Wallpaper Car Inspiration: Contemplating Mad Men

(Mad Men yourself here)

I'm a huge fan of Mad Men and am sad (although also excited) that tomorrow is the season 4 finale episode. Are you a fan too? I haven't done any blogging on the show, probably because so much has been said elsewhere. Plus, I don't have a lot of knowledge about mid-century design style as it's never been my personal favorite. But, the show does bring me back to my young childhood filled with overflowing ashtrays, cocktail parties, gloves and hats.

Last week's episode brought back the bohemian artist Midge Daniels from Season 1, only now she's a junkie living in the Village - another Mad Men character falling and failing. And we have Don Draper (the totally delicious Jon Hamm) whose own fall has been the focus of the past four seasons, most especially the current one. He's also living in the Village, having moved there after the divorce from his perfect looking wife and lifestyle out in Westchester County. During this season, we've seen Don go from heavy drinker to blackout level drinker. He's womanized and found himself waking up with women he doesn't even remember. Not exactly delicious behavior. And so, viewers are always wondering if he's hit bottom and when will he rebound - or is he still falling and failing?

I was perusing the still images of last week's episode and was struck by the similarity of Midge and Don's repective Village apartments:

Midge's apartment

Don's Apartment

The identical drab color palettes, the dirty windows. Of course, Don's home has more expensive furnishings, the sofa looks like it might be mohair and the fringed pillows are beautiful. But the overall effect is the same. Production Designer Dan Bishop and Set Decorator Amy Wells have done an amazing job capturing the era and as with the costumes (by Janie Bryant), the set decoration is filled with symbolism and period perfection. In this penultimate episode of Season 4, the ad agency is on the brink of failure and the star (both of the agency and series) Don Draper has been teetering on the brink of failure. Will we know by the end of tomorrow's episode what will happen? My bet is that it's not likely. But I am of the opinion that the Don Draper character will not ultimately fail. He hit bottom this season, losing his creative mojo, his dignity and his family. But he's been slowly working on controlling his drinking and I believe the re-appearance of Midge as a rock-bottom junkie was a reminder of how close he is to being her. They are both creative forces with demons. I think the mirroring of the set design of their apartments was a significant visual cue as to how close to bottom he still is. And it will serve as a catalyst of some kind.

If you're a Mad Men fan, I encourage you to check out Tom and Lorenzo's in depth program recaps and costume style posts. They are funny and insightful.

Will you be watching tomorrow night and what do we make of these production images that were leaked several weeks ago? Apparently, Don is in California with Megan (his secretary with whom he had a quick tryst in the office) and his three kids. How did that happen?