The Season Finale of Mad Men Is Tonight! Look Back At the Best Style Moments

“It was really important that she be in this totally sexy dress,” said Bryant. “It was about taunting Ted and showing him that she wasn’t going to wait around. That was one of the first moments that we see Peggy have exaggerated decolletage, that’s how we see she is this very sexy girl and she is not waiting around for Ted to take the lead. We never see her in these moments of being sexualized. She doesn’t wear those colors. Everything about that scene was about Peggy being something she is usually not. It was a new side.”

“This is a very important costume,” explained Bryant. “Ted has confessed his love to her and said he was going to leave his wife for her. This is the same dress she wore to meet Ted in Season 5, Episode 11. That dress was such an incredible moment. When I read that scene, I just saw that dress. She had to wear it. It was intentional in Peggy’s mind. It’s the same reason I had him wear the turtleneck when she slept with him—wearing the turtleneck is how she fell in love with him. In my mind, she was going to wear the same dress she was going to wear when she first met him because she was feeling romantic. It looked strong and she was covered in love—which is why that dress spoke to me for that scene.”

"I really felt like she should be wearing pants in that scene," Bryant told InStyle.com exclusively. "She has such a progression for the whole season, and the last episode when her whole flirtation with Ted comes to a head, she goes through all of the emotions. At the end, she’s in command and control of her own destiny, and pants spoke to that. It’s the ultimate expression of strength and power. Matthew Weiner (creator) and I had a lot of discussion of what Peggy was going to be wearing for that last scene. It was one of those moments where the costume design spoke perfectly to that particular scene."

"Joan loves to wear themed outfits," Bryant said of this look. "Since it's Thanksgiving and autumn, this orange blouse and dark burnt orange skirt goes with that theme. The blouse is vintage and the skirt I designed for her."

"All of the scenes for Joan in the episode really show that she is the queen," said Bryant of this look, which consisted of a vintage leopard blouse and a chocolate brown skirt she designed. "I love that leopard blouse for her for the scene when she is talking with Sterling’s secretary, and the contrast between those two women. The leopard print is so appropriate because it’s that super feminine, femme fatale feeling."

"I really like her to be in colors against the men, but in that scene, it was important for her to be very dark and very serious," said Bryant. "I always loved the suit for the colors of the black and white for that scene. It’s so serious because they are firing Don. I felt like the autumnal colors would not be appropriate for that scene; it needed to be something that was contrasting that with that. You'll see though that she is still being seasonal, though. She is wearing a big dramatic acorn pin."

"I designed this green silk chiffon dress for her," said Bryant. "She’s surrounded by Bob and Sterling, so it was important for her to be the queen of the scene. It was also going with the whole autumnal color scheme that can be seen throughout the episode."

“I’ve been so obsessed with vintage tapestry garments this year, and this one has this incredible Indian influence,” Bryant said of this dress, jacket, and belt three-piece ensemble. “It’s so pretty. She’s dressier when she goes to work, so it’s the perfect ensemble for her to wear to work. It’s bohemian and artistic. It encompasses all the things I love about Megan’s character.”

Bryant wanted Betty in something modern but still classic Betty. “I loved this whole idea that Betty went out shopping because she lost all the weight, and this paisley dress is a very modern version of Betty Francis,” said Bryant. “The bohemian print has made it into everyday culture. The paisley is very modern, but I felt Betty would be attracted to it because it still has a classic moment. It’s almost the modern shirtwaist dress.”

“Here, Betty embraced the idea of tweed suits being the perfect style of what a politician’s wife would wear, especially for her to go to present her daughter,” explained Bryant. “It was important for her to be put together and classic and that façade that everything is amazing in her life, even though it’s not. It’s all about the presentation with Betty.”

“This is Joan’s the beautiful royal blue wool crepe suit that I designed for her, which she wore once before in the season,” said Bryant. “I love to repeat costumes. I love the idea of the characters repeating the costumes because the audience gets to relive the costume moments, and it roots the characters in reality because we all repeat our clothes. This look is all about Joan standing out, and she always does.”

"I love the colors of that dress - it is very muted, and I like to do more muted colors," said Bryant. "And it has this strong, commanding bow, and the bow is flirty in a way. It’s professional with a little bit of flirt in a sense to it as well. With Ted, they definitely have similar costume palettes. Especially as the flirtations have grown, like in this episode, you can really see them as a pairing."

