Mad Men Mania

So I noticed that both Banana Republic and Estee Lauder are both coming out with collections heavily influenced by the Style of Mad Men. UM LIKE!!!!!!!

And gorgeous Shalom Harlow with David Gandy as her Don Draper, um LOVE!

What perfume would good-wife-gone-bad Betty Draper have worn?

Last week, The Perfume Diaries, an exhibition curated by leading fragrance specialist Roja Dove, opened in Harrods. It chronicles the history of scent, starting from when it was offered as a gift to the Roman gods, through to its ubiquity as cover-up for the not-so-great unwashed. More recently, perfume became a sign of the times. When the Great Depression was taking hold in the Thirties, the vogue was for escapist oriental scents. After the Second World War, fresh, optimistic "green" notes were developed - Nina Ricci L'Air du Temps, released in 1953, still carries the doves of peace on its bottle.

A big launch in the Fifties was Estée Lauder's Youth Dew, a ladylike aroma of lavender, spice and vetiver designed to reflect a woman's desires from that era.

"In the mid-Fifties, the concept of the American dream took hold, its idyll to get married, have children and create a perfect home mirrored those featured in the adverts," Dove explains. "Marriage was forever and the woman was only perceived as successful if she was a perfect homemaker, perfectly made-up and coiffed in Doris Day-style gingham." In other words, Betty Draper in a bottle.

So, what perfumes capture Betty's timeless elegance? Everyone knows that Marilyn Monroe wore nothing but Chanel No 5 in bed, but did you know that she also wore Joy by Jean Patou, a potent blend of jasmine, rose and musk?

Both scents, created in the Twenties, have an enduring appeal. If you covet a quirky yet classic fragrance, Mitsouko by Guerlain has been favored by an array of old-Hollywood screen stars: Ava Gardner, Ingrid Bergman, Jean Harlow and even Diana, Princess of Wales, wore the chypre-based scent with a citrus top note.

Clearly one for strong, vampish women - that leaves Mad Men 's practical copywriter, Peggy Olson, out then.

But what scent did Audrey Hepburn, the queen of classic femininity, choose? In 1957, her friend Hubert de Givenchy created L'Interdit, a soft floral with notes of rose, jasmine and violet, which was available to buy in the early Sixties.

With the new series set in 1964, It's the perfect choice for cool, classy all-woman Joan Holloway, and anyone who wants to channel some of that old-school sophistication.

Excerpt from Mad Men and Powerful Perfumes by Jane Cullen, Daily Telegraph http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/beauty/news-features/TMG7986975/Mad-Men-and-powerful-perfumes.html