Playing a character as stylish and as physically flawless as Betty Draper, you can imagine that the pressure to live up to that vision of beauty would be pretty high. Her Mad Men character is one of the best dressed on our television screens, sparking a resurgence in 1950s house wife fashion accompanied by a strong public desire to look like the blonde bombshell.
Unlike the character she plays, January Jones hasn’t always been the picture of perfection. Once upon a time she wore white pants, another time she had auburn hair, and more recently she wore blue eye-shadow. These may be innocent mistakes in fashion but when compared to the always effortless fantasy that is Betty Draper, these style crimes are rather unforgivable. Let us chart the highs and lows of January Jones,’ starting with a low point – dating Ashton Kutcher. What was she thinking……
Around 2005, just after moving to LA and soon after splitting with Kutcher, January Jones sported long auburn, a fringe and accessorized with her then boyfriend, singer Josh Groban. She was a picture of wholesome America in pearl earrings and a white dress. Plus her face looked completely different. In a bid to shed her innocent image, January did what any wannabe actress would do – she bleacher her hair and pinned her fringe back.
The unfortunate resulting look saw January resemble a bronzed version of country singer Trisha Yearwood, rather than the movie star she aimed to be. More bleach was added and more hair was cut.
With her hair in good shape, January, or Jan as I like to call her, moved on to experiment with her clothes. During this time she played coy with white chaste blouses and jeans. To spark up this minimal look she sometimes accessorized with black fishnet gloves, ugly hats and awkward layering. This was not a good time and sadly no fun was had.
Once her career got on track, adding Law & Order, the American Pie films, Anger Management, Love Actually and The Boat That Rocked to her resume, Jan started getting her red carpet groove on. In the beginning she opted for shining pink or blue floor length dresses, then moved on to the goddess phase (every actress has one) where she could have easily been mistaken for a Miss America pageant contestant.
There did come a red carpet event however, where Jan decided to branch out, opting for a gold sparkly sheath and messy blonde hair to wear to the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute Gala in 2009, (which subsequently made her look like the love child of Kate Moss and a glass of champagne, a win in anyone’s books). From this pivotal moment, there was no stopping her in the style stakes. She started taking risks, befriending designers and found a winning combination in teaming Betty Draper’s beauty tips with modern day designs.
There was however a blip on January’s style radar recently when she rocked up to last year’s Met Costume Gala in shocking blue eyeshadowed and black elbow gloves. For this sad turn of events many of us are unable to forgive her. Luckily for Jan, Donatella isn’t one of these people. Late last year the actress was announced as the face of Versace, starring in the label’s advertising campaigns. Dramatic red carpet gowns also ensured.
Now thanks to the power of a Versace dress, January is living up to her Betty Draper shaped shadow. If her recent appearances at the Globes and SAG Awards are anything to go by, she may even begin to overshadow Betty’s gracefully demure style.