“This is my favorite suit of hers for the season, and she wore it in the first episode, so we haven’t seen it for a while,” said Bryant. “For her, when she’s doing the presentation, it was such a strong suit. It had great balance between masculinity and femininity. It was important to wear something super professional and be able to be in the meeting with all the boys and hold her own. I like to make sure she has strong moments when she is presenting her work.”

"This is Joan being Joan," Bryant said of this vintage piece, which she redesigned just for the character. "I loved the fabric and those strong colors, but I wanted to recreate the suit so it was more in later sixties design. I recreated the neck scarf to tie around the neck, and I had the suit re-cut so it fit her shape."

"This is part of the same story of her coming to pick up Sally, and, of course, she would dress immaculately for that occasion," Bryant said of this aqua wool jacket and skirt. "It’s all about appearances. I wanted her to wear another suit and for her to look like the amazing mother that she is, and I mean that sarcastically. It’s about the façade of perfection and presenting herself perfectly to the world. It’s all about Betty."

"For me, the dress is perfectly Peggy," Bryant said of the jacket and dress two-piece linen ensemble. "She's worn a lot of navy and green this season. These colors are very strong. I wanted her to be in something that was a little more lively and brighter in that scene because she this is when she's with Ted and Pete in the seafood restaurant. I didn’t want her in something subdued. I wanted her in something flirty and lively."

Bryant felt this dress spoke to the period and to the character. "I’m obsessed with this dress," Bryant said of the knit dress with scalloped edges and covered buttons. "Knits were so important during this period and yellow speaks to me as a Betty color."

"That is a beautiful little dress, it's so pretty," Bryant said of this look for Sally Draper. "I wanted Sally to be in something different for the scene. She is in plaid a lot of the times, I thought it would be interesting for her to wear a print when she first goes into New York, and then transition back to plaid when she’s there. Sally can be a little dark as well. I love to explore that theme for her."

The pink of this look spoke for Dot Campbell's emotions. "That whole scene was really important because it was all about understanding and seeing the incredible change that Dot Campbell has had since she’s had Manolo take care of her," said Bryant. "Her costume was all about Manolo making her feel pretty again. I felt like pink was important for that scene because she’s talking to Peggy about her sexual exploration. Pink was important in the expression of love and romance. She had to look very contrasting from when we saw her last, when she was a total mess. The last time we saw her, she was disoriented and didn’t know where she was. The coat she wore then was old moth eaten coat, and I wanted her to be contrasting from last time we saw her."

"She is the character who is very modern, hence the bell-bottom jeans," said Bryant. "It was being at home, at ease, being relaxed, not having to dress up to go to work. Her costumes are very different at home than when she goes out. It’s fun to put her in bell-bottoms and explore the design of later sixties."

"The whole design for Sally for that episode was about her finding really who her dad was," said Bryant. And this influenced her costumes, including this red blouse and plaid top, a vintage piece Bryant pulled just for Sally. "The dress in the last scene is about the anger and the passion. The red evokes all of the emotions of distress and emergency. I like that it showed stress and emotion, for the character and for the audience."

"It’s been so great these past few episodes to see these fantastic moments of Megan Draper at home," said Bryant. "It’s really so different than how we saw her in beginning of season when she was dressed for dinners and parties and such. It’s such a nice switch to see her in different ways."

This was a vintage dress that Bryant re-cut and re-designed for Joan. "It was so floral and summertime, and perfect for a date, which she thought she was going on," said Bryant. "Because it was a possible date, I wanted it to seem a little different than what she would normally wear to the office. I love the romance of the floral chiffon. So pretty and she looked so beautiful."

Peggy wore this same look when she went shopping for her Upper East Side apartment. "I love opportunities to repeat costumes," said Bryant. It was also important for her to show how different Peggy is from Joan. "I wanted Peggy to be in something solid for that scene because she has to contrast from Joan," explained Bryant. "The silhouettes are completely opposite. I love when I see those two characters together."

"I always see Joan as the character who stands out," said Bryant. "I used two things to do that, color and silhouette. Joan is a character whose costumes are always cut to fit her perfectly to enhance her figure. It’s always a flattering hourglass silhouette. She knows that about herself. It was a professional meeting and this is her power suit."

