7. Setting the Scene
As Mad Men perfectly depicts, the 1960s was a time of style in all theatres, not just those of the beverage or wardrobe. The style encompasses the characters both directly and indirectly as their surroundings are as exquisitely styled and detailed as every other aspect of the show, depicting a visage of 1960s style. The office is a place of cutting-edge style with its glass-sided conference rooms and heavy wooden table, matching the expensive wooden panelling of the walls. Surrounding the table are sumptuous leather chairs to perfectly support suit-clad creative and sales executives while the surfaces are adorned with chic lamps and ashtrays. After the drive home in a new Cadillac, the weary executive is greeted by a fashionable Manhattan apartment, featuring a breakfast bar, stylish stools and corner sofas accompanied by a leather chair to recline in with a drink. Luxurious rugs lead to glass coffee tables and doors to a balcony with suitably fitting furniture for coffee and a cigarette. This shows us that in the 60s, we could have a perfectly matching, tasteful pad laid out with a blend of items that epitomised their time, made just that little bit better and more lovingly than the mass produced armada of units and seating that likely dominates our homes now, and let's not even get started on the offices, with row upon row of identical, soulless desks. As you ride home from work, sometimes you just wish you would step into a world of such charm, hang up your hat and sink into your Eames chair with a drink waiting in your hand.