Mad Men: why Don Draper wore the same suit for ten years

Don Draper is a man who made himself up, and his suit is part of the disguise. Across seven seasons of Mad Men he changes almost everything about his life except what he wears to the office, and the costume department did that on purpose.

The suits

The costume designer was Janie Bryant, and her rule for Don was consistency. His colours are grey and navy, in a range of shades, and his signature is a warm grey sharkskin suit:

• Sharkskin: a two-tone weave that gives a flat grey a slight sheen and depth, with a whisper of tan in this one that sits well with his colouring.
• Two buttons, narrow lapels, in proportion with a narrow tie.
• Slanted “hacking” pockets and side vents, a slightly sporty detail on an otherwise sober suit.
• Plain-front trousers, trim and clean.

As the show moves into the later 1960s and the men around him grow sideburns, wider lapels and louder cloth, Don’s suit stays exactly where it was. Bryant has said she wanted it to look increasingly dated against the decade: the suit is the armour of a man holding on to the identity he built.

Why it works

Proportion. The lapel, the tie and the shirt collar are all narrow and all agree. That is why the look reads as sharp rather than skinny. The tie: width, knot and length explains the rule.

Grey and navy do everything. Two colours, a few shades of each, and every shirt and tie in the wardrobe works with every suit. It is a working man’s wardrobe dressed up as a rich one.

The pocket square. Don’s white square, folded straight across and showing a thin line above the pocket, is the plainest fold there is and the most copied. The pocket square, without the fuss shows how.

What to take from it

1. Pick grey and navy first. The navy suit is the one to own before anything else; a warm grey is the second.
2. Keep the proportions matched. If the lapel is narrow, the tie is narrow. If the lapel is wider, the tie follows.
3. Consistency looks like confidence. A man who wears the same cut every day never looks like he is trying something out.

Getting it made

Sam makes business suits in grey and navy at the Vaughan studio, measured and fitted personally, in three to four weeks. The Drawing Board will sketch Don’s grey: draw the Draper suit. Narrow lapels are a conversation at the first fitting; ask for them in proportion to your own frame rather than to Jon Hamm’s.

Where the details come from: BAMF Style, Black Lapel and Forbes’ interview with Janie Bryant.