"Peggy’s palette is opposite Joan’s," said Bryant. "The checked linen is a dress and jacket two-piece ensemble. I always love to use checks and patterns and textures for Peggy because I think that illustrates the multi-layers of her character. I always say that Peggy is that character who we’ve seen go through so many changes, that’s why the checks and plaids and polka dots illustrate that for me."

"This is the first time we see Joan in a dress that really hearkens back to her old days of being office manager and being in a secretarial position," said Bryant. "I wanted to do that for the scene because of her being reprimanded by Pete Campbell. For her to be in a power suit didn’t really have that same feeling. She had to look traditional Joan look for that scene."

"I love that costume. It has a geometric pattern on the top and the skirt and the skirt has the inverted pleats. Everything about it screams Peggy," said Bryant.

Bryant found this vintage dress and rebuilt it for Meredith. "During this period the baby doll was so popular, and it was the perfect moment for Meredith to be able to wear that dress," said Bryant. "It seems so crazy that the silhouette was so popular. Meredith was the perfect character to show the silhouette for the period. She has this little girl quality. I love that purple, the floral print, the puff sleeve, and the little bow."

"This is almost like a coming-out party for Betty Francis, and I wanted her to seem like the queen in that moment," explained Bryant of the scene where the character wore a beaded gown with dramatic wings. "And actually I bought that dress from Shareen, a vintage shop in downtown L.A. She looked so beautiful. It was so exquisite and perfect for this perfect scene, where she had this whole flirting session."

Betty Francis caught the eyes of the gas station attendant and Don Draper when she wore this look. "It was very important that it showed off her body. But I also wanted it to be a moment where Don sees her in something that he saw her in a lot before, like the button-down shirts and the Bermuda shorts," said Bryant. "For Don, it’s bringing back those memories of his formal life when he sees her. The silhouette is classic Betty Draper."

"This look is about Megan being herself and being relaxed at home," said Bryant. "It’s a little bohemian. It speaks to her as being an actress. We see her dressed up at these galas and affairs, and then you see the ease of her being at ease at home. It's so casual."

"When we see Megan Draper at home, I want her to have this ease about her," said Bryant. "She doesn’t wear shoes and she's always relaxed. That’s really the intention of how Megan is at home."

"This is so what Joan would wear to the beach," said Bryant. "There’s still the practicality of going through the city to get to Long Island. It was her being not so overtly sexy, but about being dressed appropriately to going to the beach." Of course, it still had classic Joan elements. "I wanted her to have the perfect scarf in her hair and this nautical theme sweater. It’s knitwear and shapely and sexy. Then, I designed and built her Capri pants. She wore espadrilles. You can't see it, but she had a very sexy one-piece bathing suit underneath."

Janie Bryant rebuilt this vintage suit just for Joan's character. "The jacket was square and not Joan at all, but the colors were because they were strong, vibrant, and jewel-tone," explained Bryant. "I loved the pattern for her. It was strong for when she had to talk to Sterling, but it still had a gentleness to it. It was perfect for that scene."

It was hard not to stare at the legs of Bob Benson (played by James Wolk) in these fish-covered short shorts. And that was Bryant's intent. ”They were a vintage pair that we found at one of the costume shops and we rented them,” Bryant told InStyle.com. “Bob is whimsical in his own way, and I always wanted him to wear colors that were always just a little off. I felt like that was just part of his personality. He’s always saying these funny quirky lines and has this funny way about him, so I loved the idea of him having colors that were just a tad… off. You do get a sense about him that he’s very much the overt the people-pleaser. He’s really fun to dress.”

Bryant designed this two-piece purple top and skirt for Joan. "I design and build a lot of things for Joan because I am very specific about what her color palette is," explained Bryant. "The colors she wears speak to the strength of her character. This is one of my favorites. I love the delicate sweetheart shape on her and the open neckline is so beautiful. We are in the middle of summer in Mad Men time, so it was fun to designe something for her that was not just a suit."

"I wanted her to look so pretty in that scene where Ted tells her he loves her, and she really did," said Bryant. "She looked pretty and also professional. She looked strong and gorgeous."

