Saturday morning is one of my favorite times of the week, and I thought I’d take the time to share photos I took of some Mad Men fashions that caught my eye as I watched the entire 5th season on my TV. Yeah, photos of the TV – high tech, I know! These photos were taken as I was cutting out the pieces for my Purple/Blue Wrap Dress. :)

I just love this dress that Joan wears (I noticed she wore it twice in season 5, can’t hide from me!). The color shows up better in the top photo, but I wanted to get both sides of the dress to see if I could one day recreate it. I think Gertie’s Wiggle Dress from her book would be a great match for this one, and Charlotte at Tuppence Ha’penny wrote a tutorial on how to draft your very own sailor collar. Helpful!

I also think the colorful tie peaking out of Joan’s collar is really cute. This would also be a nice project to try my hand at covered buttons and a lapped zipper, both of which I haven’t attempted yet.

The sea-foam greenish color of Peggy’s coat in this scene really stood out to me. Clearly I’m a fan of colors in this section of the rainbow. :) As many of you know, Sewaholic recently released a classic trench coat pattern and I had my mind set on one in a beige “Burberry” style color. When I saw this color coat on Peggy I thought, “Hmmmm.” I actually haven’t bought the Sewaholic pattern yet, as I already have a beloved red trench. One day…?!

I also thought it would be a cute color on the Pavot Jacket by Deer & Doe, the absolutely adorable indie pattern company based in Paris and run by the talented Eléonore. I’m planning a trip to France in the fall and I thought it’d be fun to find fabric there to pair with a Deer & Doe pattern! One of my favorite things about sewing is connecting with talented seamstresses and seamsters around the world, something I didn’t think of when I decided to start sewing. I love the differences and the similarities between cultures, part of my own multicultural upbringing, I s’pose.

Even though my French speaking skills have really disintegrated, it’s still fun to look through the Deer & Doe website and try to learn new words (although you can also view it in English).

This dress on Megan caught my attention, but, at first, I wasn’t sure why. It’s not a silhouette I’ve really worked with, as I definitely have a good size collection of dress patterns with fitted bodices and full skirts! But I kept going back to it and eventually decided to snap a photo. It’s definitely grown on me! I’m usually not drawn to high necklines, but I think this one paired with the little tie is nice (I’m thinking bias tape at the neckline would extend to form the ties, similar to this Sewaholic Pendrell variation). I also like the elbow-length sleeves. The bodice is a looser fit, but still gives a shape.

This would also make a great cool weather dress. I’ve made up my mind that I really need to focus on heavier fabrics for next winter’s sewing projects! Since I live in New York I do have a wealth of fabric choices at hand… Even so, I think this dress in cotton lawn would be nice on a cool summer evening.

Megan’s knit sweater in this scene also falls under the category of winter inspiration, though I won’t be knitting a sweater any time soon, that’s for sure! I don’t know how that yellow would look on me, but the actress and I have similar coloring and I think she pulls it off. The rich mustardy color is really pretty and wearable (I hope!). As for the design of the sweater, the bateau neckline, the horizontal lines at the hips, and the lines down the sleeves really stood out to me.

On a site note, I really like the composition of the last photo with Megan and Don seemingly staring off into their own little worlds. I feel like I could frame that shot! Gives me the same vibe as Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks” painting, for some reason. Looking at these photos also makes me realize their ketchup and mustard ensemble – they really are a pair. ;) Also, is it just me, or does their bedroom look like a hotel?

Have a nice weekend!