Mad Men Style Evolution: How Don, Betty, Peggy, Joan, and More Changed Throughout the 60s
Season 1: A former model now trapped in the suburbs, Betty’s always dressed impeccably, but in clothes often criminally dowdy for someone who’s still so young and gorgeous.
Season 2: Betty begins finding some confidence outside her marriage—remember all those longing glances at the horse stables?—and proves she’s still got plenty of glamour, as with that unforgettable, Barbie-copied blue evening dress.
Season 3: Was maternity fashion better with all the bold prints of the mid-60s? Let Betty Draper, pregnant with baby Gene for half of Season 3, help you decide.
Season 4: Newly remarried to Henry Francis, Betty spends Season 4 settling into life as a politician’s wife—right down to the strand of pearls.
Season 5: If you had put on weight the way Betty had this season, you might also be tempted to hide beneath a cozy-looking sweater as much as possible.
Season 6: Slimmed down and newly confident, to the point that she can indulge in a one-night return to Don’s bed, Betty is still glamorous, though at this point a little old-fashioned.
Season 7: Let no one doubt Betty Francis’s commitment to bright colors, especially as the 60s come to a close in Season 7.
Season 1: This is the Don Draper we all like to remember: unfailingly sharp and sleek, with a never-ending supply of crisp white shirts. (He conveniently keeps extras in his desk drawer.)
Season 2: Do you like your Don Draper in casual wear? Office attire? How about a white dinner jacket? Season 2 gave us so much to choose from.
Season 3: Still sharp and largely conservative (the only fashion experimentation here is in the ties), Don is also dealing with the collapse of his marriage in Season 3—can you spot the devastation behind that polished facade?
Season 4: Skinny tie, white shirt, etc., etc. The only thing that shakes up Don Draper’s style even this far into the 60s is a trip to California, where Anna Draper brings out his true, checked-jacket colors.
Season 5: So you thought a new marriage would shake Don Draper out of his signature style? Think again. Only a weekend visit to Pete Campbell’s house, which brought us that glorious plaid, can rattle this man.
Season 6: A mock turtleneck? More plaid? A bathing suit? In Season 6, Don finally, truly caught up to the 60s.
Season 7: And just as soon as he caught up, the 60s moved on—this plaid jacket is from Megan’s California house party, where Don stuck out even more than if he’d worn his bathing suit.
Season 1: It’s almost impossible to remember now, but there was a time when we weren’t all universally in love with Joan Holloway. This is where it all began.
Season 2: Keep an eye on that pencil necklace—it’s Joan’s signature, and perhaps an ongoing symbol of the former secretary’s sometimes futile attempts to move up the ladder and away from her humble roots.
Season 3: Season 3 brings plenty of changes to the world of Mad Men, including the Kennedy assassination, but Joan’s signature style remains steadfast.
Season 4: Back to work with S.C.D.P., Joan is experimenting with 60s-style patterns for the first time. The pencil necklace, however, remains firmly in place.
Season 5: Two great, classic Joan looks to contrast here: a tweedy, office-appropriate dress in a killer color, and a “ladies who lunch” dress with bejeweled cuffs perfect for showing off the supposed luxury of maternity leave.
Season 6: Loosening up her signature hairstyle just a bit, and still playing with patterns, Joan’s still hanging on to her early 60s style of pins and other large, attention-grabbing accessories.
Season 7: Changing her hairstyle more than ever—those bangs!—and leaving her pencil necklace behind, Joan in Season 7 is changing more than ever, though she still knows she looks as stellar in red, as she did back in Season 1.
Season 4: Introduced as just another face in the secretarial pool, Megan is barely distinguishable from her colleagues—all the better to shock us when Don proposes at the end of the season.
Season 5: She kicked off the season with the unforgettable “Zou Bisou Bisou” and immediately established herself as the most fashion-forward character on the show—though it was nothing compared to what was to come.
Season 6: By now, Megan doesn’t just look like the late 60s—she looks like the 70s fashion to come. Check out those beach waves!
Season 7: Megan moves to California, grows her hair longer, and leaves New York fashion behind entirely for “West Coast cool” in Season 7.
Season 1: Revisiting Season 1 Peggy comes almost as shock, knowing how far she comes as the series progresses. But just remember, we had to see her start from the bottom in order for her rise to feel so triumphant.
Season 2: Another shock: the awful, tiny bangs didn’t go away after the first season. But in the wake of her surprise pregnancy, Peggy is embracing at least one adorable dress that fits her perfectly.
Season 3: A cute flipped hairdo, some more elegantly fitted dresses, and some mid-60s plaid to help fit in with the men: this is Peggy Olson moving up the corporate ladder.
Season 4: The bangs are better, the hair is smoother (yes, when it comes to Peggy we’re a little fixated on her hair), and she’s incorporating bright colors to boot. Way to start dressing at least a little bit closer to your age!
Season 5: A great reminder that Peggy’s fashion is typically all over the place—masculine-leaning and on-trend at work (usually), but dreadfully old-fashioned holding that casserole. She’s just got more on her mind than fashion, O.K.?
Season 6: If you can look past those bold colors, take a close look at that plaid pantsuit—the first time Peggy ever wears pants on the show, and the clearest distillation yet of just how far she’s come in the show.
Season 7: Is Season 7 the moment Peggy finally figures out her signature style and looks as professional as she acts? Based on the first half, she’s on her way!
Season 1: When we’re introduced to him, Pete Campbell is in the first of many, many blue suits that will come to define him. The fact that blue suits have become trendy again in the time Mad Men has been on the air should not be viewed as admiration for Pete Campbell.
Season 2: He remains a snot-nosed brat in Season 2, even when dealing with the death of his father, and especially in that tennis sweater.
Season 3: Here’s Pete branching out a bit from his signature suit and growing up, even to the hilarious point of wearing a dark brown, heavy suit to a Kentucky Derby party.
Season 4: That burgundy jacket? That’s the bold move of a man about to be a father, who feels like his life is truly on track.
Season 5: Season 5 wasn’t all about Pete in the casual wear, but these two eye-popping examples make a great tribute to the loud plaids of the mid-60s and Pete’s constant, not-quite-succeeding attempts to look grown up.
Season 6: Peggy’s not the only character whose hair is her most notable attribute—as Pete’s hairline starts to recede (via shaving poor Vincent Kartheiser’s actual hair), age settles in on Pete at last, and it does not look good.
Season 7: Three Pete Campbells: the prematurely middle-aged man on the brink of divorce, the shadow of the younger man we first met, and the “California Pete” attempting a fresh start on the West Coast. Which one feels actually authentic?
Season 1: A reminder: Sally Draper was TINY when we first met her.
Season 2: Another reminder: Sally Draper was a tiny BALLERINA when we first met her.
Season 3: She’s still dressing like a tiny, little girl by Season 3, but look at that death glare! You know this girl is about to grow up into one feisty teen.
Season 4: Again, what a contrast between the two photos: a sweet-faced little girl on the left and a pre-teen pretending to be blasé (she’s talking to her sorta-crush, Glen Bishop) on the right.
Season 5: The long gap between seasons meant that Sally arrived in Season 5 with a shock. Hello, teenage years! And, especially done up to attend the Clio Awards with her dad, hello, 60s fashion that even Megan wouldn’t attempt.
Season 6: Sally wears a lot of plaid as she grows up on this show, not unlike her father. She also, apparently, forgets how to smile.
Season 7: The contrast between the images on each side—hair done up to mimic her mom, hippie poncho worn to infuriate her mom—says so much about being a teenager, doesn’t it?