"The pretty polka dots before contrasts the terrible pale, awful, sickly green polka dot dress at the end where she looks such a mess," said Bryant. "There is such a dramatic contrast between the two for the way she looks. There is also contrast in the emotions you have for that character in both those scenes. It’s so devastating the reaction that Ted has to her in that moment. They were depressed polka dots."

"I always love to portray all the different seasons, and it’s summertime now in the show," said Bryant, who put Peggy in this summer-ready A-line shift with a pleated skirt. "That dress is a perfect dress for Peggy because I love using textures for her. It signifies the complexities of Peggy’s character. It’s also very professional and done in that authoritative way. It shows her professional growth."

"I wanted her to have an ensemble for that scene because I felt Peggy would go to a funeral in all the pieces-the hat, the jacket, and the dress," said Bryant. "There is such a sense of formality to her and there is that respect level that she has as well. She comes from a Catholic upbringing, so she had all of those strict rules growing up. I also love that she came into the office in her funeral get-up and all the guys are such a mess. She’s like the Catholic nun standing there."

"I wanted to use something more psychedelic nature to speak to the wild and erratic nature of the episode for Megan's look," said Bryant. "It’s so contrasting from Betty in the scene when the whole family is there when the cop is there. I wanted that. At one point Betty says ‘She was on the casting couch,’ and then there is Megan in her groovy dress. It’s about how different they are."

"I loved this costume for that scene," Bryant said of this two-piece double-knit. "She is reprimanding Sally and I loved the strength of the red and pink very thin stripes. It’s perfectly conservative and the perfect politician’s wife outfit. Betty is always maintaining that façade of perfection." The look also showed the contrast between her and Sally. "You can see that gap widening culturally and what is happening with the youth culture contrasting from older generation," Bryant noted.

“Because of her having to organize and orchestrate everybody new coming in from the other agency, I wanted her to be in something that was professional and commanding,” Bryant said of this look, which she designed herself. “The colors also showed the contrast between her and Peggy. Joan is super strong in that scene.”

Bryant wanted to create a perfect look for Peggy's return to the office where she started, which is why she chose this three-piece suit. “I felt like she should be in something professional, but quieter in a way,” explained Bryant. “I wanted her to be in something more subtle and pale, so it shows how she is standing back, looking on, and observing throughout the entire episode.”

“ Mad Men creator Matt Weiner had requested a red dress that would make Sylvia think she’s going out, so we wanted it to really be sexy,” said Bryant. “Red is all about passion and their flame and their affair. Red has all of these different meanings and emotions.” Bryant had only one solution—make it herself. “I found this beautiful silk embroidered with red pearls. It’s super textural. I loved the idea of the fabric being textured because it shows the meaning of their relationship and how layered it is.”

“I felt it was such a strong suit for Peggy because she’s reprimanding Don,” Janie Bryant said. “If you look closely, there are watches on the print of the skirt. I love the whole idea of keeping time with Peggy. She’s like that. The print is so perfect for her.”

“This blouse, vest and, skirt I designed for Joan is one of my favorites this season,” said Bryant. “That costume is really so much about Joan’s updated costume design. She still maintains a little of the old Joan with the late ‘50s prints and hourglass shapes, but we also see how she is modern with the fuller sleeve and longer cuff of the late ‘60s period. I also took this from the beginning of menswear for women, which is so modern.”

"This whole scene was really about Cooper, Pete, and Joan coming in on a Saturday, so this is Joan’s casual office costume," explained costume designer Janie Bryant. "The shirt was a beautiful printed silk blouse with a more modern longer sleeve, and she wore it with a brown skirt that I designed for her. It’s still very Joan with it being very elegant and still sexy. It's just more casual with her hair down and everything."

Bryant redesigned this vintage dress to add more gold around the neck and cuffs. "I knew that we would mostly see from waist up, and I really wanted her to stand out especially after the conversation with her mother," said Bryant, referring to Megan's mother telling her "not to dress like his wife." Added Bryant: "So many of Megan’s costumes this year have been about her being a soap opera actress with gold and bright colors."

When Don Draper announced he lost the Jaguar account, it was an emotional moment for Joan, and understandably so-she had slept with the man in charge of it to get the deal. "I wanted her to be in a costume that was really strong, but also a little dark," said Bryant, who designed this wool crepe shirtwaist dress for her. "It's definitely a mix of an authoritative feel, but hearkens back to when she was a secretary. It had that mix of those two elements."

