Mad Men, set in the 1960s showcases a multitude of women who all have drastically different looks, ambitions, and personalities that are living in a world that pushes a strict version of how a woman should look and behave. Fashion and beauty serve as a tangible reflection of an era, hence the creation of an idealized image that is considered to be coveted and aspirational comes to be. Betty, a former internationally educated model turned suburban housewife, and Megan, an office worker, and aspiring actress can be visually defined as the ideal woman of their respective era as they reflect the ideals of those eras through their captivating looks. That functions differently in relation to how fashion is viewed over time within societal norms of expected image or behaviors, yet they break boundaries down through their personalities, lifestyles, and belief systems despite holding an idealized image because internally they do not much like their external self. While many are in awe of, romanticized, or inspired by them due to their picture-perfect lives for the 50 60s, and early 70s, both Megan and Betty ultimately find this idealization to be their downfall.
In the 60s, social and political changes were occurring at a rapid pace, in terms of fashion and beauty the sexual revolution and feminist movement had a heavy impact on women’s everyday looks, especially with the high-powered and glamorous golden age of advertising. While the majority of women in Mad Men continuously evolve with the times, Betty fights the current and chooses the past within her lifestyle and fashion as the world around her moves forward
Megan is the embodiment of the new world and is not just a polarizing figure to Betty but to everyone around her. She is the ideal type of woman of the late 1960s, a more modernized world that they are both living in now which is no longer on conformity, but one that seeks freedom and exploration as people pursue progress.
Janie Bryant, the lead costume designer for Mad Men purposely made Betty and Megan be complete visual contrasts to convey their opposing views of the world due to how Megan is possibly the show’s most modern woman as she is very non-traditional and non-suburban, in every way possible to capture the liberated spirit a vast majority of the new generation had during this time in the 60s while Betty constantly put all her efforts into the old fashioned image she was brought up to curate which promised her a good and beautiful life.
Betty Hofstadt was born in Cape May, New Jersey, where her family summered, and was raised in a suburb of Philadelphia on the Main Line. Throughout her upbringing, her mother stressed the importance of beauty and how her looks were the most valuable thing she has to offer as a person so appearance means everything to her. She developed a strong belief system that engrained the concept that men are strong, and women are pretty so in order to have a good life Betty believed she needed to be beautiful. The world around her constantly confirms this and the belief becomes ingrained. She is never praised for her personality or intellect despite being a college graduate and studying, but only for how she looks.
The only time in Betty’s life that she lives on her own terms and has an authentic personal style, after living at home with her family prior to marriage, is when she is a model. During this period of her life, Betty was vibrant, stylish, and independent. She was so magnetic that she even had an emotional and creative relationship with a designer that she was the muse of. After college, Betty had a modeling career in Italy before moving to Manhattan where she would meet her first husband Don Draper, at a shoot for a print ad, soon after taking the role of a housewife. Her looks then adapt to her husband’s ideals as she is someone who wants attention, admiration, and praise from not only him but everyone who sees them as a couple. Formerly very a glamorous and done up she now sports clothing that creates the image of the perfect housewife.
When Betty is first introduced in Mad Men, it can be difficult to see past the outer life and Betty is introduced through the eyes of Don, but the more of Betty’s inner life we see, it’s quite evident there is a lot more than meets the eye. Beneath her looks, Betty isn’t well suited to be a housewife at all, she is miserable and unable to handle the pressures and duties that come with being a housewife and puts all her efforts into what she can control- her image.
Despite this she still strives to have a picture-perfect life, she hides her psychological pain and emotionally stunted childish mindset beneath her fashion as she turns herself into an extension of her husband by becoming his ideal. Betty feels most alive when she can be beautiful and admired as she feels it is all she is good for, it’s the only thing that she can do properly as a wife and mother. When with Don, Betty wears dresses with prints such as florals, plaids, and stripes over layers of petticoats and foundation garments to create a traditionally feminine silhouette that is paired off with matching headbands, high-waisted pants, fur coats, and stilettos. She is always done up and accessorizes at every opportunity. She is the standard image of women in the 1950s and the early housewife of the 1960s which was dainty, polished, and traditionally womanly.
