Thursday, March 12, 2009

Shopping from Television: Equestrian Training Ensembles (Mad Men: Season 2)



Betty Draper's riding instructor (Mad Men: Season Two)

Like the rest of the world, I love Mad Men. But for me, it's a snow globe world I want to watch but not occupy. Last week, I caught an easy-to-miss view of Betty Draper's riding instructor in the first episode of the second season ("For Those Who Think Young"). For the first time, I could actually see myself wearing one of the show's on-camera outfits (and further, recognize a plausible profession for me in the early 1960s). Here, I love how the instructor mixes her plaids, belts her shirt and sports an accessory neckerchief and worn fedora (not sure what she's wearing under the hat--another scarf, perhaps?). The look is so distinctive (and semi-eccentric) that I'm wondering if it was inspired by a horsey celebrity (Hepburn?) or specific photograph. Overall, the ensemble and instructor are so antithetical to the sleek stylistic system of the show that it only merits one second or so of screen time. As it were, I could barely coax my digital video recorder to pause on the ensemble long enough to take a photo (the DVR kept pitching me forward to the next shot of a slick gent on horseback).

Filson Mackinaw Cruiser (vintage women's version)

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