Ophelia's Gaze on the Second Life of "Mad Men": The Incomparable Joan Holloway

Exclusive to NWN, Iris Ophelia's ongoing showcase of all things stylish in SL

Joan Harris (née Holloway) is one of the defining characters of "Mad Men", and the curvaceous Christina Hendricks has become the face of the show as far as the press is concerned. It was a no-brainer that after tackling the Drapers (you can find Don here, and Betty here) my next target had to be the office Aphrodite herself.

The skin and shape were likely the easiest pieces of this avatar. I picked Launa Fauna's new Lola skin from L.Fauna [SLurl], also the source of all of my eyes for these avatars, for Joanie because Launa tends to give her skins a soft and fleshy look, allowing for more natural looking curvy features on the face and body-- and this steno pool overseer has curves from here to Manhattan. Joan's hairstyle of choice after hours tends to be a ringlet-laden do, so I opted for the Linda hair from Truth [SLurl] by Truth Hawks. I found a sexy ruched black dress appropriately named Vixen by Miko Omegamu of Icing [SLurl] that shows off just the right amount of cleavage, has a nice slim pencil skirt shape (which is essentially mandatory when dressing Mrs. Harris), and goes rather smartly with a pair of Betty Doyle's ruffle-accented Freynii pumps from Ingenue [SLurl]. The final touches are a vintage-flavoured gold and onyx necklace named Diana from good old Donna Flora [SLurl], a reappearance from the colour-changing Pixel Mode [SLurl] prim nails, and of course some gartered stockings from a 5th&Oxford [SLurl] lingerie set. An ensemble worthy of Marilyn Monroe (though don't forget, Marilyn's really more of a Joan!)

After the jump, Joan brings her hair and her neckline up for a day at the office!

Joan was nearly as daunting as Don to me because of the style of her most recognizable outfits. She's known for dressing slinky at work... but rather modestly by Second Life standards. No cleavage, no skirts more than a couple inches off the knee. I considered both of these features rather integral to her ensemble, and that posed a true challenge. I ended up dissecting the Katharine dress by Gatsby Difference of The Gatsby Girl [SLurl] and tinting it from navy to violet to recreate one of Joan's most recognizable dresses. I layered it with Gatsby's Viola top, which I augmented with a sculpted scarf by name of Atelier AM [SLurl] that I edited to fit much closer to the neck than the original style, in addition to tinting it to match. Thankfully Joan's nails, makeup, and stockings translate effortlessly from day to evening, but for her infamous updo I chose the sleek Mrs. Mittens from Clawtooth by Clawtooth [SLurl]. With some matching Neyya pumps from Maitreya [SLurl], Joan is ready to sashay into any office. But what about the pen necklace, I hear you asking? Joan's signature piece of jewelry is not an easy find in SL, but any interested Hollowayophile's can send an IM to former NWN Hottest Guy finalist and current SLipster James Schwarz to get their hands on one of these little treasures.

I'm not done yet though, and neither is Joanie. Look out for my next article on the Second Life of "Mad Men", coming soon!

Iris Ophelia has been featured in the New York Times and has spoken about SL-based design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.

 

 

Comments

[Cady Enoch]

OMG, I have SO wanted to find one of those pen necklaces in SL! I was really hoping you would give us a source for these. Thanks! I LOVE me some Joan Harris! Great post overall, Iris!

[ciskovan]

well - good to know the wardrobe for a complete coverversion of the serie.
pls watch the trailer knockoff .-))

[CronoCloud Creeggan]

Considering where Joan shops...Joan's not a Marilyn, Joan's a CC. :-) I just picked up the Mrs. Mittens hair yesterday, because it was "joan-ish". For Joan daytime I'd have probably pulled out Analog Dog Mia or Truth Valerie. I actually didn't know Launa Fauna was doing skin again...Yay! I also have a red accordion.

[Iris Ophelia]

Actually Chrono I already had Mia set aside for something else in this series, so I couldn't use it here. As for Valerie, I didn't like the volume on the top by the part, or the hair over the eye, both of which felt a bit too modern to me.

[Mary]

Hi, you mentioned the skin you used from L. Fauna. I would love to know which shape you used.

[Harper Ganesvoort]

We've forgotten, there's another great thing about Christina Hendricks -- she knits!

[Christeonna]

Seems these things you can no longer get but since the new mesh baked in beta would be able to wear these clothes in with mesh obdy's. I have seen a hair like this but probably hard to find. Be nice if they allowed some these things back they no longer in the stores wish I was around in 2010 well there are things out there.