The Footnotes of Mad Men.

Jan 05

Mmmmm look at those tasty apricot-colored pillows! Most homes built in the early 1900’s, like the Drapers, were relatively stripped down and lacked 18th century flourishes of the older homes. To achieve the traditional Colonial style during the mid-century, designers and homemakers were instructed to “paint the walls a soft tint such as ivory, parchment, green, or apricot.”  Additional touches such as small period details, fabric, lighting, and small Colonial style furniture including tilt-top tables, the rush seated chairs, were encouraged. image via this really great interview.

Mmmmm look at those tasty apricot-colored pillows!

Most homes built in the early 1900’s, like the Drapers, were relatively stripped down and lacked 18th century flourishes of the older homes. To achieve the traditional Colonial style during the mid-century, designers and homemakers were instructed to “paint the walls a soft tint such as ivory, parchment, green, or apricot.”  Additional touches such as small period details, fabric, lighting, and small Colonial style furniture including tilt-top tables, the rush seated chairs, were encouraged.

image via this really great interview.

Jan 04

We’re one of the Best New Blogs of 2009: This year, one new site embodied the larger-than-it-seems Tumblr zeitgeist better than others: Mad Men Footnotes. TV recaps had become a moribund genre. Thousand-word recaps of things you already saw, recaps were the downtrodden hookers of internet discourse: felicitous with their views, but leaving behind the emptiness of sloppy seconds. Mad Men Footnotes flipped the genre around. It wasn’t about the telling you what you just watched — it was about exploring the entire universe that it created. Through short posts that allude to passing show references (Rothko, Ann-Marget, salted ice cream), the site made history feel like the present. Just as Mad Men uses the ’60s as a prism through which to understand contemporary advertising and desire, Mad Men Footnotes is shorthand for understanding blog culture. It is the quintessential use of the platform: a reblog of a reblog designed for reblogging. Well, we accept this recognition with quite dignity and grace a burst your chiseled cheeks grin. [image via AMC]

We’re one of the Best New Blogs of 2009:

This year, one new site embodied the larger-than-it-seems Tumblr zeitgeist better than others: Mad Men Footnotes.

TV recaps had become a moribund genre. Thousand-word recaps of things you already saw, recaps were the downtrodden hookers of internet discourse: felicitous with their views, but leaving behind the emptiness of sloppy seconds. Mad Men Footnotes flipped the genre around. It wasn’t about the telling you what you just watched — it was about exploring the entire universe that it created. Through short posts that allude to passing show references (Rothko, Ann-Marget, salted ice cream), the site made history feel like the present.

Just as Mad Men uses the ’60s as a prism through which to understand contemporary advertising and desire, Mad Men Footnotes is shorthand for understanding blog culture. It is the quintessential use of the platform: a reblog of a reblog designed for reblogging.

Well, we accept this recognition with quite dignity and grace a burst your chiseled cheeks grin.

[image via AMC]

“I’ve never seen one that game!” Sal says to Don about particularly gregarious stewardess? “Really?” Don replies with a knowing glance. Behold! “The six of us rented a hosue together out there. The pilots called us the ‘sexy six.’ They always looked at you in a sexual way. You know, you’d walk into the cockpit on your first day and they’d say, “This is a test to find out if you’re a virgin,” and they’d have a gyro and they’d make it spin, and then they’d say “Aha, you’re not a virgin.”“ These skies are prettttyyy friendly, fellas. (via ”The Fifties: A Women’s Oral History.” Brett Harvey. Harper Collins. 1977. New York)

“I’ve never seen one that game!” Sal says to Don about particularly gregarious stewardess?

“Really?” Don replies with a knowing glance.

Behold!

“The six of us rented a hosue together out there. The pilots called us the ‘sexy six.’ They always looked at you in a sexual way. You know, you’d walk into the cockpit on your first day and they’d say, “This is a test to find out if you’re a virgin,” and they’d have a gyro and they’d make it spin, and then they’d say “Aha, you’re not a virgin.”“

These skies are prettttyyy friendly, fellas.

(via ”The Fifties: A Women’s Oral History.” Brett Harvey. Harper Collins. 1977. New York)


[video]

Dec 28

Dec 26

One of the things that grabs Ladies of a Certain Age about Mad Men is the authenticity of the seriously fraught gender dynamic of the era. Take Peggy for instance, through each season we watch her get squeezed between her two desires to be liked by men and respected by them. Given the setting, it seems she can only pick one. Well, here’s a fantastic post by art critic Carol Diehl about the sexuality of the era, featuring appearances by Brigitte Bardot, Ann Margret and Mad Men: “Last night, after the turkey, we watched two films from 1963-64 back-to-back: Brigitte Bardot in Jean Luc Godard’s “Contempt,” and “VivaLas Vegas” with Elvis and Ann-Margret. To my male friends it was high camp, but for me, watching them produced flashbacks of what it was like to grow up in that era: wanting men, wanting them to like you, wanting them to want you, but at the same time having to fend them off on a daily basis, the frustration of having your strengths ignored while being valued for your sexual potential…” READ MORE NOW.

One of the things that grabs Ladies of a Certain Age about Mad Men is the authenticity of the seriously fraught gender dynamic of the era.

Take Peggy for instance, through each season we watch her get squeezed between her two desires to be liked by men and respected by them. Given the setting, it seems she can only pick one.

Well, here’s a fantastic post by art critic Carol Diehl about the sexuality of the era, featuring appearances by Brigitte Bardot, Ann Margret and Mad Men:

“Last night, after the turkey, we watched two films from 1963-64 back-to-back: Brigitte Bardot in Jean Luc Godard’s “Contempt,” and “VivaLas Vegas” with Elvis and Ann-Margret. To my male friends it was high camp, but for me, watching them produced flashbacks of what it was like to grow up in that era: wanting men, wanting them to like you, wanting them to want you, but at the same time having to fend them off on a daily basis, the frustration of having your strengths ignored while being valued for your sexual potential…”

READ MORE NOW.

