I never liked Madmen. There’s enough sexism in daily life to make watching more on TV a chore. Since I quit after a few episodes, I never got to know Ida Blankenship. She was an older secretary, assigned to Don Draper in Season Four as a punishment after he slept with all the younger ones. Tipster extraordinaire Davrie Caro sent me a YouTube clip of all her scenes.
Was Miss Blankenship incompetent or sadistic? She announced to callers when Don was asleep or in the bathroom. She also let everyone know what a big drinker he was. The joke was that she had been something of a sexual adventurer in her youth.
But we are here about the clothes. She appeared most often in a suit, although once she wore a sweater jacket. The suits were usually dull colored, like grey, oatmeal, and beige. The exception was a purple one that seemed to be a favorite. None of the jackets fit her well, giving the impression that she once had had a bigger chest. Perhaps a sly allusion to her wicked past?
The costumers had fun imagining an older office lady with all the accessories that went with that stereotype—sensible shoes, cat eye glasses on a string, bouffant hair sprayed into immobility, and dainty pins. Her white blouses were always buttoned up to the neck, often secured with yet another pin. Some had lace trim. After an eye operation, she started wearing sunglasses.
Other than a brief mention her past, Miss Blankenship is presented as someone with no life at all outside the office. Perhaps it was fitting, then that she died at her desk. At least she was wearing a favorite outfit—her purple suit, a ruffly high necked shirt, and a circle pin.