"This is one my favorite dresses of the entire season!" costume designer Janie Bryant told InStyle.com of this vintage pale blue dress. "It’s so beautifully designed. I really wanted Peggy to wear something just truly romantic in total Peggy way, and that pale blue dress really spoke to me. It is very professional, but also possesses this innocence about it. It was romantic, adorable, and professional all at same time."

"I call this Joan's Acorn Dress," Bryant said of the red acorn printed navy dress, adding that it was originally a turtleneck piece she redesigned for Joan. "This was a dress that Joan wore last year. I love that dress for her and I love to repeat something from the previous season. Last year, we only saw her in that dress sitting down, so it was great to see it in full view."

Recognize this look? That's because Peggy had worn it on episode three. "It is realistic to rewear an outfit, and it’s good for the audience to enjoy it, too," said Bryant. "I love the plum color for her. It's the same color I put her in when she left Sterling Cooper last year. It’s a strong color, and I wanted to use it when she’s with Don and Ted because it hearkens back to when she left Don. It’s updated Peggy."

"This was a perfect Peggy Olsen palette with the greens and the mustards," Bryant said of the look, a vintage piece she rented and added her own touch to with a printed scarf. "It has a duality to it-it’s about her being so happy about buying her own place and also about her being colorful and sunny."

“I loved the fabric and I loved the idea of Megan being in something that’s modern and fashion forward,” Bryant explained, noting that she had bought the gown as a vintage tunic and sewed up the slit to turn it into a formal look. She also added fuchsia chiffon sleeves and all of the beading around the neckline, belt, and cuffs. “It’s super modern for the period and it spoke to me for her character. It’s so much about how she transformed into this soap opera star. And she is in so much contrast with the other women, like Sylvia and Peggy.”

Janie Bryant re-cut this gown to fit Peggy’s personality—she added a bow to the vintage design and ditched the accompanying green jacket to show off the embroidered flowers on the bodice. “The green, the floral motif, and the embroidery is so Peggy,” said the costume designer. “It has an innocence about it that is also very professional. I wanted her to be professional, considering nature of event.”

“This is a Greek goddess vintage gown, and I always think of Joan as being a goddess,” Bryant said of why she put Hendricks’s character in this look, which featured a rope-like beading around her waist and bustline. “When you’re sitting in a sea of men with tuxedos, it’s important for her to stand out. That’s why I love using this bright jewel tone color for her. I wish we had seen the gown in all its glory, but we only saw her sitting at the table.”

“I got so many Tweets from people saying how they hate the way Betty looks this season, but I don’t take it personally,” said Bryant. “It’s the most important thing telling the story of Betty Francis, and that’s the power of being a costume designer—to be able to tell the story through the character’s clothes.” For this paisley shirtdress, it showed the struggle of her weight gain. “She’s trying to pull it together, but she looks different now,” Bryant said. “This is still Betty, but without the nipped waist and full skirt.”

For her big dinner date with Don, her boss, and his wife Arlene, Megan wore a genuine vintage hot pink sleeveless dress with a multicolored pattern. "That ensemble is all about Megan wanting to be dressed up and look very impressive for her boss and for Arlene," Bryant told InStyle.com. "That’s one of my favorite pieces. I love brocades anyway, but brocade ensembles were especially popular during that time period. It's so gorgeous!"

Joan wore a vintage blue silk chiffon floral dress that was intended to transition well from day to night, as she hit the town with an old friend after a full day at the office. "That dress is reminiscent of silhouettes from past seasons, and in contrast to the power suits she's been wearing," costume designer Janie Bryant told InStyle.com. "I’ve designed a lot of suits for her this season, because of her new position in the office as a partner; and also because she has access to a bigger salary. This blue dress is a little bit more old-fashioned, and I felt it was important to harken back to the past."

For her new role on a daytime soap opera, Megan had to dress up as a French maid and engage in a love scene with a fellow actor. "This costume is one of my original designs," Bryant told InStyle.com. "It was important for the French maid costume, even though it was still that very traditional black and white, that it have an open neckline, because the actor is kissing her. It wasn’t an exaggerated costume, and it definitely has that super classic feel, but the neck had to be open. I just also love the contrast of how Megan is at home, which is very much in pants and very simplistic and blouses tops and turtlenecks."