You've been invited to a Halloween costume party and you want to attend, but you do not care too much for donning wild vestments, crazy make up or wild wigs.

Why not dress up as Don Draper, the urbane ad executive character from AMC's television series Mad Men? You will be able to enjoy the costume party while still maintaining your air of sophistication and originality. So read on, as we guide you through the process of how to make a Don Draper costume.

1. Give yourself 2-3 weeks of lead time to piece together your wardrobe.

2. Get your haircut 3 to 5 days prior to your event.

3. Watch some episodes of Mad Men to study Draper's mannerisms.

Making a Don Draper costume, as with any other costume revolving around a character in ordinary period dress, requires attention to detail. This detailed process for the Don Draper costume revolves around three key areas: Wardrobe, hair and accessories. Each of these areas will be covered in detail in the steps below.

You will need:

Wardrobe

1. Grey to dark grey 2 button suit
2. black, plain toe, lace-up Oxford dress shoes
3. white, long sleeve dress shirt with regular spread collar and French cuffs

For hair: Brylcreem hairdressing cream

Accessories:

1. black dress belt 1 1/4 inch width
2. plain faced cuff links
3. pack of unfiltered Lucky Strike cigarettes
4. white handkerchief
5. plain faced tie clasp

Lead time for preparation: A minimum of one week, 2-3 weeks are preferable.

Don Draper lives in New York City in the 1960's. His style of dress is traditional, upper middle class business attire.

To conform to the look of this era, you need a suit, preferably grey, with 2 buttons, a narrow lapel, and unpleated pants. The most important detail is the width of the lapels, the must be narrow to conform to the early sixties fashion. If you do not have such a suit in your current wardrobe, you have three options to get one:

1. Visit used and vintage clothing stores and thrift shops in your area. Once you find something that looks right, if it doesn't fit properly, take it to a tailor for alterations. It is best to give yourself a one to two week lead time for this. Do not leave it for the last minute. This will also be the most economical alternative for you. You may budget $50 to $200 including alterations.
2. Your second option would be to purchase a suit with the characteristics described above. Fortunately, current fashion trends have brought back into fashion the narrow lapel 2 button suit. Visit a Men's fashion store and find one which bests matches the earl 1960's look. Don't be afraid to tell the salesperson what kind of suit you are looking for and why. The price range will be from $299 to $799.
3. The final option would be to use the services of a tailor, instruct him that you specifically want a 1960-1963 cut to the suit and have the suit tailored to your fit. This will be costly, as tailored suits range from $500 to $2000 depending on the type of cloth selected. Also, this will require a minimum of two to three weeks of lead time, more than simple alterations, as the full tailoring process requires initial fitting, subsequent fittings and final fittings before completion.

Once you have procured the suit, either from your closet or one of the other three methods mentioned above, you will need to get a pair of black, plain toe, lace-up Oxford dress shoes. Again, if you already own a pair, your search ends in your closet; if not, you can purchase a pair at any mid to high end shoe store. Remember to keep with the style mentioned. The following image will help you visualize the shoe description.

The final component for your wardrobe will be a white dress shirt, with breast pocket, long sleeves, regular spread collar and french cuffs. The french cuffs n are an important detail for the character and the period, so it is best to use a french cuff shirt; use a button cuff only as a last resort.

The other key element to achieve the Don Draper look is the hair style. Three to five days before the event, visit a barber shop (a hair stylist is also acceptable, but for what you need a traditional barber shop will work best).

Request a number 2 hair cut with a rounded back. As with the wardrobe process, do not be embarrassed to tell people what you want; take a Don Draper picture with you from an entertainment magazine or the TV Guide to the barber shop. The adage "a picture is worth a thousand words" is very true for hair styles.

The Don Draper character retains some hair length at the front to allow for a slight volume accentuating comb back. Depending on the shape of your face, to achieve this, you will have to tell the barber to leave 2-3 finger lengths at the front of your face and 2-3 inches up top. A traditional barber will readily understand these instructions. If you opted for a hair stylist, the picture may best convey what you are after.

Once your hair cut is complete, obtain traditional formula Brylcreem. It is still readily sold at major drug stores like Walgreens.

Brylcreem is a paraffin based hairdressing gel. To use it, apply it to towel dried hair. A nickel to quarter sized amount is enough in most cases. Work it into the hair with your fingers, then comb it, parting your hair to one side and combing back the front. It will give you the slightly wet controlled look of the early sixties, without the stiffness of modern hair gel. It is advisable that you practice this a few times before the event in order to best match the Draper hair style.

The final steps involves the procurement of accessories. This is very important, as they provide the final touches of detail which lend authenticity to your costume.

Tie

A tie is a tie, right? A tie is often one of the accessories were men can most easily express their personality. In this case it also lends credibility to the time period of the character.

You must find a tie that is narrow, no more than two inches in width. It may be a solid color, or striped, but avoid flashy colors.

Tie clip

A tie clip was a very common accessory in the early sixties for men. Select one which is rectangular. You are after the modestly elegant look. The image below will give you an idea.

Belt

A thin black dress belt will suffice here. An 1 1/4 inch width is the ideal size.

Pocket Square

To add further authenticity to the look you must insert a white pocket square in the suit's breast pocket. The pocket square is made from a an ironed cotton handkerchief which you have folded to fit the suit pocket. The image below graphically outlines the process.

Pack of Unfiltered Lucky Strike Cigarettes

Unfiltered Lucky Strike cigarettes are still sold. You may have to go to a independent liquor store to purchase them, but if you ask around you will find them. They are essential as a prop, even if you do not smoke.

Business Card

Lastly, print the business card template provided below. Use self printing business card stock or a heavy grade paper and cut it to shape. Print a few and pass them out at your event. It will add the final touch to your Don Draper costume.

As long as you gave yourself sufficient lead time in gathering the wardrobe, the final assembly on the date of your costume event will be almost as simple as getting dressed normally. Remember, the Don Draper costume does not rely on make up, masks or wigs, rather it is based on the attention to detail that you provided.

Now go out, strut your Don Draper confidence and have fun.