If there’s one thing that never fails to charm us, it’s seeing a celebrity dote on his or her mother. It works when they bring them to awards shows as their date, it works when they clutch their Oscars and weepily thank them for all the acting lessons/casseroles/genetic blessings (assuming they’re not played off first because they thanked seventeen agents and publicists), and it really works at Fashion Week. At J. Mendel on Wednesday afternoon, Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss had her mother in tow, sweetly doting on her to make sure she was comfortable, and ultimately refusing attempts to move her into the front row because, we heard her say, “It’s a little too much pressure up here – I want her to be able to sit and relax and enjoy herself.” It seemed to work; Mama Moss did have a big smile on her face as she watched Elisabeth give a series of personable interviews. She probably sat there thinking to herself, “Damn, I gave that child some really fabulous skin. High five, self.”
Moss is also a lot bubblier in person than her alter-ego, Peggy Olsen. She chatted about her phobia of being stuck on a plane somewhere without enough reading material – which is also one of our great fears, and thus why even in a Kindle world we tend to pack enough books and magazines to stock a library – and waxed poetic about the wardrobes on her show that she most covets. “I love what Jessica Pare got to wear last year – it was so modern and mod,” she said. “But I always love what Betty wears: the petticoats, the frilly dresses… It’s so pretty.” On the flip side, she there is one item of Peggy’s that Moss will be glad to burn when her run on the show does come to an end. “Panty hose,” she said decisively, not even needing a breath to think. “I. Hate. Panty-hose. I wear them in every episode and they are absolutely the worst. Hate them.” So do we. And we suspect Kate Middleton felt a empathetic tremor in the force right then, too.
To her credit, Moss – who, it’s worth noting, looked tremendous in a low-cut purple dress — didn’t seem to mind us asking what is probably the umpteenth question of the month about her new choppy blonde bob. “I just wanted something different. I’ve looked the same for two projects in a row,” she said. “I decided on blonde, but then I started cutting it, and we just went shorter, and shorter, and shorter. Anyone who’s cut their hair off knows how addictive that gets.” Anyone? Like, say, Peggy Olsen herself? “I can’t really say,” Moss demurred. “But obviously, Peggy is brunette, so…” She trailed off, which is probably for the best, as we would hate for AMC’s crack legal team to come arrest her. If nothing else, it would seriously ruin her mother’s day.