Gentlemen, This Is Business

A little while back, a friend of mine who was just becoming familiar with the AMC hit show Mad Men suggested that the central male characters were excellent examples for other young men aspiring to dress in classy and traditional manner.  At the time, I had watched all five seasons, and I embraced the proposition.  In point of fact, I always paid close attention to the casts’ wardrobe in the hopes broadening and sharpening my personal style.  With the premiere of season six set to air on April 7th, I was reminded of my friend’s observation.  But now, I am in wholehearted disagreement.



Nothing says "business" quite like
Don's unimaginative uniform.

When I think of the likes of Don Draper and Roger Sterling, I don’t observe stylish gentility, I see business.  There are arguments to be made about the historical authenticity of the show, as drama television tends to exaggerate things.  What is not questioned, however, is the authenticity of the portrayal of the of the early 1960’s business fashion.  Just prior to the height of social turbulence and upheaval, the characters in Mad Men exhibit the preceding cultural mandates of conservatism and homogeneity.




The look we all know and love - but
we know it all too well.

Much like the Helvetica font that they used in advertising, dark suits and plain white shirts presented a clear yet neutral appearance with no intrinsic meaning.  The substance of the message was to remain the ultimate focus.  As men’s fashion expert Alan Flusser noted concerning the 1950s, “typical businessmen literally hid behind his gray flannel suit.”  By crowding out creativity and expression, men’s business fashion had become a discipline and not
an art – a uniform in the ranks of commerce.



Such is the scene in which these advertising executives find themselves.  Even as the show progresses, viewers will note the central male characters wear virtually the same outfit every day at the office.  Roger wears his dark three piece suit, Don his plain gray suit (and of course a fresh white dress shirt from the stash in his drawer), Pete with some shade of dark blue, and Bert Cooper with his bow tie.


If they all look the same, that's because they are.

And yet, for as daring as their advertising campaigns proved to be, their dress habits possessed no comparative virtue.  It exemplified a plain style with a plain message:  “Gentlemen, this is business.”