I just bought Don Draper's suit at auction!

[BTJepson]

I know it's not a golden age suit post, but I thought I'd share my newest acquisition with you. I was the only bidder for a Don Draper suit as worn by Jon Hamm on Mad Men:

http://www.icollector.com/Jon-Hamm-Don-Draper-signature-2-pc-vintage-suit-from-Mad-Men_i10499692

I think that Hamm is about a 42R or long, so I should be able to wear it with no problem. I'm sure I'll be able to wear the jacket.

It's being shipped to me and as soon as I get it, I'll post some photos. Now, where's Betty or Joan?!

 

[Tomasso]

Funny, I thought that MM costumer Janie Bryant had designed all the suits worn by the main characters. Apparently not. Good looking suit;can't wait to see more pix.

 

[Mr Vim]

Bryant did mention she used a lot of vintage clothing for the show in one of her many interviews and wow that is a great suit, well done BTJepson!

 

[djd]

Nice catch!

 

[dhermann1]

I think it totally qualifies as golden age, if you use the rule of thumb that the golden age extends to the early 60's. LOTS of early 60's fans here. Congrats! Now, of course, you need some skinny ties.

 

[BTJepson]

Oh, I've got the skinny ties. The late 50's early 60's is my suit preference timeframe, although I have a great double-breasted 1940's suit in my closet, so this is very cool for me. Plus, I love the show and am glad that it's inspired suit fashions to veer more toward classic styles i.e. narrow lapels, skinny ties, etc.

Yeah, Janie Bryant designs for the leads, but also buys vintage. I'm assuming that this suit is from an early season, maybe even the first. I'm going to research the photos that were included in the auction and see what episodes they were.

I wonder how folks would react to a Boardwalk Empire auction. That would be sweet.

 

[justanuthercap]

Congrats on the pick up! Not only is it a great suit but it also touches on my other passion of collecting screen used items. Color me jealous.

 

[Salieri]

That's awesome. I'm not a particular fan of that style of suit but, considering Mad Men is so much about the suits, having a suit worn by a principal character is just amazing.

 

[The Good]

So, I take it that Don Draper will no longer be wearing that suit again? Did the producers consider it too outdated for the next season?

But you were able to get this of all things, that's great! It looks nice, and I hope it fits you well.

 

[BTJepson]

The photos that came with the auction show it as having been worn in Season 2 Episode 9, "Six Month Leave." I bought that episode in HD and studied the suit in that ep. against the one I bought. The photo in the online auction and their .PDF is low res, so it doesn't show all the detail in the suit itself. However, I've matched patterns on the auction suit to ones on the screen worn suit, so I'm pretty confident that it's an actual screen worn suit. I'll know for sure once it arrives. I even contacted the costume designer, Janie Bryant via Twitter and she wasn't even aware of the auction. She's going to check it out online herself and let me know what she thinks.

It's a pretty good episode, too and the suit is worn by Draper for more than half of it. I'm pretty excited and will post pics once I get it.

 

[Machine Ager]

Very Cool BT!

Greetings from a fellow Austinite

MA

 

[BTJepson]

Howdy MA! if the suit fits, I'm definitely wearing it out to The Belmont. Maybe spill a little Old Fashioned on it!

 

[boone33]

Nice look.

 

[Anthony K]

Congrats! I'm quite jealous. I can't wait to see the photos.

 

[BTJepson]

The Don Draper suit arrived last week and I've finally got some time to upload photos of me in it. I've tried to match some shots from an episode in which the suit is worn by Jon Hamm. In so doing, I realize two things: how great the suit is, and how not-as-handsome-as-Don Draper I am!

I've found the suit being worn in two episodes, one in Season 1 and, from these screen shots, in Season 4. The photos included with the auction were of another suit, but one that looked very close to this one. I did my own Blu Ray viewing research and matched it to those two episodes so far. The pattern in the gray cloth is like a fingerprint, and I think you can see it in a couple of these photos.

I wear a 40 or 42 regular, but the suit seems to be a 44 long or so. The jacket is a bit big on me but the pants fit right. Obviously Jon Hamm is bigger than me, and taller. Anyway, I love the show and love owning a piece of one of the things that makes it iconic...the fashion.

 

[The Good]

That's a very impressive suit, even if it doesn't quite fit right. You should keep it anyway, for the Mad Men association if nothing else. It looks good on you from the pictures, though.

 

[BTJepson]

Oh, I'll definitely keep it. I just enjoy owning it, even if I don't wear it. I've got plenty of vintage suits that I can slip into if I want to feel Mad Men-ish.

 

[The Good]

I'm sure with Mad Men influencing some of today's suit/dress fashions and trends, there's got to be a certain pride to owning a piece worn by the iconic Don Draper character, wouldn't you say? You basically own what this crowd has been deriving inspiration from for the past three or four years now.

 

[BTJepson]

I couldn't agree more, Good. That's part of what makes it such a pleasure to own. And, as far as I can tell, there has never been another one of Don Draper's suits up for auction. The ladies dresses have been auctioned off before at least twice, but never a suit like this. In fact, none of the dresses in the Hollywood Auction 44 sold. That surprised me. Heck, even office furniture from Sterling Cooper was auctioned off on eBay a couple of years ago. They're auctioning off a walk-on role for Season 5 right now on eBay. That would be cool!

 

[TCMfan25]

I'm sure it's a very nice suit, but I tend to steer clear of the thin lapels, tapering legs, and subtle plaids that were suits of the time period, I like suits of the 20's- 40's . You look great in the suit though!