Betty Draper loves a makeover. She’s redone her home, her hair, and her wardrobe, all in attempts to be her own woman, and yet! Betty’s reinventions are all tied (like she’ll always be tied!?) to Don, and this latest incarnation of Elizabeth Francis nee Draper nee Hofstadt? No different than the rest.
As Don’s wife, Betty was Grace Kelly at her height. Like a movie star dropped in Ossining, her wardrobe, hair, and makeup all served to enhance her youthful yet polished beauty. She looks like a living, breathing Barbie Doll, ready to be shown off at industry events in Manhattan.
As her first marriage starts to disintegrate, Betty, no fool, has her second lined up—and a new look to go along with it. If Betty is some 6 or so years younger than Don, and Don is at least 6 years younger than Henry (based on greyness of hair and age of adult children, approximately), then she’s at least a decade younger than her new husband. Unlike that strumpet Jane Siegel Sterling, Betts realizes the gravity of her situation—now the wife of a respected lawyer/political figure in the Republican Party, she’s going to dress the part.
You can see her transformation begin in Season 3—by the time Margaret’s wedding rolls around, Betty has swapped out her trademark candy confection-gowns for an icy blue suit (a suit!) with a fur collar.
Dancing with Don and gazing longingly at Henry, she’s already beginning to look the part of Mrs. Francis, and not unlike Grace Kelly post-addition of royal husband.
When we meet again in Season 4, Betty’s overhaul is even more striking. At Thanksgiving Dinner, 1964, she looks, well—old. Her brocade suit is mother-of-the-fall-bride, and her hair and makeup are pure Lady Bird Johnson, the First Lady after the Most Fashionable First Lady of All Time.
The funny thing about Betty’s new looks? They never seem to stick. Not a moment after her fancy (and expensive) decorator placed 42 Bullet Park road in the ‘success’ category, her id went and put a fainting couch right in front of her hearth. The Anita Ekberg Betty of Rome was left behind in the Hilton courtyard, but her resentment at being forced to give it up somehow made it past airport security.
Only time will tell if Betty’s new look (and the marriage that inspired it) will last.
*Footnote by Angela Serratore