There was an extreme focus on gender roles and emphasis on how people should look, hence ideals were created and advertisers used these in order to increase sales by promising the look which ultimately would create a better life because of their product. With the increase of marriages and birth rates during this era, many women’s goals were to become a wife and mother which led to an expected image cast onto women as the societal norm. Because of this, Betty’s looks cannot alter in any sort of way since she is determined to fit into a very specific mold of how a woman should be and seeks validation about this, especially from men because it means she is achieving the image she feels the need to have in order to be acceptable.
Rather than having compliments primarily from men, The other women of the show are constantly in awe of Megan’s looks and will even take style cues from her such as the secretarial staff and Sally. Most other characters are inspired by her and are given hope much like the new era, but she also mirrors how true progress is actually not made despite all the potential and longing for it.
By the mid-60s, the expected image of women had evolved into one that opposed the previously coveted. Women were no longer under constraints of what was quote unquote appropriate in terms of behavior or dress, they could challenge those belief systems and those who enforced them which allowed for a lot of self-expression and experimentation. Many new ideas were born and more boundaries were being pushed, so the image of a woman should be in the eyes of society became dramatically different as new voices were being heard in society, hence the creation of a multitude of different styles and fashion norms that rejected old fashioned concepts.
For instance, the mini skirt protest outside of the House of Dior in 1966 as the piece was considered to be politicized for the time period that went on to symbolize women’s liberation as designers such as Mary Quant, André Courrèges, and Yves Saint Laurent all began to raise hemlines during the early days of the feminist movement. The skirt visually captured the rebellion of the youth and hedonism of the times as young women deviated from the repressed fashion of the post-war era. The skirt conveyed a shift in societal dynamics of how a woman should be or look.
Megan ushered in a new era of mad men as she was the first to wear a mini dress which was showcased in her performance at a party that confirmed her place in society. The costume designer stated “I always saw Megan as a character who is young and fresh, on the pulse of what was happening in the youth culture, more than any of the other women on the show. Her wardrobe really reflects that transition into the mod period of the ‘60s. Also, she’s an actress and she’s from Montreal so those are different elements of her character.”
The mod subculture is defined as the “fashion-obsessed and hedonistic cult of the hyper-cool” young adults who lived in metropolitan London or the new towns of the south. Because of Britain’s rising prosperity in the decades after World War II, the generation born in the 1960s was the first to enjoy the benefits of being financially independent from their parents. Beatniks, who favored a more relaxed bohemian style, and teddy boys, who favored a more traditional gentlemanly one, both contributed to the subculture’s worldwide effect by making their respective styles widely sought after.
Megan is meant to always give something more with her outfits, she has an international edge with a high fashion approach to styling that is still down to earth as she keeps up with youth culture. This is captured in her vintage black dress that is embellished with rhinestones around the neckline. The sleeves were altered to provide movement and flair to the look through pleated silk chiffon. Her shoes are very mod- vintage pair that is square-toed, square-heeled with 1 ½ inches high heels. She stands out against the other women in the scene who are all brightly and femininity styled while she is a more sophisticated yet sultry look.
Initially, she has a more Parisian influence to her looks but as her lifestyle changes she breaks away from it to implement a variety of influences from different areas of her life that are captured within mini skirts, gogo boots, maxi dresses, bell bottoms, tee shirts, fishnets, etc due to her mod and bohemian influences.
Megan and characters such as Joan and Peggy’s styles in the office evolve as they live their lives- working on their goals, experimenting, breaking boundaries, and overall moving forward with the time as they are modern women now.
At one point Betty was considered to be a modern woman and was very aspirational but rather than living the life she truly desires she is now executing the role of the housewife and takes it as performance as Betty undergoes many hardships along with physical as well as psychological abuse throughout her relationship with Don, that breaks the facade Betty increasingly grows to be more sullen as she becomes detached from who she was before her marriage when she was modeling, traveling and living a very lavish lifestyle into a housewife who dresses up to lounge, sulk, and misplace her aggressions onto her children.
Glimpses of this are in season 2 when she begins to dress more glamorously in season 2 when she finds confidence outside of her marriage when she spends time at the stables which serve as an outlet to be her true self as her pressures of the looks and behaviors of a mother are removed from her. Between exchanging longing looks, gossiping with friends, and expensive Horseback Riding Attire Betty finds relief which is evident in an exchange with her friend who is shocked that she is getting into her car with dirty boots. The scene is very telling, externally the car is clean, internally dirty- showing that she doesn’t truly care about what a housewife should and that she finds her children to not be that high of a priority.
