Mad for Fashion

By Alison A. Nieder | Monday, March 12, 2012

The fifth season of “Mad Men” kicks off on AMC on March 25 and I, for one, can’t wait. When the series began, it was set in 1960 and last season concluded in 1965. No word on where—or, more precisely, when--the show will pick up.

The season 5 cast photos on the AMC website offer few cues. The men are still in mostly dark suits with skinny ties. The women are in sheath dresses or shirtwaist styles. Sadly, there’s not a Nehru jacket or miniskirt in sight.

Costume designer Janie Bryant is about to kick off her second season in partnership with Banana Republic and the styles on the company’s e-commerce site are also firmly tied to the mid-60s. (And no sign of Peggy's fab striped dress, pictured above, either. Too bad, that has Banana Republic's name--and mine--all over it.)

But if the show does move further into the decade imagine the historical events—and fashion possibilities!

Aftercopywriter Peggy watches her Queens classmates head off to war inVietnam, will she discover her inner flower child, eschewing primtie-front blouses for bellbottoms and fringed vests? Will femme fataleoffice manager Joan abandon her Marilyn Monroe style for somethingradically different? (Say Brigitte Bardot?) Will housewife Betty everread Betty Freidan and be inspired to join the newly founded NationalOrganization of Women? I’m picturing her in a pantsuit with oversizeGloria Steinem-style hair and glasses.

I can’t imagine Don in anything but dark suits and white shirts. But I bet Roger has Sansabelt slacks and white Bucks in his closet. And I bet media director Harry will be rocking the turtleneck and growing out his sideburns to fit in on his frequent visits to “The Coast.”