Mad Men aired on AMC from 2007 to 2015, ushering in new fashion trends inspired by the 1960s. Among them was the resurgence of the slim fit suit that helped transform Jon Hamm into the advertising executive Don Draper. The suit was emblematic of midcentury masculinity and conveyed Don’s emotional arc and status at Sterling Cooper in very effective ways. It was also very stylish and inspired a surge of menswear sales that continue to affect the fashion world today.
Below are ten hidden details about Don Draper’s costume you probably didn’t notice.
The suit was stuck in time
Don’s classic suit barely changed throughout the show’s seven-season run. Costume designer Janie Bryant intentionally kept the suit the same to look increasingly dated against the groovier styles of the late 1960s. The suit was already a carryover from the 1950s, which made it look even more dated.
Don’s curse is that he is destined to become a relic, and this is why he continues to wear the single-breasted suit in a dark neutral color even as Roger and Pete are seen in the far trendier (for the era) kitschy three-piece suits and double-breasted designs.
His color palette was all about mystery
Don’s two main colors are various shades of grey and navy blue. The grey suit was a part of the armor Don wore to the office every morning, and it was symbolic of the life he built for himself under a stolen identity.
Blue acted as more of a power color; Don would often wear it to an important presentation or meeting, much like Peggy wore mustard yellow to project confidence at her pitch meetings. Janie Bryant wanted Don’s costumes to convey masculinity, mystery, and seduction.
His suits were actually many different colors
A closer look at Don’s suit jacket reveals that the fabric is actually multiple colors. This is how the costumes set Jon Hamm apart as the leading man on the show. Amid a sea of solid-colored suits, Don’s has slightly more texture and pattern to it, with multiple colors of thread blending to give the impression of one solid color from a distance.
The subtle multicolor also suggests a character with a few skeletons in the closet. Don Draper, of course, is actually Dick Whitman living under a fellow solider’s name.
He followed old school hat etiquette
Don’s trademark hat is a fedora with a black ribbon and tapered crown. Mad Men takes place in a time when men still wore hats, although that was quickly changing with famous men like President Kennedy and Elvis normalizing hatlessness. Fewer men were wearing hats than before, and there was a clear generational divide. For the older generation of Sterling Cooper executives, such as Roger Sterling and Bert Cooper, the hat remained a mandatory accessory. Younger men like Ginsberg and Stan Rizzo were more likely to be seen without hats.
His style was minimalist and conservative
When suited up, Don prefers a clean, minimalist look. He accessorizes his suit with a crisp pocket square peeking out of his breast pocket, a solid color tie, French-style cufflinks, the occasional tie clip, and a Rolex watch. A few other essentials for the Don Draper look: a cigarette and glass of scotch.
Compared to the other men of his rank at Sterling Cooper, Don was relatively conservative and reserved fashion-wise, which may be surprising for someone in a creative position. What little pattern Don wears is very subdued, such as the multicolored threads of his suit jacket.
He was a trendsetter
Don’s costumes inspired a wave of men’s shopping and retail that focused on exceptional quality and tailoring. The renewed interest in suiting and looking smart was a contrast to the cargo shorts and band tees that dominated the early part of the decade and the casual menswear of the nineties.
It’s no coincidence that formal menswear sales surged following Mad Men’s premiere. The success of the show was due in part to the impeccable tailoring of Don Draper’s fitted suits and the hundreds of other period-accurate costumes from the 1960s and 1970s.
The suit was Don’s armor
Another reason Janie Bryant wanted to keep Don’s costume static and unchangeable is that his suit served as his armor against the world. It represented his professional and financial success as Don Draper and also protected him from anyone trying to look closer. The power of the suit gave him a sense of mystery and anonymity as he moved through the world.
Nothing illustrated this better than the first season episode when Don slipped out of Midge’s building unnoticed by police, while the rest of Midge’s friends remained trapped inside. Not everyone could go outside, but Don was not among them.
His wife influenced his style
Though Don stuck primarily to darker neutrals, he occasionally broke the mold and went for a little more color. One example is the plaid sports jacket he wore to a work party in Season 5. The sports jacket was a gift from his second wife, Megan, who is much younger and more fashion-forward.
Being with someone more adventurous with her fashion choices has affected Don – the palette of the sports jacket was much louder than what he would typically wear when married to Betty.
His brown suit was a display of humility
After the disastrous Hershey pitch, Don was placed on a leave of absence and essentially fired from the ad agency. He later returns to get his position back in a brown suit rather than one of his classic grey suits, hat in hand. By this point in the show, Don’s suits had slightly wider lapels to match the somewhat wider ties that were coming into fashion. The brown color seems to represent a different side of Don, one that is willing to “do the work” and more connected with his working-class roots.
His vacation style was as impeccable as his office attire
In Mad Men’s final scene, Don Draper is dressed in a white shirt and khakis while meditating in California. The last seasons of the show featured more scenes from Los Angeles, where the weather and the social atmosphere couldn’t be more different from staid and businesslike New York.
Don also experiments more with color and patterns while still staying on the conservative side compared to his fellow Sterling Cooper partners Roger and Ted Chaough’s louder, trendier outfits. Still, for his final appearance, Don’s costume is back to basics as he finds inner peace…or the idea for one of the most famous ads of the 20th century.