Betty doesn’t know how to be a mother and the only time she attempts to execute her motherly role is when she tries to pass on her ideals to her daughter the same way her mother did with her because she truly believes that if she isn’t beautiful in the eyes of others then, her daughter will struggle in life which isn’t the case.
When she returns home she is disconnected from her reality and goes back to her sullen, childish behaviors that hinder her life and mental well-being. Yet later that same day Betty is enlivened when they go out for dinner at the Plaza, where she enters the scene in slow motion descending a staircase in a gown, fur coat, and adorned with delicate jewelry. to meet Don who rises to greet her, a nod to classic movies of this time period- here she is everything that she wants to be.
Megan has a very similar scene where she meets Don at the airport, where she gets out of the car and goes to greet Don, a reference to the graduate. She is wearing a revealing ruffled haltered baby blue mini dress. She has Priscilla Pressly-esque hair and a high-fashion mod makeup look beneath her sunglasses. The is the epitome of 60s cool in this scene, going back to the car and taking the driver’s seat despite Don opening the door for her- she is a woman taking charge in her actions and visually conveying this mindset in her image.
Megan and Don have a huge sartorial gap as he is part of an older generation while Megan is now the fashion-forward wife who doesn’t have a signature look. Rather than being an extension of Don’s, she visually depicts the values that he wants for himself.
When she throws a party and invites her acting classmates she is wearing a geometric mini dress from Pucci, a fashion designer and politician whose eponymous label is synonymous with geometric prints in a kaleidoscope of colors that were refreshingly bright just as Megan. Around this group of people, she is more in her element and visually aligns with them in a way that she doesn’t with Don. In the same episode, Betty also throws a party that has a strong visual contrast to Megan’s. Don’s aesthetic like Betty’s does not alter outside certain boundaries, but Megan is a fashion chameleon that never repeats an outfit.
She is the only character to not have a set costume template because Megan is constantly evolving and adapting herself to get what she strives for. She wears a total of 140 outfits and 119 of them were uniquely altered for styling. Her fashion inspirations are more conceptual and trend aware cater to her aspirations in terms of home and career. Her style in new york references her upbringing as well as is it closer to her Montreal upbringing which can be found in her monochromatic looks and tailored coats.
She encapsulates east coast ideals through stylish work wear, chic everyday outfits, and sartorial party looks with form-fitting or free-flowing silhouettes in a variety of colors, prints, and textures rather than forcing herself into a single look, unlike Betty who is often compared to and will emulate the looks of Grace Kelly, an American film actress who would often opt for the most iconic dress silhouette of the 40s to 50s known as the “New Look” made famous by designer Christian Dior. The dress features rounded shoulders, a cinched waist, and a full, A-line skirt. With its articulated feminine silhouette that embraces and accentuates feminine features. As a former model. It would make sense that Betty would go for a look that is the combination of classic and stunning high fashion-infused old-fashioned ideals integrated in.
When newly remarried to Henry Francis, Betty’s housewife look alters to one of a politician’s wife and she turns to turn to Jackie Kennedy for inspiration. She dresses more conservatively in a matronly style with two-piece ensembles, smart coats, and more pantsuits. The color scheme is much less vibrant and more understated. She no longer accessorizes excessively and carefully curated her look to be stylish, proper, and functional. Betty mainly wears cool pastel colors such as pale yellows, pinks, and blues as an ode to her femininity, equestrian hobby, and patrician upbringing. She wears these colors to look unattainable and above others, combating the vibrant and earthier tones that grew to be more popular for the time.
The feminine silhouette and style icons are symbolic of the visual identity Betty longs for, while she physically does not exactly look exactly like Grace Kelly or Jackie Kennedy, she can create the essence of them and execute it in order to create her own life narrative. Whenever she is farther from this ideal she had very high distress, when she gains weight, she feels that her life has fallen apart but still uses her appearance to cope. She covers up rather than continuing to embrace herself with sweaters, coats, and scarves in muted bleak colors yet still adorning herself with jewelry and does her best at projecting her coveted look. She cannot mentally handle not fitting into the image she deems as worthy, but the idealization that she is striving for is no longer relevant and is losing its place in society.