Dec 25

If Marlboros are for Cowboys then Lucky Strike is For Magical Men. Leo Burnett, creator of the Marlboro man, was once asked why he smoked Marlboro cigarettes. Burnett responded: “ I guess my feeling is pretty well summed up in the remarks of the vice-president of a competitive agency. When asked why he was smoking a not-too-popular brand of cigarette: ‘In my book there is no taste or aroma quite like bread and butter.’ “ This ad is from the 1936 Lucky Strike print campaign.

If Marlboros are for Cowboys then Lucky Strike is For Magical Men.

Leo Burnett, creator of the Marlboro man, was once asked why he smoked Marlboro cigarettes. Burnett responded: “ I guess my feeling is pretty well summed up in the remarks of the vice-president of a competitive agency. When asked why he was smoking a not-too-popular brand of cigarette: ‘In my book there is no taste or aroma quite like bread and butter.’ “

This ad is from the 1936 Lucky Strike print campaign.

Merry Christmas, everybody. Hope you have something tasty in your tumblers. Image via the pretty men at Ivy Style.

Merry Christmas, everybody. Hope you have something tasty in your tumblers.

Image via the pretty men at Ivy Style.

Dec 20

Dec 16

You guys, let’s be honest: in our heart of hearts, don’t we all just want the Don Drapers of our lives to take us out to LUTECE? Lutece opened in 1961 to great acclaim, so it’s no wonder Don and Roger try to go there so often. It was founded by early celeb chef Andre Soltner who remained head chef and owner until closing. From their now defunct website: “The restaurant offers a variety of settings including Le Jardin, which is the main dining room, and two unique private rooms on the second floor of a townhouse appointed with hand-gilded suede walls and crystal chandeliers to create the perfect intimate setting for guest’s enjoyment.” Sample Menu (so delish):AppetizersPheasant Soup & Poached Quenellewith green lentils, endive & arugulaCaviar Soupwith Madeleine Island bay scallops, cauliflower mousseline & poached quail eggChestnuts & Porcini Mushroomscooked en cocotte with grilled pancetta & roasted chicken jusArtichoke Saladwith ruby red grapefruit vinaigrette, thai basilBrittany Langoustineswatercress civet, gold beets & shaved winter black truffleYukon Gold Potato & Winter Black Truffle PiesabayonEntreesPan Seared Lacquered Monkfishwith nicoise olive sauce, baby bok choy, chick pea puree & lemon confitRoasted Turbot on the Bonewith ginger & parmesan, tarbais beans with fresh tomato concasse & arugulaSauteed Black Sea Basswith baby spinach, vanilla jusSauteed Lobsterwith sauteed foie gras wrapped in a chard leaf,braised savoy cabbage, grapes & fennelSauteed Partridgepoached foie gras wrapped in a chard leaf,braised savoy cabbage, grapes & fennelRoasted Farm Raised Chickenpommes macaires, black truffle jus It had three main dining rooms, called Le Jardin, Le Petit Salon, and Le Grand Salon. The Drapers and such did not eat in Le Jardin, because there didn’t seem to be any green and yellow accents. In the 60s, Julia Child called Lutece the greatest restaurant in the United States. Here’s the NY Times article on its closing which discusses how Lutece always got most of its business from business lunches and dinners. • footnote - by Natasha Simons

You guys, let’s be honest: in our heart of hearts, don’t we all just want the Don Drapers of our lives to take us out to LUTECE?

Lutece opened in 1961 to great acclaim, so it’s no wonder Don and Roger try to go there so often. It was founded by early celeb chef Andre Soltner who remained head chef and owner until closing. From their now defunct website: “The restaurant offers a variety of settings including Le Jardin, which is the main dining room, and two unique private rooms on the second floor of a townhouse appointed with hand-gilded suede walls and crystal chandeliers to create the perfect intimate setting for guest’s enjoyment.”


Sample Menu (so delish):

Appetizers
Pheasant Soup & Poached Quenelle
with green lentils, endive & arugula

Caviar Soup
with Madeleine Island bay scallops, cauliflower mousseline & poached quail egg

Chestnuts & Porcini Mushrooms
cooked en cocotte with grilled pancetta & roasted chicken jus

Artichoke Salad
with ruby red grapefruit vinaigrette, thai basil

Brittany Langoustines
watercress civet, gold beets & shaved winter black truffle

Yukon Gold Potato & Winter Black Truffle Pie
sabayon

Entrees
Pan Seared Lacquered Monkfish
with nicoise olive sauce, baby bok choy, chick pea puree & lemon confit

Roasted Turbot on the Bone
with ginger & parmesan, tarbais beans with fresh tomato concasse & arugula

Sauteed Black Sea Bass
with baby spinach, vanilla jus

Sauteed Lobster
with sauteed foie gras wrapped in a chard leaf,
braised savoy cabbage, grapes & fennel

Sauteed Partridge
poached foie gras wrapped in a chard leaf,
braised savoy cabbage, grapes & fennel

Roasted Farm Raised Chicken
pommes macaires, black truffle jus



It had three main dining rooms, called Le Jardin, Le Petit Salon, and Le Grand Salon. The Drapers and such did not eat in Le Jardin, because there didn’t seem to be any green and yellow accents.

In the 60s, Julia Child called Lutece the greatest restaurant in the United States.

Here’s the NY Times article on its closing which discusses how Lutece always got most of its business from business lunches and dinners.

• footnote - by Natasha Simons