Mad Men's 40 Best Looks Ever

By Alexandra DeRosa
Updated Sep 18, 2015 @ 1:35 pm

Mad Men's final season kicks off this Sunday on AMC at 10pm/9c, and while there's a lot to love about the spicy show, one of our favorite love affairs is with the fashion.

Cue: Janie Bryant, the Emmy-award winning costume designer behind the cast of Mad Men's looks. Her skills speak to the time in which the show takes place (the 1960s) impeccably. She captures the essence of a Madison Avenue-housed advertising agency with each and every look from chic housewife styles and looks that embody the mod mood happening in the '60s to powerhouse work wear — each of which is usually decorated with a double-strand of pearls or beautiful brooches. Needless to say, (a Banana Republic line later, after all) Bryant's costuming made a dent. The memorable looks she creates—which are part her own designs, part vintage finds—perfectly epitomize the period while leaving us yearning to recreate the looks ourselves (if you want a little dose of her killer style in your own closet, keep your eyes peeled for her own tights line, Janie Bryant Leg Couture, which launches this August).

So while we're sad to see the show go, we're adding an extra dose of sweet to the start of this bitter sweet departure by taking a look back at the Emmy-award winning show's 30 best looks ever.

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Season One

Courtesy AMC
Betty Draper was a vision in white when she wore a sequined dress and a fur stole with elaborate costume jewelry and white opera-length gloves.
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Season One

Carin Baer/AMC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Joan Harris was ready for work in a fitted tweed pencil skirt and a red draped blouse.

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Season One

2007 Carin Baer/AMC
Betty Draper bundled up in style with a blue oversize coat, a silk scarf, and leather gloves. Her perfectly styled hair (complete with an extra-wide headband) finished off her look.
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Season One

Courtesy AMC
Betty Draper was dressed playfully in a multicolored and elaborately-printed romper for a scene at home. Larger-than-life buttons and a look-at-me belt added to the whimsical feel.

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Season One

Doug Hyun/AMC
Betty Draper worked barely-there eye makeup and a pastel pink lip when she wore a colorful paisley-printed blouse.

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Season Two

Carin Baer/AMC/Courtesy Everett Collection
For an outdoor scene, Peggy Olson wore a pink-and-nude gingham printed dress. Alabaster-hued gloves and a headpiece made the feminine color combo pop.
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Season Two

AMC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Joan Harris showed her darker side in an all-black ensemble complete with a pearl-embellished cardigan that was effortlessly draped over her shoulders.

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Season Two

Carin Baer/AMC
Peggy chatted with Kurt on the couch in a floral-printed, midi-length dress.

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Season Two

Carin Baer/AMC
Betty Draper worked an all-white look from head-to-toe while out with Don Draper.
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Season Three

Carin Baer/AMC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Joan Harris showed off her curves in a black sheath printed with romantic red roses. Elaborate earrings and red nail polish added oomph to her bombshell look.

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Season Three

Carin Baer/AMC
Betty Draper showed off her baby bump in a white lace dress complete a pink embellished sash.

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Season Three

Carin Baer/AMC
Peggy Olson went to work in a full-skirted, belted dress coat. A black headband lent a sweet element to her moody-hued look.
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Season Three

Courtesy AMC
Betty Draper looked sweet as can be in a floral printed day dress. A structured handbag, sheer gloves, and cat eye sunnies—all in white—completed her on-the-go style.

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Season Three

Frank Ockenfels/AMC
Peggy Olson hopped off the subway in a perfectly pleated skirt, a belted over shirt, and a silky printed blouse complete with a neck tie. She topped off her look with a bow-embellished hat.

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Season Three

Carin Baer/AMC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Betty Draper was dressed femme fatale-style in a strappy black dress. Pearl jewelry and a sleek (but over-the-top) hair style gave her sexy ensemble a polished look.
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Season Four

Mike Yarish/AMC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Sally Draper was dressed for a snow scene in the most charming embellished and embroidered accessories. A warm coat and scenic-printed sweater were the building blocks to Draper's too-cute look.

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Season Four

Mike Yarish/AMC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Joan Harris hit the office in a belted navy blue dress that hugged in all the right places. A scarf-like neckline and her signature pen-style necklace gave Harris' look an edge.

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Season Four

Mike Yarish/AMC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Peggy Olson looked impossibly chic in a vintage-style hat, cluster earrings, and a blue overcoat with an exaggerated collar.
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Season Four

Mike Yarish/AMC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Peggy Olson was office-appropriate in a navy blue dress, a single strand of pearls, and stud earrings.

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Season Five

Mike Yarish/AMC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Megan Draper arrived dressed to the nines working an extravagantly printed dress in an autumnal wash. A gold handbag kept her look cohesive and well put together.

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Season Five

Jordin Althaus/AMC
Megan Draper wore a plum-hued, heathered sweater. A buttoned leather inset added interest to her darling getup.
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Season Five

Ron Jaffe/AMC
Joan Harris and Peggy Olson stood side-by-side in equally eye-catching looks. Harris stuck to bright colors while Olson stayed true to her printed ensembles. A detail that tied the two together? Perfectly tied neck bows.

