Debonair’s hour
“There’s something to be said for making an effort. Buttoning your buttons and tying your tie and matching your belt to your shoes,†says Jon Hamm, as he sips a glass of Rittenhouse rye on the rocks. He shrugs. “Hey, women do it every day, right?â€
Hamm -- who is either the next George Clooney or the reincarnation of Gary Cooper, depending on whom you ask -- should know. He plays the cryptic but dapper Don Draper on the AMC series “Mad Men.†And if you watch the smart and ultra-stylish show that takes place at a hungry Manhattan advertising agency in 1960, you already know Hamm’s signature flinty squint and his well-tailored suits.
Thursday night will mark the first season finale, and one can’t help but wonder which of Draper’s three women -- the wife or the two mistresses -- will see him off. No matter. We already miss the show, in part, for its slavish attention to visual nuance and fashion. At the Sterling Cooper Agency, men arrive every morning as sleek as dolphins, with their pomaded coifs, clean-shaven cheeks and shiny wingtips.
The women on the show look great too, though their pencil skirts, sweater sets and tight-as-fists chignons feel more like the contents of a sartorial time capsule. (Never mind the fact that the blatant sexism they endure as secretaries dates them as much as their conical bras.) And while the men may reek of chauvinism -- not to mention Scotch and cigarettes -- they also manage to look, well, amazingly modern.
In fact, Don Draper could do for the three-button glen plaid suit what Paulie Walnuts did for the zip-up velour tracksuit. GQ just ran an article on how to cop the “Mad Men†style, and retail research firm NPD Group reports that sales of suits and blazers are up more than 50% for men ages 18 to 24. Maybe that statistic explains the sudden shuttering of two laddie magazines -- FHM and Stuff -- in the past year.
Could it be that that virility is making a comeback? On the red carpet, we’ve got George Clooney, Ryan Gosling and Benicio del Toro sporting enough facial hair to knit a sweater vest. Gucci’s new Pour Homme fragrance has enough cedar for a lumberjack. A 157-year-old bottle of rare Scotch whiskey sold for $60,000 last month and set an auction record.
Even the term “metrosexual†had better watch its waxed back. A new buzzword -- “menergy†-- is muscling its way into the cultural lexicon to describe the ultra-masculinity in designer menswear.
“A man’s man wouldn’t care if he got called a metrosexual. He would say, ‘That’s right. I’m wearing French cuffs. So what?’ †says Hamm, 36, who’s decked out in his own blue pinstriped Paul Smith suit with purple silk lining, sky-blue dress shirt and cap toe oxfords. “I’m not into pampering, but a guy going to a spa isn’t exactly new either. Getting a steam dates back to the Roman days.â€
Hamm could be the poster man for the evolved alpha male movement. The St. Louis native and former high school teacher is smart, witty and handsome in a rugged and classic way. You get the sense that he’s comfortable extracting escargot or building a campfire. Case in point: Over a recent late afternoon cocktail at the swank Tower Bar in West Hollywood, he politely excuses himself to tend to a sudden shoulder injury.
“I dislocated it playing tennis, but my doctor taught me how to pop it back in. I just have to make an adjustment, and I’m fine,†he explains, after returning triumphant. OK, so this man breaks sometimes. But he can fix himself.
On “Mad Men,†Draper and his colleague are hyper-masculine, but no apologies are made for their dandy accents like tie tacks, signet rings or skinny ties. Stingy brim fedoras -- lately picked up by pop idols such as Justin Timberlake and worn at an ironic angle -- are staples too.
“Men wore jewelry and dress socks and nobody thought twice about it,†says the show’s costume designer, Katherine Jane Bryant, who won an Emmy in 2005 for her work on “Deadwood.†“Suits were always tailored. It was a great time for men’s fashion.â€
To nail the style of the era, Bryant researched old Look and Life magazines. She also made photo collages for the characters to get a sense of their external essence. On Don Draper’s picture board, there are shots of a smug, nattily clad David Ogilvy (known as the father of advertising), a sexy Marcello Mastroianni, and a young Stephen Sondheim.
The images add up to the composite Draper, whom she outfits in vintage three-button suit jackets, Brooks Brothers white shirts with French cuffs, and wing tip shoes. Undershirts are a must. Draper’s cotton boxers, more fitted than the modern version and paneled to lie flat, are re-creations of a retro style. The show’s creator, Matthew Weiner, who was a writer and producer of “The Sopranos,†insisted on choosing his gold watch -- Draper’s only accessory. Then, there are those single pleat pants with a whopping 12-inch rise.
“‘Pull your pants up!’ That’s all I ever hear on the set,†says Hamm, of the foot-long expanse from his waistband to seam. Most modern suit pants have a rise of 7 inches. “It’s insane, but suits were cut to fit. That precision informs the character and the times back then. It was all about fit.†Bryant concurs: “The high rise creates a long, lean leg. The silhouette is so elegant.â€
Getting fitted for a first suit can be a passage into manhood. Hamm recalls being measured for a lightweight pinstriped gray number in St. Louis, just after he graduated from high school.
“It was a big deal. My dad brought me into this store where he bought his suits and said, ‘My son here needs a suit,’ †he says, assuming a gravely, grown up tone. “I wish I still had it.â€
Hamm hasn’t lost the manners of a Midwesterner, though he left St. Louis for Los Angeles 12 years ago. He lives with his girlfriend of 10 years, Tony-nominated actress Jennifer Westfeldt, who wrote and starred in “Kissing Jessica Stein†and the new “Ira & Abby.†Hamm stands when a lady enters a room. He’s warm and polite in a throwback way -- the type of guy a woman could leave alone with her dad for hours and not worry.
These days, the actor favors the designer triumvirate of traditionalists: Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Giorgio Armani. “I could never wear one of those skinny suits by Dior. I wouldn’t even be able to get it over my knee. It could get pornographic,†he jokes.
You won’t see him gamboling around in an oversized tee and baggy jeans either. “I know some 40-year-old guys who wear their pants down at their knees, and I say, ‘You’re not K-Fed, man,’ †adds Hamm.
When talk turns to local style, Hamm laments the defeatist attitude toward dressing up. “One of the saddest things about L.A. is that it gets a bad rap for being so casual,†he says. “But there are places here, like the Bel Air or the Four Seasons, where people do dress nicely. It happens.â€
He may be on to something. Here at the Tower Bar, owner Jeff Klein has quietly but firmly encouraged a dress code, and usually scruffy actors such as Keanu Reeves and Joaquin Phoenix show up in a jacket.
The man in the blue pinstripe suit approves.
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
LIFE BY HAMM
Every man has his rules to live by. Ernest Hemingway ate grizzly bear meat with pancakes. Frank Sinatra never yawned in front of a woman. Herewith, Jon Hamm’s rules on being a man:
Tie one on: “A man should know how to tie a tie. I don’t remember who taught me how to do it, but, at some point, I just got it. It’s Byzantine in that way.â€
Tip your hat: “Say thank you, whether it’s buying a gift or making a phone call. It’s never a sign of weakness to appreciate other people.â€
Don’t pass the buck: “Know how to pick up a check without making a big deal out of it. Do it quietly. It’s a good idea to always have cash on you too.â€
--Monica Corcoran
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