinny cardigan, a hat, a cute handbag, cat's-eye sunglasses, retro-inspired jewellery (such as brooches or corsages), dolly shoes or a string of oversized pearls.


Sound old-fashioned? To the generation of young women who have lived in jeans and trainers, it's a breath of fresh air. But a warning to anyone over 30. Hourglass-style prom dress in larger sizes can look frumpy and a bit too much like fancy dress. Opt for slimmer silhouettes and accessorise with a fitted, faded denim or leather jacket, high patent stilettos or colourful pumps understated jewellery and simple, modern make-up.
Remember, it's 2011, not 1954.

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