The time has come to take a look at the curvaceous Joan Holloway. When she first appears in the pilot, she is the exact opposite of Peggy: bold, assured and in charge, she makes quite the impression with her red hair and curve hugging sheath dress.
Her first dress is a green sheath with kimono sleeves, a curved notched neckline, matching belt and a peculiar fabric adornment along the neckline. Well, if you were looking for a pattern to re-create your own green dress, hurry over to MOMSPatterns and snatch this up. It’s so similar to the green dress that it makes me think the costume designer used it as an inspiration or perhaps found a vintage dress made from the pattern that was tweaked for Christina Hendricks. What do you think? Either way, it’s a great pattern and right now MOMSPatterns is having a 10% off holiday sale through December 31st (the code can be found on the homepage).
Joan’s signature accessory is not only stylish but practical: a pen necklace in gold. The actual prop is vintage and was found in a market in Pasadena, but if you’ve been coveting this piece, you are in luck. A little research shows that the pen is a original 1928 item and they are selling a similar replica for a mere $20. If you like the vintage style but would prefer something with a little color, there is a fantastic necklace on etsy made with a vintage aqua pencil. If it was made with silver accents rather than gold, I would have snatched it up myself—but unfortunately gold does not suit me. Oh well. I recently picked up Jennifer Perkins “Naughty Secretary Club” book, and she’s got instructions for making your own fountain pen necklace, so I suppose I’ll just have to make my own version. Why did these ever go out of style? It would come in handy while working at the flower shop as I’m forever searching for a pen to take orders or make notes on a delivery.
I hope you are enjoying MMFM. I have way too much fun looking through etsy and my favorite websites for inspiration for these entries, but I am curious to know what else you would like to see included in MMFM. More vintage photos and magazine scans? Or maybe links to modern ready-to-wear clothes that are similar in style? Please leave a comment or email me with your ideas or suggestions! And look for the bonus entry sometime late tonight—I’ve got more fun jewelry links inspired by Joan for your browsing pleasure.
I love this feature! And if you can find me ready-to-wear Joan Holloway outfits, I will leap for joy.
Just thought you would like to know I found a more similar pen at marshallhouseinc.com for $19.95 it’s more like the one she is wearing.