Photo: Michael Yarish/AMC
Who knew Sally Draper would end up being the most stylish person in this episode? Making her first appearance this season — with Betty still at large — Sally already looks decidedly grown-up in her dorm-room dishabille: plaid bathrobe over pajamas, accessorized with a gold pendant and a cigarette. Later, she wears a black turtleneck and charcoal jumper to head into Manhattan and discover Don’s latest secret: He’s on leave from the agency. Even though they’re both off the clock, Don wears a suit and Sally wears this subdued, uniform-like ensemble: two people in denial about their current states in life. It isn’t the first time the show has suggested a kinship between Don and his daughter, but this time, it’s sartorial.
At the office, Peggy is continuing to dress in her schoolgirlish garb, but Valentine’s Day gets some sartorial nods from the staff via Joan’s heart earrings and pendant paired with a claret dress. Shirley, a.k.a. the recipient of the flowers Peggy mistook for her own, dares to wear a red micro-mini in a Bibaesque print and shiny patent go-go boots. (Clearly, she’s not exactly working from the “Dress for Success” model; with a hemline that high, leaning in isn’t really an option.)
The L.A. scenes are giving the show a weekly pop of psychedelia: Bonnie, Pete’s blonde real-estate agent paramour, is sunny and California casual in a Pucciesque citrus minidress, yellow headband, and white heels. Her trendy ensemble belies the fact that she’s actually extremely hardworking; as she tells Pete, she’s done pretty much anything she could to succeed in her cutthroat industry. Don’t mistake her for an airhead; that Malibu Barbie dress is very much a uniform, too.
Mad Men Fashion: Sally’s Boarding-School Chic
