Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:They seemingly never repeat outfits. Ever.
Roseanne was perhaps the first and only show where people wore outfits more than once.
Mad Men did this also, at least for Peggy.
Mad Men was super deliberate about this and it was a creative choice. I remember reading the Matthew Wiener (the creator) was a stickler about realism and would get upset if the fruit on set was too big (because fruit was smaller in the 60s).
But regarding costumes, the costume designer, Janie Bryant, created realistic wardrobes for characters based on their presumed income, social status, etc. So yes, Peggy is the best example because in the first season, she's fresh out of secretarial school and has never worked in Manhattan before and has basically no money, so she's rewearing the same 2-3 things. As she moves up and becomes more financially independent, she invests in more clothes (still rewearing things, but higher quality and more options). It's a whole journey and it's really thoughtful and realistic.
But not just her. Joan rewore outfits. All Don's secretaries rewear. The wealthier characters don't rewear as often, but that's sometimes because you don't see them as frequently. But Betty definitely rewore certain clothes, especially around the house, as did the kids. And the actual Mad Men definitely rewear suits and ties, though Don and Roger are genuinely rich and can afford more of them and of higher quality.
The fashion on Mad Men is one of my favorite things. It was such a gift. They could have done it the easy way and just kind of given people what they were expecting based on stereotypes about the 60s and 70s. And instead the clothes were an integral part of the story and part of the storytelling, given you all this information about the characters and their relationships. If you ever want to rewatch that show, I recommend reading all the Mad Style posts on Tom & Lorenzo (fashion blog) because it's so enlightening.