By Lucy Mcdonald
The sexy librarian: Lucy McDonald (above) was transformed into Mad Men's Joan Harris (below)
Good golly, it's hard work trying to be a sex bomb. After a whole day spent attempting to emulate Mad Men's Joan Harris, quite frankly I am exhausted.
Far from being ready to sizzle the night away, I'm in urgent need of a lie-down and beginning to regret the challenge I was set - to transform myself into the sexiest woman in the world.
To recap: it all began when Christina Hendricks, who plays the sassy secretary in the award-winning drama series, was recently voted the world's sexiest woman by Esquire magazine.
And as if that wasn't enough, Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone this week declared Christina a 'fabulous role model', on the basis that her curvy size 14 figure was far healthier for women than those of the stick-thin supermodels who grace the world's catwalks.
Now, as it happens, Hendricks and I already have a few things in common. No, really we do. Other than sporting derrieres that are larger than strictly fashionable, we are the same age, 35, and both have ginger hair. Give (or rather, take) a cup size or two, we are more or less the same body size, too.
So when the Mail challenged me to have a Mad Men makeover - using only High Street suppliers for the clothes - I reckoned it wouldn't be too much of a leap to transform myself from a Noughties mum-of-two from West London into a Sixties Manhattan sex goddess. How wrong I was.
What may come easily to Christina took me several hours of preening, plucking and sundry discomforts. Oh, and a team of stylists, make-up artists and even a posture coach to assist my bid to emulate Joan's trademark pout-and-swagger.
The results, though I say so myself, were rather striking.
So how did Team Joan get the look - and what tips can you pick up?
The sexy librarian
HAIR TIP: Hairspray, hairspray and more hairspray. You can never have enough.
MAKE-UP TIP: Gel eyeliners are easier to apply than liquid ones. When doing the flick on the outer corner of the eye, follow the natural contour of your face and make sure both s ides are symmetrical.
CLOTHES: Tweed dress, LK Bennett, £225. Flower earrings, Accessorize, £6. Ribbon & Asher bird brooch, &£8.50. Brown shoes, M&S, £45.
STYLE TIP: Tan tights are authentic and hide a multitude of sins.
SWAGGER FACTOR: A demure wiggle.
Fiddling that famous curvy figure
Christina is celebrated for her cleavage. While I have curves, most are in the wrong places, so help was needed. The first weapon in my armoury was a pair of Huit padded knickers from Figleaves.com.
Although they didn't transform me into Jennifer Lopez, they improved my shape.
In the early Sixties, most women still wore corsets. I ordered one from upmarket lingerie firm Rigby & Peller but it was late arriving, so I improvised. Ladies, let me tell you that two padded bras stuffed with loo roll and combined with a large elastic nurse's belt round the waist is an adequate alternative.
Now I was starting to feel - and look - more like a screen siren. Just one problem. I could scarcely breathe.
The phwoar factor
The outfits Christina wears as Joan may be modest by today's standards, but she manages to make even an innocent shift dress look practically pornographic.
She oozes out of clothes like Jessica Rabbit.
Motherhood has made me self-conscious about tight clothing, but my stylist cunningly ordered everything a size too small, so I had no choice but to let myself spill over.
It felt quite alien to show off my 'curves' so ostentatiously, but where Christina leads I shall follow. For the day at least.
Ginger Spice
One of the banes of being ginger is that you are continually told you resemble other 'copper tops'. Over the years, I have been compared to Sarah Ferguson, Patsy Palmer and, after a dodgy perm in the Eighties, even Bonnie Langford.
But for once, I' m not complaining - Christina's bouffant red hair is her stand-out feature.
My approach to hair care - as with most aspects of personal grooming - is sporadic, but in the Mad Men era you couldn't just wash and go.
It took celebrity hair stylist Simon Izzard an hour and a large can of hairspray to achieve my fabulous French pleat.
It beggars belief that women used to do this every day - before work. Where did they find the time? Sometimes I get to lunch before realising I've not even brushed my hair. The shame. It may sound shallow, but after my session with Simon, I realise that good hair makes you feel better equipped to cope with life - even if come bedtime it's the only thing left intact.
Magic make-up
Make-up was similarly high maintenance and, back in 1962, a full face of slap was even worn to put out the milk bottles.