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Season Five

Jordin Althaus/AMC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Megan Draper was glammed up in a red, rhinestone-embellished dress for a night out with Don Draper. Shiny chandelier earrings completed her look while taking it up a notch.

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Season Six

Michael Yarish/AMC
Megan Draper was fresh faced when she hit the outdoors decked out in a colorful print and a wide-brim hat.
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Season Six

Michael Yarish/AMC
Peggy Olson rocked an anything-but-basic color combo when she wore this bow-embellished and embroidered number. The bateau neckline added a dose of sophistication to Olson's playful ensemble.

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Season Six

Michael Yarish/AMC
Joan Harris' style took a nautical turn for a season six episode. A red, white, and blue silk scarf worn around her head and an anchor-embroidered emblem epitomized the look.

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Season Six

Jessica Brooks/AMC
Megan Draper sported a tapestry-style coat, dress, and belt with an Indian influence for a day at work.
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Season Six

Michael Yarish/AMC
Megan Draper was a vision in gold wearing door-knocker earrings and a glistening metallic top.

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Season Six

Jaimie Trueblood/AMC
Joan Harris suited up in a sharp shaped jacket and skirt. A leaf motif brooch and a lace blouse peeking out from her suit jacket added a dose of femininity to her look.

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Season Six

Michael Yarish/AMC
Megan Draper shared a meal with Don Draper wearing a printed top and creative jewelry. Voluminous hair (complete with a braided headband) finished off her striking style.
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Season Seven

Jordin Althaus/AMC

Peggy "wore her beautiful, beautiful wool navy shift dress with the printed scarf at the neck. It had buttons—it was like double breasted buttons—down the front,” says costume designer Janie Bryant. “And her beret! I loved the idea of that beret because the back story of it is that I thought Peggy’s mom would’ve knit that for her and given it to her as a gift. I love that beret! When she was wearing it in that last scene, it breaks my heart," Bryant tells us.

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Season Seven

Michael Yarish/AMC

“Megan Draper is a very modern character,” says Bryant. “I love the whole idea of her costume being light, airy, fresh, and new — and, of course, having the element of the sleeve being flowy. The air hitting the chiffon and all of the movement of the costume was really important,” dished the costume designer about her favorite look from episode one.

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Season Seven

Justina Mintz/AMC

Joan wore a vintage dress when everyone in the office was gathered around about the news of getting a computer. "There are so many people in that scene, so I wanted Joan to be in a very dynamic color so that she would really stand out," Bryant tells us.

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Season Seven

Courtesy of AMC

For the party Megan throws, Bryant chose to costume her in a standout piece. “In terms of working with the production designer and the set decorator, it was very important for her dress to be very graphic and to really stand out within that set since it was a dark, nighttime, party scene,” Bryant tells us.

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Season Seven

Courtesy

"Betty is a character who is truly classic, she is a housewife and a politician’s wife. Betty always presents herself as an image of perfection. So her costumes are very crisp and timeless. I tried to give her an update with the prints—they’re a little more modern," Bryant shares with us. "Her skirts are little shorter, too. But they’re not too short—they’re not a mini, they’re to the mid-thigh. It’s a very tasteful, appropriate length for that time. It’s all about being appropriate and pretty," she adds.

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Season Seven

Courtesy of AMC

Bryant rented a real chinchilla fur coat from a furrier in Los Angeles for this intimate scene with Don and a half-naked model. "It’s truly a miracle that the furrier even had a chinchilla coat because it is the most fragile of all furs–they usually don't last long–so we handled that coat with crazy good care. We took it from her in between every single take: she wasn’t allowed to sit in it and she wasn’t allowed the stand around in it. She could only wear the coat when she was shooting that scene" Bryant tells us.

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Season Seven

Michael Yarish/AMC

Don and Rodger Sterling took a group of "very young, fashionable, and beautiful girls" on a date. "Those three girls were definitely all about what was happening in 1970. It was so very important to see the contrast of class in that scene," says Bryant. "And I love those orange pleated sleeves. I use the accordion pleat a lot," she adds.

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Season Seven

Michael Yarish/AMC

After Joan and Peggy are hit with a slew of sexually charged jokes in an office meeting, the two share a powerful scene in the elevator. "It’s important that Joan was wearing a very strong color in that scene; it illustrates her sassiness and her command but it was also important that the color was more feminine and provocative than what she normally wears," Bryant points out. "It was also important that there was a v-neckline on that dress–just to illustrate how terrible those guys were."

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Season Seven

Michael Yarish/AMC

While out at the Los Angeles office, Joan finds passion with a rich divorced real estate developer named Richard who, after an intimate night in L.A., followed her back to New York to continue their new-found romance. For their night together in L.A., Joan stunned in a shimmering royal blue sheath with an embellished neckline. Joan skipped out on her signature pendant necklace and instead accessorized with statement chandelier earrings and a cocktail ring. 

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Season Seven

Courtesy of AMC

After a booze-filled night with Rodger, Peggy walks right into the new offices at McCann-Erickson wearing a printed top and button-front A-line skirt with sunglasses, red lipstick, a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. To complete her badass style, Peggy carried all of her belongings (including a racy painting at her side) with stride, which was arguably one of the best Mad Men moments yet.  

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