Mad Men: Roger Sterling’s Red Plaid Smoking Jacket

John Slattery as Roger Sterling on Mad Men (Episode 7.03: “Field Trip”)

Vitals

John Slattery as Roger Sterling, Madison Avenue ad executive

New York City, Spring 1969

Series: Mad Men
Episode: “Field Trip” (Episode 7.03)
Air Date: April 27, 2014
Director: Christopher Manley
Creator: Matthew Weiner
Costume Designer: Janie Bryant

Background

Four years ago, on Friday the 13th of March 2020, COVID-19 was officially declared a national emergency in the United States. After a week or two of being instructed to reminded to sing “Happy Birthday” twice while washing my hands, it was a very surreal Friday in the office as rumors swirled about how this newly classified pandemic would affect our reality.

As nationwide lockdowns set in across the United States, the following Monday started the first of what was initially intended to be a “two-week” work-from-home policy that ultimately stretched over nearly 15 months. While I applaud those who consistently dressed to work from home as though it were another day in the office, adjusting to this “new normal” for me—even as a style blogger—meant unprecedented levels in workday comfort, eventually finding an agreeable compromise of a presentable upper-half and comfortable lower-half that was best for my own personal productivity.

“What does this have to do with Mad Men?” you ask, in all fairness.

Aside from the fact that Mad Men was one of the first of my favorite shows that I rewatched in its entirety during the spring 2020 quarantine period, the stylish series also presented a look I’d long been wanting to revisit that reminded me of that odd lockdown period as I tried to blend loungewear with business attire.

At the start of Mad Men‘s seventh season, Don Draper (Jon Hamm) demonstrates a nearly half-century head-start on the WFH trend as the recently grounded ad man has been covertly working on accounts from his Manhattan penthouse, currently persona non grata at SC&P after getting a little too candid during a client pitch at the end of the previous season. His reputation resurged enough to secure a job offer from a rival company, Don pays a late visit to his former friend and colleague Roger Sterling (John Slattery), confronting him over feeling abandoned by the agency he co-founded—and, more specifically, his old pal.

What’d He Wear?

Roger quips that he was waiting for room service, but he’s dressed for greater pleasures than a mere sandwich. Having long fancied himself something of a playboy, the now twice-divorced Roger dresses to await his date in a debonair smoking jacket worn over a white shirt and gray suit trousers that he would have worn to the office. The result is one of my favorite recent on-screen blends of loungewear with business attire, indeed worn for conducting some impromptu business—albeit more along the lines of unauthorized HR decisions.

TFW you expect bacon after ordering a BLT but receive Hamm instead.

Smoking jackets share much in common with dressing gowns and robes, though smoking jackets are typically differentiated by looking more tailored and being intentionally worn over regular clothing rather than pajamas. As its nomenclature implies, the smoking jacket originated as a fashionable yet functional way for gentlemen to protect their clothing from ash and odors while smoking. Given this association with luxurious leisure, smoking jackets grew synonymous with the playboy lifestyle to the degree that they remain linked to the image of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner, who continued prominently wearing his silk and velvet smoking jackets long past the end of the garment’s heyday in the 1950s.

Roger’s smoking jacket is made from a bright red cloth, patterned in a black graph-check that intersects with a duo-toned gray tartan plaid. Smoking jackets were traditionally made in cloths that could absorb smoke, whether luxurious like silk and velvet or textured like flannel and corduroy. As these garments grew more mainstream and less associated with their original purpose, manufacturers took advance of advances in synthetic cloths and also began producing smoking jackets in rayon by the mid-20th century, also phasing out more complicated elements like frog or toggle fastenings and replacing them with a simple robe-like sash. Based on its appearance, I would suggest at least the body of Roger’s smoking jacket is rayon.

Tailored with roped sleeveheads and a ventless back, Roger’s jacket retains the classic shawl collar and turnback cuffs that are characteristic of classic smoking jackets, here faced in a black satin that matches the wide sash tied around his waist as well as the black silk jetting around the openings of his two slanted hip pockets and the left breast pocket—which he dresses with a black silk pocket square.

Roger’s bright plaid smoking jacket arguably spruces up his plain white shirt and mid-gray wool flat-front trousers, which are likely orphaned from one of his typical three-piece suits. Worn open-neck with the top button undone, Roger’s white cotton shirt has a front placket and rounded single-button cuffs with his initials “R.H.S.” monogrammed on the left cuff.

Despite being part of the wealthy establishment, Roger had increasingly embraced elements of ’60s counterculture since his LSD trip in the middle of the fifth season, continued here with via his date with a hippie… though I’m surprised the groovy Sherry (Rachel DiPillo) didn’t find his debonair style too old-fashioned.

In addition to his watch, Roger continues wearing an ornately detailed gold class ring on his left pinky with a black-filled tonneau face with the regal insignia of his high school (“PHS”) and the year 1927 commemorated on each side. When Don hands over his offer, Roger also pulls on his usual black rectangular reading glasses to inspect it.

We can’t see Roger’s footwear, but I can’t imagine he’s not wearing black velvet Prince Albert slippers, likely with gilt embroidering over the toes. (If he isn’t, he may still be wearing his black leather zip-up ankle boots from the office.)

How to Get the Look

John Slattery as Roger Sterling on Mad Men (Episode 7.03: “Field Trip”)

Roger Sterling finds dignity in dressing down by pulling on an eye-catching red plaid smoking jacket over the base layers of his business-wear.

• Red, gray, and black tartan plaid rayon smoking jacket with black satin-faced shawl collar, sash, and turnback cuffs and black silk-jetted breast pocket and slanted hip pockets
• White cotton shirt with semi-spread collar, front placket, and rounded single-button cuffs
• Gray wool flat-front suit trousers
• Black velvet Prince Albert slippers
• Gold class ring with black filling
• Tudor Oyster Prince (ref. 7967) watch with steel case and black-and-white “tuxedo” dial on black leather strap
• Black silk pocket square

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the series.

The Quote

I’m sorry I opened the door, I was expecting a BLT.

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