Summer Soirees: {Mad Men}

I was skimming some event planning sites last night for inspiration for today’s summer soiree post and looky looky what I found...

A Mad Men-inspired party theme from Hostess with the Mostess

I became a fan of this show about a year ago after a couple of friends suggested I tune in. I work in marketing and it’s so funny to see how things have evolved over the years in the world of advertising.

The wardrobe and set styling of this show are phenomenal and many trends of the moment in fashion and home decor, (cat-eye sunglasses, bouffant hair, lucite furniture, etc.), spawned from the Mad Men craze.

I mean, how ridiculously fun would this theme be for a house-warming party or birthday celebration?

Let’s take a closer look.

The use of fun retro colors like lime green, marigold, robin’s egg blue and bright white are totally fresh for summer.

Even better, there’s no need to go out and purchase expensive centerpieces or decorations. Raid your grandma’s attic or a local antique store for unique vintage items, like an old typewriter or funky hat box to add some flair to your party scene.

Sites like Social Couture and Spoon Sisters offer up tons of options for napkins, dinnerware and hostess gifts that are wonderfully retro and inexpensive, (like the vintage cocktail coasters from SS below.)

When choosing party favors, consider the following:

For the ladies, hand out non-prescriptive horn-rimmed eye glasses (with plastic lenses, of course) or massive faux pearl necklaces (get em’ at Claire’s or The Icing for $2 a pop) for a precious parting gift.

For the gents, boxes of candy cigars or funky clip-on bow ties make nifty souvenirs.

And how perfect would these invitations from Traylor Papers be for this theme? I heart both of the designs below:

Another clever idea might be to “assign” everyone a character for the evening. Simply include a nametag for the assigned character, (Joan, Betty, Don, Peggy, etc.), inside the invitation for each guest and have them roleplay for the night. Sure, it's kinda kitschy, but it will totally get everyone in the Mad Men spirit.

Ok, before I run off, I need to send out a shout out to my lil' furbaby Max, who is celebrating his 8th birthday today! Happy birthday Maxer…mommy loves you : )

Be blessed, lovelies-

Photo credits: Hostess with the Mostess, Traylor Papers, Spoon Sisters