Mad for Banana?

I have to say, a lot of people (knowing what am obsessive Mad Men fan I am) have asked me my thoughts on the limited collection that debuted in August. First of all, I quite like Banana Republic. I also think extremely highly of Janie Bryant, costumer for Mad Men. She is someone who has inspired an entire new wave of fashion...and a renaissance of classic, tailored style, and gorgeous vintage silhouettes and patterns. She had me at "Hello!" As far as the collection goes, I am loving some of the menswear... I'm thrilled that modern gentlemen are finally coming around to the idea that a suit jacket tailored to your body makes you look clean, fashion forward, and powerful versus the ill-fitting, slovenly alternative. I really wouldn't mind if my boyfriend wore any of these looks, but I'm really not crazy about the pinstripe because it is just sort of giving me "Zoot Suit Riot" flashbacks. Low Point. I would have much preferred a Roger Sterling style suit, like this one.

Now, as far as the womens' collection goes, there wasn't really anything I had to have. While I love this bracelet sleeve jacket, and the cigarette pant is certainly authentic, I felt like all of these items were much more Banana Republic than Mad Men. The styling was just kind of average. And slapping red lipstick and winged eyeliner on your models doesn't really bridge the gap. I get that they want to modernize these looks and keep them commercially appealing to their clientele, but in the end it seems like it's just a missed opportunity to really go there with fashion... And designers like Kate Spade are constantly modernizing 1960s-style looks without much concern for whether or not they are too over-the-top. Now, a Kate Spade/Janie Bryant collaboration is something I'd really like to see, but below are some of my favorite looks from the Banana collection.

Photos from the Banana Republic Made Men Collection Lookbook