When Betty faces Megan, she is ashamed of herself physically when she has lost her coveted image, but is also facing the future that she is so afraid of since she is a woman who chose to uphold lost ideals. Even with the other women who she felt so aligned with before and beginning to move forward, Betty cannot bring herself to and her looks become an outer manifestation of the life she wishes were real. Even when diagnosed with cancer, her vanity is part of the reason why she declines proper medical care.
After landing the commercial, Megan begins to transition from East to West Coast style, a visual depiction of her separating herself from her former colleagues and embracing a new path as an artist, but she, unfortunately, does not have the work ethic, discipline, or passion to achieve her goals.
Megan is ahead of contemporary style and leans into trends that will come in the 70s towards the end of the show. After moving to Los Angeles Megan’s look becomes more avant garde that features wild and carefree designs. She grows her hair out and still styles herself, but in a more undone manner that sheds away her formerly proper clean look to one that embodies the freedom and lifestyle that she wants over her old life. Unfortunately in the show, she does not ever live to her true potential, but constantly projects the look that she believes aligns with it as she grew to be insecure and vapid- using her image as a form of security as she deflects any struggle that she can. It’s apparent when she actually repeats an outfit in the end the baby blue dress, a look that represents all that she wanted so she wears it again to give herself the confidence needed when trying to revive her career. While Megan gives an effortless essence, Megan’s efforts fall short while Betty’s determination and headstrong behaviors hinder her.
Betty went from being the ideal woman to the one left behind as she defies what society now expects of her. She maintains her rigid idea of perfection and leaves the world on her own terms. She doesn’t want to change and her beauty is all that she has, it’s apparent that she fears the future because she cannot even handle the present anymore. Betty has no desire to be accomplished in the way that society tells her to be now while Megan is the present, she embodies literally everything which ultimately makes her fall short as she cannot achieve self-actualization. All of the freedom and hope she lives for is also ultimately a concept that she has defined herself with rather than applying actions to create it so there was no substance behind it. She meets the same fate as many other women did of this time.
Even though Megan is ahead in regards to her style, she is falling behind in terms of her home and work life because she is not making the essential progress internally needed to be truly happy. In the end, both Megan and Betty have been living for others rather than themselves, hence turning into ideal nostalgic images of women rather than having their image be a reflection of themselves, it’s the other way around due to the pressure both felt to conform to society’s and media’s standards of how a woman should be or the promise of a good life that is a certain way would provide.
Other women in the show though, progress forward and develop while taking part in the same ideals and experiencing the same pressure. Showing that there are other options for people to choose while still enjoying beauty, fashion, and self-expression through an image that isn’t damaging. They are leading a life that is balanced when they allow themselves to embrace all parts of themselves rather than what is expected or deemed worthy by others.
Though Betty and Megan have drastic approaches, the freedoms and fun of Megan in combination with the determination and discipline of betty applied to all parts of life rather than purely image would create a more versatile and substantial future rather than becoming a living ideal that will become dated or unable to exist, people have a chance to make their personal style truly their own expression in order to align the inner and outer self to create a well-rounded life that is authentic and fulfilling.
SOURCES: The Concept of Belief in Cognitive Theory- https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4615-6453-9_23 Beauty & Aesthetics Psychology- https://psychology.wikia.org/wiki/Beauty#Aesthetics Beauty Sick: How the Cultural Obsession with Appearance Hurts Girls and Women- https://www.amazon.com/Beauty-Sick-Cultural-Obsession-Appearance/dp/0062469770 Megan’s Outfits- https://madmen.fandom.com/wiki/Megan%27s_outfits Betty Hofstadt Bio- https://madmen.fandom.com/wiki/Betty_Hofstadt Megan Calvet/Draper Bio- https://madmen.fandom.com/wiki/Megan_Calvet The 1950s Housewife- https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-1950s-Housewife/ Things Men found Attractive 50 years ago- https://www.thelist.com/105405/surprising-things-men-found-attractive-50-years-ago/ Costume Designer Jamie Bryant Interview- https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2015/04/84879/janie-bryant-interview Emilio Pucci Brand Definition- https://www.worldcat.org/title/unexpected-pucci-interiors-furniture-ceramics-and-art-pieces/oclc/1089958794
