The Mad Men Fashion File - Inside Out and Upside Down

The first few moments of Episode 12 immediately establish its big theme: Disorientation. America is about to be turned upside-down by the Kennedy assassination, but that's not where we are yet. Instead we're at the office with the Sterling Cooper crew. Thanks to a busted heater, they're bundled up in hand-knit mittens, large wool coats, and in the case of Lane Pryce, a very smart (and slightly dangerous looking) pair of black leather driving gloves. That the office -- the ultimate place of hold-it-together natty decorum -- is now as chill as the Rockefeller ice rink knocks our usual perception of Sterling Cooper sideways. And it's only the beginning.

Margaret Sterling has often resembled a child in grown-up clothing, but the electric blue suit she sports while crying about her impending wedding takes that image to new levels. Short and boxy, it fits the period silhouette, and because it reveals her arms, it also makes Margaret look like a girl who's outgrown her clothes but refuses to discard them -- a nifty metaphor for her spoiled attitude. The second flash of Margaret -- weeping in her wedding dress -- underscores the upside-down themes of that storyline. Plenty of brides probably break down in their gowns for various reasons, but they usually pull it together before anyone sees them. Here, we see everything.

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