A Mad, Mad, Mid-Mod World (Gwen Moritz Editor’s Note)

I stopped watching “Mad Men” about halfway through its run. After I finished admiring the spectacular period set decorations and pitch-perfect clothing, I realized that I just didn’t like the characters very much. (I rarely watched “Seinfeld” or “Friends” for the same reason. I prefer to spend my time, even my TV-watching time, with people I like — Perry Mason, Lt. Columbo, Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, Agents Scully and Mulder.)

“Mad Men” has, however, introduced a whole new generation to the good and the bad of the 1960s. I don’t think many young women are interested in going back to the typing-pool days, and I hope “Mad Men” hasn’t inspired a new love affair with cigarettes and bourbon-buzzed workplaces. But the “midcentury modern” look in clothing and furniture and home decor is back with a vengeance.

Now, clothing has never been of much interest to me, for reasons that are painfully obvious. But even I have found myself admiring the retro-inspired dresses offered on a website called eShakti. (If I ever rediscover my waist, I may even order one.)

A store called Stella Mae’s that specializes in that midcentury look in clothing and housewares opened a couple of years ago right across Central Avenue from Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs and expanded to McCain Mall in North Little Rock last fall. (Ladies, if you are in the market for a high-waisted swimsuit of the type that Marilyn Monroe or Bettie Page wore, Stella Mae’s is for you.)

Reproduction clothing is popular because not many genuine garments survive for 50 years, and also because Americans tend to be (ahem) bigger than our parents and grandparents were. But genuine midcentury furniture is plentiful, and furniture does hold particular fascination for me.

My friends know that I troll the furniture listings on Craigslist constantly and post my “find of the day” on Facebook because I don’t personally have room for a single additional piece of furniture. For at least five years, I’ve been advising my young friends to grab midcentury modern pieces because they were high quality and cheap. Lately they aren’t as cheap as they used to be, and they don’t seem to be quite so plentiful “in the wild” (as the collectors say) because they are being snapped up by savvy resellers like Galaxy Furniture in North Little Rock’s downtown Argenta district and 410 Vintage Market on College Avenue in Fayetteville.

(A friend recently bought a spectacular mid-mod sofa that once belonged to Little Rock businessman Fred Darragh for $600, so great deals are still to be had.)

Those clean, modern lines seem to appeal to young adults who have spent their lives surrounded by more “stuff” than any previous generation. They don’t need giant media cabinets to hold their music collections (although vinyl records are very hot even with teenagers). The fashionable collectibles are not dust-catching knick-knacks like Hummels but utilitarian items like Pyrex mixing bowls and Space Age lamps and Franciscan Starburst stoneware. (The Franciscan china patterns that were popular in my youth, Desert Rose and Apple, are too fussy for kids today. Fortunately, I know of no one who got a Desert Rose tattoo — and I have seen several people bragging on Facebook about their Starburst-inspired ink.)

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Nostalgic fashions are nothing new, of course. Those of us who were in school in the 1970s remember “Grease” and ’50s Day, and penny loafers and saddle oxfords never seem to go away. For centuries furniture makers and architects have looked to the past for “revivals” of classic lines — Greek, Egyptian, federal.

When I finished college and started independent life in the early 1980s, “primitives” were the unfortunate fashion. I’m proud to say I was never a fan of country blue ducks and pine furniture with heart shapes cut out, but in 20 or 30 years, all that may be the rage again.

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If you still need a fix of those great midcentury fashions and furnishings after the end of “Mad Men,” I recommend recording “Perry Mason” daily on MeTV. Yes, most of the episodes are in black and white, but the women on “Mad Men” have nothing on Barbara Hale as Perry’s trusted assistant Della Street. Private eye Paul Drake (actor William Hopper) was always fashion-forward, and since Perry’s clients were almost always wealthy, their homes are midcentury masterpieces.

Gwen Moritz is editor of Arkansas Business. Email her at GMoritz@ABPG.com.