Sunday evening is booked for devotees of fashion, decorating and vintage nostalgia.
That crowd will be dusting off its fondue pots and chilling its cocktail glasses for the third-season premiere of the highly stylized show about the 1960s advertising world, “Mad Men.”
“It’s definitely an event,” said House Beautiful editor Stephen Drucker. Speaking earlier this week from his New York City office, Drucker was torn about whether to host friends for the show’s premiere, which airs at 8 p.m. MDT Sunday on AMC.
“If you have people to your house, they talk, and I don’t want to miss a word!” Drucker said. “But I will serve The Barefoot Contessa’s (Ina Garten) whiskey sours. They are just wonderful.”
The characters in “Mad Men” are drawn as much through their clothes and furnishings as they are through what they do or say. Think thin-lapeled suits, crinoline-puffed dresses, pencil skirts, Mark Rothko paintings, big tufted headboards, and Danish-modern dining sets.
The good news, according to Drucker, whose magazine currently has an article about “Decorating the Mad Men Way” on its website (), is that fans of the show can emulate the look without blowing their budget.
Forget about scouring the Web or antique stores for authentic midcentury modern collectibles. Instead, hit yard sales, or scoop up some of the mass-produced retro reproductions that have filled home stores in recent years. House Beautiful compiled several such pieces for its “Mad Men” -inspired coverage.
“If you decide to decorate the ‘Mad Men’ way,” Drucker said, “do it with accessories.”
Like martini glasses, a starburst clock, or a vintage travel poster. Drucker is especially fond of short, round, ’60s-looking Libbey Glassware glasses (888-794-8469), which cost $1 each. “I remember drinking my orange juice out of those glasses when I was a child,” said Drucker, 56.
“These are furniture and accessories that are sold at garage sales,” he added. “Just go out there and find it for a few dollars, buy what you like and have some fun with it.”
Just don’t take the look too seriously.
“Remember, they got tired of this style back then,” Drucker said, “and we may get tired of it, too.” The Barefoot Contessa’s Whiskey Sour
Jazz up your “Mad Men” premiere party with this recipe from foodnetwork .
Ingredients
3/4 cup whiskey (recommended: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 lemons)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4 limes)
2/3 cup sugar syrup
Ice cubes
Maraschino cherries
Directions
To make the sugar syrup, bring 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a boil, and simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved. Chill before using.
Combine the whiskey, lemon juice, lime juice and syrup. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice and pour in the drink mix 2/3full. Shake for 15 seconds and pour into glasses. Add a maraschino cherry and serve ice cold.
Elana Ashanti Jefferson
