What Lies Beneath
This last week I finally got round to watching season four of Mad Men. There were the usual shenanigans to gasp over and gorgeous vintage fashion to make me drool.
In one of the episodes Peggy strips off, and I was amused by her hefty underwear: there was absolutely nothing pretty, dainty or sexy about her brassiere! It was there to lift and separate, and it did the job admirably. In another scene as she sat down on Don’s office couch, one could see the froth of her crinoline peeping out from the hem of her skirt – a sweeter effect.
Peggy, defiant in her underwear
Peggy keeps herself nice with a crinoline
…there was absolutely nothing pretty, dainty or sexy about her brassiere!
That’s what this vintage 50s dress of mine needs to make the pleated skirt bell out. I was first attracted to it by its colour – my favourite shade of robin’s egg blue, with a geometric print. I pounced on it in a Sacred Heart Mission op shop last summer; it’s rare to find a dress from this era that is in almost perfect condition in a Melbourne charity shop. I dressed it up with pretty patent heels that have a little bow on the back of the heel; bright red lipstick (‘Raven Red’ by Revlon); and a French roll (I can do them again now my hair’s shorter).
A man at work glimpsed me loitering by the laser printer, and exclaimed, “You look just like you stepped off the set of Mad Men!” I smiled at the intended compliment, but it’s never my aim to look like I’m wearing a costume. However, a nipped in waist and full skirt will always recall Dior’s New Look, and even more so these days with the popularity of the said TV show.
Of course, I could accessorise the dress differently to negate this effect (being careful not to look like an ‘80s does 50s’ rendition), but these proportions do look right just as they are.
Image note: the yellow kitchen belongs to the hostel Barcelona Rooms, where I stayed in Barcelona in early June.