From Brooks Bros.: "Dress Like Draper!"

[scotrace]

The Mad Men Suit. Wow!

 

[habberdasher]

I just saw it-very nice, and not a bad price.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Wow Indeed!

I think it captures the spirit of the early 60's continental look perfectly, but $998 is kinda a hefty price tag.

 

[habberdasher]

Because it's got the mad men logo, it makes you want to buy it above other identical, cheaper suits.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Because it's got the mad men logo, it makes you want to buy it above other identical, cheaper suits.

Well, yes that's the point of marketing, and in that there's something beautiful (I like the idea about marketing aimed at people love of a show about marketing). And you're right, it does work. My visceral reaction was that I'd buy that suit!

What meant is, if you want that look, the authentic vintage can be found at something like a tenth the price. Case in point, what I call my "Roger Sterling" Suit: mint condition, dated 1964, Brooks Brothers, 3 button, 3-piece, and almost identical to one seen on screen. I bought it on e-Bay for $76.00.

 

[Maguire]

I may sound a bit novice here but while its certainly a nice suit, it looks like your run of the mill two button suit, i see suits like this (albeit probably poorer quality ) every day. If you're going to spend anywhere near 1 k for a suit, it better look every penny of it.

 

[Son_of_Atropos]

I may sound a bit novice here but while its certainly a nice suit, it looks like your run of the mill two button suit, i see suits like this (albeit probably poorer quality ) every day. If you're going to spend anywhere near 1 k for a suit, it better look every penny of it.

Agreed.

 

[skyvue]

I wish Brooks Bros. would put out a line of suits for an earlier AMC series: REMEMBER WENN.

 

[MrBern]

She says its a bit trimmer than the average BB suit.
I wish she had used a more retro lapel. Seems more like a suit for a background extra than one of the leads.

I suspect they are testing the waters to replace ThomBrowne with JanieBryant as the contracted designer for BlackFleece.

I think its funny that its a 2 button, when I tend to see more 3 button on the show.
Compare this shot of Draper to the shot of the debut suit

 

[MrBern]

I may sound a bit novice here but while its certainly a nice suit, it looks like your run of the mill two button suit, i see suits like this (albeit probably poorer quality ) every day. If you're going to spend anywhere near 1 k for a suit, it better look every penny of it.

I think youre right in that a grey suit is a grey suit, but hopefully the cut of the Brooks Brothers suit will be better tailored. Fit is everything.
And $1K isnt that high for BB.

 

[Senator Jack]

The two-button 60s narrow lapel is actually NOT the norm for the era. One button and three button narrow were the norm. When Kennedy started appearing in the two button, it had a wider lapel.

Regards,

Jack

 

[habberdasher]

The two-button 60s narrow lapel is actually NOT the norm for the era. One button and three button narrow were the norm. When Kennedy started appearing in the two button, it had a wider lapel.

Regards,

Jack

Never knew that!

 

[habberdasher]

I wish Brooks Bros. would put out a line of suits for an earlier AMC series: REMEMBER WENN.

Looks like a good show. Not as much style in it though.

 

[habberdasher]

Well, yes that's the point of marketing, and in that there's something beautiful (I like the idea about marketing aimed at people love of a show about marketing). And you're right, it does work. My visceral reaction was that I'd buy that suit!

What meant is, if you want that look, the authentic vintage can be found at something like a tenth the price. Case in point, what I call my "Roger Sterling" Suit: mint condition, dated 1964, Brooks Brothers, 3 button, 3-piece, and almost identical to one seen on screen. I bought it on e-Bay for $76.00.

I just wouldn't really consider Roger's suits the essence of the era, because he was a bit older and conservative. Don's suit is easy to find also. I also like Pete's bright blue two or three button with rounded corners-very 50s. That's by far my favorite in the show, I think at the end of episode 9 in season 1.

 

[skyvue]

Looks like a good show. Not as much style in it though.

I just meant that I prefer the clothes of the era depicted on REMEMBER WENN to the ones on MAD MEN.

 

[tonyb]

Well, yes that's the point of marketing, and in that there's something beautiful (I like the idea about marketing aimed at people love of a show about marketing). And you're right, it does work. My visceral reaction was that I'd buy that suit!

What meant is, if you want that look, the authentic vintage can be found at something like a tenth the price. Case in point, what I call my "Roger Sterling" Suit: mint condition, dated 1964, Brooks Brothers, 3 button, 3-piece, and almost identical to one seen on screen. I bought it on e-Bay for $76.00.

Amen, brothers and sisters.

The Brooks Bros. website says the look is "inspired" by the "razor-sharp tailoring" of the early '60s and that it's "reinterpreted for today." So yeah, I'd say you're right, guttersnipe: You can find the real McCoy for a whole lot less, and it would be a whole lot more authentic.

But the suit isn't aimed primarily at the sort of people who hang out here. It's for the modern trend-following fellow who spends a fair amount on his duds. And it's likely that he's looking to wear those suits in business situations where it wouldn't be advisable to dress in anything that might come across as "costumey," which is a potential risk with true vintage attire.

Mid-'50s to mid-'60s stuff has been falling out of the sky around here. Seriously, it seems I can't go into a junk/antique/vintage store without coming across piles of it. I bought a nice early-'60s summer-weight suit a couple of weeks ago for all of 30 bucks. (And it needs very little alteration to make it fit right. But there's no urgency to that, seeing how we're well into October now.) And a few months ago I scored the best suit I own, another early-'60s job for which I also dropped 30 clams, and then another 50 or so with the seamstress. A real bargain, that one. And period sports jackets have been selling out here in the sticks for 10 or 15 bucks a throw. I got half a dozen or more of 'em. So yeah, if they were looking for extras on the Mad Men set, I could easily supply my own wardrobe. Just lose the diamond in the left earlobe, and the modern spectacles.

 

[matei]

If you look under "features" on the BB page, it says that the suit features "higher armholes". I guess they've been listening to the online community.

It is a shame that said "feature" doesn't extend to the rest of their lines.

It isn't a bad looking suit, and I daresay that there will be a few people who go this route. Not everyone has the luck, patience or desire to hunt an authentic period suit down, be it on eBay or in a thrift shop.

 

[tonyb]

It isn't a bad looking suit, and I daresay that there will be a few people who go this route. Not everyone has the luck, patience or desire to hunt an authentic period suit down, be it on eBay or in a thrift shop.

Agreed, although I'd go a step further and substitute "not many have" for "not everyone has."

It's not that vintage enthusiasts are scarce, but we are something of a niche. If I were to hazard a guess, it's the unusualness that attracts many of us. That's certainly part of its appeal for me.

 

[Fletch]

I just meant that I prefer the clothes of the era depicted on REMEMBER WENN to the ones on MAD MEN.

:eusa_clap Hear hear. More drape, less Draper.

 

[BellyTank]

2, or 3..?

I think its funny that its a 2 button, when I tend to see more 3 button on the show.

I may sound a bit novice here but while its certainly a nice suit, it looks like your run of the mill two button suit, i see suits like this (albeit probably poorer quality ) every day. If you're going to spend anywhere near 1 k for a suit, it better look every penny of it.

Well- I'd say the jacket on the linked page looks like a 3x button with
the top one undone. Surely it buttons too low for a 2'er. Look at it.

This is a sad marketing/branding exercise-
the show rated and BB need something.
The LOOK, however, is so diluted, it isn't really anything.
Shame.

B
T