If it wasn’t obvious to you before Season 5, Sally Draper is one of the best characters (and one of my personal favorites) on Mad Men.
Famous for her immature maturity, Sally has long been a character on the rise. Although you don’t get many moments alone with her in the earlier seasons, it’s obvious that this is a first born child who has been given responsibility for her younger siblings despite the fact that the Drapers (and Francises, currently) have a stay at home mom. Even so, Sally is still a maturing young adult who begins to bloom with autonomy in Seasons 4-5.
This was pure gold, and was a great slight at Megan, who is the perfect actress (sorry, Megan, you know I love ya!).
This autonomy is both complete and incomplete on various levels, and was ultimately immortalized through Tumblr and other sites with “Sassy Draper,” particularly when Sally feels betrayed by Megan for not mentioning Anna Draper in “Dark Shadows.”
Sally has become a truly entitled suburban teenager, and with that, is now straddling the line between child and “adult,” or at least her version of adult. Of course, the modesty of the period (and of Betty’s instructive old-fashion style-sense) allows for Sally to look mature but still age appropriate, at least when she wants to be (mature, that is). Actress Kiernan Shipka also follows suit in her real life.
Thus, I decided to take a look at one of the most stand-out Sally fashion choices for Season 5: her evening dress in “At the Codfish Ball.” Given permission to attend an adult-night on the town to celebrate her father’s achievements, Sally upgrades to a gorgeous (but still child-like) sequined/metallic dress. She tries to fit in with the older crowd by wearing make-up and go-go boots, but Don isn’t willing to let his daughter come off in that kind of “adult” light just yet.
Even without the makeup, Sally looks gorgeous. She completely fits in with the rest of the strapping crowd that she rolls in with.
What I love about this gunmetal dress is the high-collar and boxy chest area that almost makes it a shift dress. The pleated skirt, in a lighter champagne gold, hits below the mid-waist, and elongates her torso, drawing attention away from her figure and more so to the structure of the dress itself. The flared bottom gives it a playful but demure look for someone who is only 12. The sequins/metallic thread (I can’t really tell) also adds such a chic touch and glitzes up her appearance at the ball.
I created a styleboard based on this dress because I love nearly everything about it (excepting the youthfulness added by the pleating). However, I do realize that 1. sequins are not easy to pull off; 2. I am so boring I would probably never wear sequins; and 3. most of us don’t have the lithe figure of Kiernan Shipka. That being said, I took away a lot of different inspirations from the dress.
1. Sheer Pink Tank with Silver Sequin Accents - gorgeous alternative to heavy sequined items, easy to dress up or down.
2. Silver Sequined Dress - great evening wear piece (could dress down or sass up with denim or leather jacket for texture-contrast).
3. Sequin Tank-Shift Dress - I love the color as well as the sheer tank beneath.
4. Sheer Cream Button-Down with Sequin Collar - LOVE! Want to buy this. Great boxy cut with high-collar, low on the drastic sequins.
5. Gold Sequin Dress - another great evening wear dress.
6. Sequin-Shoulder Scoop Neck Blouse - comes in great colors with a higher scoop-neck for more mature coverage.
Any of these options can be overruled by using a great sequined clutch or shoe (maybe even sequined jewelry) to add that touch of heavy-metal Sally.
