If You Like Mad Men, You Will Love Mad Men Unbuttoned by Natasha Vargas-Cooper

If you like Mad Men, you will love the book Mad Men Unbuttoned: A Romp Through 1960s America by Natasha Vargas-Cooper. I came across this book a couple of years ago at Octavia Books in New Orleans. I read it immediately and loved it. The book is about the early 1960s political and social backdrop for Mad Men. Vargas-Cooper covers everything from the ad execs the show is based on to the origins of the costumes worn on the show to the politics sexual and otherwise that the show is steeped in. The following is a picture of the book with “R2D2 Betty.” I was too tired from BEA to dress up in my usual Mad Men attire, so R2D2 filled in for me. Keep reading after the photo for more information about Mad Men Unbuttoned: A Romp Through 1960s America by Natasha Vargas-Cooper.

Thanks R2D2! I really needed the night off!

More about Mad Men Unbuttoned: A Romp Through 1960s America by Natasha Vargas-Cooper published by Harper Design

Mad Men Unbuttoned, footnotes to the show and the era, including these fascinating tidbits:

• Don Draper’s character is based on the real-life Draper Daniels, protégé of Leo Burnett who started off as a copywriter and rose to creative director, eventually heading the team that launched the Marlboro Man.
• The iconic “Think Small” Volkswagen ad positioned the Beetle as an ugly but well-made car—a revolt against excess. Not only did unit sales top 500,000 cars a year, but the campaign succeeded in junking all the rules of car advertising.
• When barred from visiting Disneyland on a trip to the United States, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev threw a tantrum and left Los Angeles in a huff the very next day.
• The Group by Mary McCarthy, the novel Betty Draper is seen reading in the bathtub, transformed the way women viewed love, sex, and marriage.
• In 1947 Christian Dior showcased its revolutionary New Look line. Betty, Peggy, and the rest of the steno pool at Sterling-Cooper can be seen sporting the sloping shoulders, hourglass silhouettes, and billowing skirts of the New Look style. (Summary provided by Harper Design.)

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This is part eight of a nine part Mad Men inspired series. Click the following links for the other posts in the series:

Part One: Joan Harris reads The Receptionist: An Education At The New Yorker by Jane Groth

Part Two: Betty Draper Francis reads Jack 1939: A Novel by Francine Mathews

Part Three: Peggy Olson reads Sex and The Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown

Part Four: Trudie Campbell reads Jackie After O: One Remarkable Year When Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Defied Expectations and Rediscovered Her Dreams by Tina Cassidy.

Part Five: Mad Men inspired 8×10 print by Flapperdoodle

Part Six: Megan Draper reads Dear Enemies: A Dialogue on French and English Canada by Gwethalyn Graham and Solange Chaput Rolland

Part Seven: I try out recipes from The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook: Inside the Kitchens, Bars, and Restaurants of Mad Men by Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin.

Part Eight: R2D2 Betty reads Mad Men Unbuttoned: A Romp Through 1960s America by Natasha Vargas-Cooper.

Coming Soon: Jane Sterling reads The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based On The Tibetan Book Of The Dead by Timothy Leary. As Jane Sterling is the grand finale of this series, that post will be interesting.

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