There’s a charity auction going on right now on EBay. Items from the TV show Mad Men are being auctioned—the proceeds being donated to the City of Hope. Most of the stuff is furniture and furnishings. But there are three dresses worn by actresses on the show up for bid.
“Betty,” the wife of the main character Don Draper, wore one of the dresses.
Don and Betty Draper, the main characters on the TV Show "Mad Men."
For sale on EBay: A dress worn on "Mad Men" by Betty Draper.
“Joan,” the va-va-va-voom office manager of the ad firm Don works for, wore the second dress.
Scene from Mad Men with Don Draper and Joan Holloway Harris.
The "Mad Men" dress up for auction on EBay.
On the show, Joan appears larger and taller than the other female characters. In fact, by comparison to Betty, Joan looks to be a “plus size” type.
I always thought it was terrific that Joan, the sexy woman character, had curves and girth. Because she looks womanly as opposed to waifish. If I had to guess, I’d estimate her dress size to be about a 14 to16.
But I’d be wrong.
The “Joan dress” is a vintage wiggle dress. Its measurements are 39-30-39. Being an owner of over 50 vintage wiggle dresses, that means the woman wearing the dress—if she doesn’t want it to be totally skin tight—is actually smaller than those measurements.
That means that the actress playing Joan—the voluptuous and beautiful Christina Hendricks—most likely has measurements of 38-29-38—based on the way the dress fits her.
Going by those measurements that would mean Ms. Hendricks IS A SIZE 10.
That’s not “large.” I’m a Size 10. I don’t think I look large in comparison to the general population. But if I were on Mad Men, I would look like an Amazon. Oh, and the reason I don’t fill out a dress like Ms. Hendricks, I’m taller and a whole lot flatter (front and back).
So I checked Ms. Hendricks’ stats. It is reported that she is 5’ 7” inches tall and claims to wear a Size 10.
By contrast, the Betty dress measurements are 33-24-34. That means that January Jones, the actress playing the part, at 5’6” is itty-bitty.
I love Mad Men and all the actresses—Peggy, Betty, Trudy, Mona, Francine, Rachel, and even Jane. But let’s hear it for us “larger” gals—the Joan Holloway’s of the real world, who are the vast majority of American women who are a Size 10 and over.
UPDATE: At the end of the EBay auction, the “Betty” dress had 53 bids and went for $2,025.
The “Joan” dress had 39 bids and went for $1,325.
Christina Hendricks and Jon Hamm -- in character from "Mad Men."
Christina Hendricks of "Mad Men" -- what a figure!
