Mad Men: She is Joan and...

"the" Joan Holloway

Joan has it going on. Joan give withering glances. Joan has a wicked sarcastic streak. Joan knows what to wear. Obviously.

In fact, she instructed new girl Peggy on day one of her new job to go home and honestly examine her strengths and weaknesses, when it comes to how she looks. Harsh advice when you have just met someone! But that's "our Joan."

It's clear that Joan considers her strengths to be; not just her impressive bust, but actually her bosom-to-hip ratio. Too bad most modern women see this differently. Nowadays, while a large bosom is a positive, the corresponding hips are a big negative. Therefore, we see a lot of top heavy women who could not rock a decent 1950's-60's silhouette like Joan can.

Note also how Joan does not "flaunt" her bosom. She does not wear low cut tops though she does sometimes have interesting neckline or collar treatments (see below) that draw the eye to her, ahem, clavicle. In addition, there is that gold pen that draws the eye to that area again, but of course, in the guise of professionalism and efficiency.

Another thing commendable about Joan is that she knows what looks good on her when it comes to color. Her clothes work with her hair, whether by complementing it or contrasting with it. She also finally proves that there aren't many colors that red heads can't wear; instead, that it is all in the particular shade of the color.

To help achieve a bit of the Joan allure, search vintage pattern sites using the terms wiggledress and JackieO:




From left to right: McCall's 7004, Butterick 9657, and Mail Order 9251