America's Best Dressed Mayor

This week at the Toronto Fashion Incubator (my office place) we were visited by Mayor Francis Slay of St. Louis Missouri. I am told that the city of St. Louis is considering starting a fashion incubator of their own. (TFI has served as a model for fashion incubators around the world.)

It was a pleasure to meet Mayor Slay and his team as they were lovely and very interested in hearing what we had to say about our businesses and about being a part of the incubator.

During the meet and greet I was informed by TFI director Susan Langdon that Mayor Slay was voted the best dressed mayor in America. He was also featured in Esquire Magazine

I found it very cool and unexpected that the best dressed mayor is not from one of the cities considered American fashion centers.

Look out for St. Louis!

Style Gone Mad

I began contemplating the cultural significance of the television show Mad Men while reading the following paragraph from an article entitled Drama Confronts a Dramatic Decade by Fred Kaplan in the New York Times this past weekend.

“We live in a culture where people can transform themselves,” Mr. Weiner said. “We have a phrase: ‘Find a job, then become the person who does it.’ Don is one of those people. It’s a hard thing to swallow, because you’re never really secure about yourself. For our hero that insecurity makes him especially good at understanding what people want and why they want it.” And that makes him a perfect ad man.

Due to the nature of my work, interesting or unexpected notes about self-transformation tend to catch my attention. The above description of the Don Draper character reminds me of those I have known and worked with who created new lives for themselves when given the opportunity to do so in times of major transition - albeit under less dramatic circumstances than this character. (If you have not seen the show, Don returns from war mistaken for another man who has passed away. He then creates a new life for himself under his adopted identity.)

The above quote from the show’s creator Matthew Weiner may cite Don’s insecurity but it is the character’s confidence (authentic or not) that strikes me most. Part of this is exuded through sheer style of dress and movement. Just as one’s body language can influence what we think of how they look, the way the show is shot (cinematography) helps us to feel the mood of the Mad Men world while we watch the accompanying visuals. Watching this show is like being a fly on the wall in early 60’s New York.

A fashion industry influence

The clothing seen in Mad Men hardly represents fashion fiction as the costume design is well researched and carefully crafted. As the show became a part of pop culture, its style began to infiltrate runways and retail. Michael Kors for instance put out a fall 2008 line inspired by the show.

In a BBC article entitled The Look of Mad Men, Jeremy Langmead, the editor of Esquire Magazine says of his experience this past winter, “And having just been to the latest round of fashion shows, the Mad Men's influence can be seen in the domination of the suit. But more significant is the influence at the other end of the market, where High Street and Main Street traders brand their suiting as "Mad Men".

I recently passed a retail window display here in Toronto endorsing fashion ideas taken from the show. The stores have clearly partnered with the network (since they are using the show’s official branding) and are timing their promotions to profit while promotion is at a high for the new season of the show.

What is Mad Men style?

For the men, it is a statement of suit. The elevated level of style is achieved through the details such as tie widths and knots, collar points and pins, pocket squares and pattern mixing. Today this meticulous attention to detail is simply not as common as it once was. If you have this today you really stand out.

The Mad Men women also make a style statement. They wear well put together looks that have a sophisticated sense of colour. Luxurious accessories are a focus and fabrics and textures are important. The female characters and their clothing range from the demure to the ultra-confident and curvy. No matter the personality of the women, elegance is always well communicated. Although the women do not wear formal suits as he men do in the show and as women do today, the sense described can be translated to corporate attire.

Why is the style so appealing?

In today’s world when we seem to repeatedly bring back the 80’ Mad Men style translates to the young and the mature. It represents a time when polish was critical and natural.
"We have all got scruffier and dressed down over recent years," says Langmead. Suddenly seeing a TV series where everybody is smart is a reminder of how good we do look in a suit. There is a return to it. The power of what a suit can do for you. Smarter, healthier, younger."

The Emmy award winning and critically acclaimed show returns to our television sets this weekend with the third season. The viewership may be small for TV land but the show has clearly made an impact. Due to the clever plot lines, sets, characters and of course their fashions, it gives viewers a dose of mystery and old school glamour that can be readily translated for today’s modern men and women.


References

Mad Men official show page

Drama Confronts a Dramatic Decade, New York Times

The Look of Mad Men, BBC News Magazine

It’s a Mad Mad World, Style.com

photo: Jon Hamm and January Jones as Don and Betty Draper, credit unknown