To get the Mad Men look, I had false eyelashes from Eylure and thick black kohl applied on my upper eyelids - instant and easy glamour.
Make-up artist Julia Bolino says: 'Women used to spend an hour doing their make-up every morning. There was no getting ready on the Tube. They had matt alabaster complexions, which seem quite old-fashioned and even ageing now. These days, it is about the sun-kissed natural look.'
A little wiggle
Now the only thing missing was the Mad Men walk, and to help me perfect my Christina wiggle was deportment expert Chyna Whyne, author of Walking in Stilettos, which teaches women how to ooze sex appeal (while looking classy).
Before giving me any advice, she watched me walking across the room. All of a sudden, I felt like a heffalump.
'Hmmm,' she said, pausing tactfully. 'There is no grace and sexuality in your walk. It should be one of the most powerful things about you. Think of all the old stars with sashaying hips. It says this woman is confident, sexy and knows who she is.'
Blimey. Chyna teaches me to walk by placing the ball of my foot first - not the heel - and to turn my feet slightly outwards while swinging my hips artfully to and fro.
Initially, it feels more complicated than rubbing my belly while patting my head, but practice makes perfect and, when I master it, I feel like a supermodel.
But I don't know if I will keep it up. If I walked like this in the school playground, the other mums would (quite rightly) hate me.
PS - here's what her (gob-smacked) husband said
Lucy is married to LBC morning show presenter James O'Brien.
James says: Lucy is a great-looking girl. But, as a working mother of two little girls, there are several hundred things more urgent on her to-do list than pampering or self-indulgence.
Consequently, she's always rather more, er ... relaxed about her appearance at home.
Slippers and my tracksuit bottoms are not unfamiliar apparel, and while she puts a bit of warpaint on for the outside world, she's never been one to spend hours in front of the mirror.
Emulating the Hendricks look appears to have added several layers of sophistication and released her inner femme fatale. I must confess to being smitten anew.
I appreciate that a large amount of time and effort go into looking like this and I can imagine nothing worse than Lucy turning into an obsessive uber-groomer.
Trussing yourself up like a Christmas turkey may not be very feminist. But the results are quite spectacularly sexy.
source: dailymail
The sexy librarian: Lucy McDonald (above) was transformed into Mad Men's Joan Harris (below)Good golly, it's hard work trying to be a sex bomb. After a whole day spent attempting to emulate Mad Men's Joan Harris, quite frankly I am exhausted.
Far from being ready to sizzle the night away, I'm in urgent need of a lie-down and beginning to regret the challenge I was set - to transform myself into the sexiest woman in the world.
To recap: it all began when Christina Hendricks, who plays the sassy secretary in the award-winning drama series, was recently voted the world's sexiest woman by Esquire magazine.
And as if that wasn't enough, Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone this week declared Christina a 'fabulous role model', on the basis that her curvy size 14 figure was far healthier for women than those of the stick-thin supermodels who grace the world's catwalks.
Now, as it happens, Hendricks and I already have a few things in common. No, really we do. Other than sporting derrieres that are larger than strictly fashionable, we are the same age, 35, and both have ginger hair. Give (or rather, take) a cup size or two, we are more or less the same body size, too.
So when the Mail challenged me to have a Mad Men makeover - using only High Street suppliers for the clothes - I reckoned it wouldn't be too much of a leap to transform myself from a Noughties mum-of-two from West London into a Sixties Manhattan sex goddess. How wrong I was.What may come easily to Christina took me several hours of preening, plucking and sundry discomforts. Oh, and a team of stylists, make-up artists and even a posture coach to assist my bid to emulate Joan's trademark pout-and-swagger.
The results, though I say so myself, were rather striking.
So how did Team Joan get the look - and what tips can you pick up?
The sexy librarian
HAIR TIP: Hairspray, hairspray and more hairspray. You can never have enough.
MAKE-UP TIP: Gel eyeliners are easier to apply than liquid ones. When doing the flick on the outer corner of the eye, follow the natural contour of your face and make sure both s ides are symmetrical.
CLOTHES: Tweed dress, LK Bennett, £225. Flower earrings, Accessorize, £6. Ribbon & Asher bird brooch, &£8.50. Brown shoes, M&S, £45.
STYLE TIP: Tan tights are authentic and hide a multitude of sins.
SWAGGER FACTOR: A demure wiggle.
Fiddling that famous curvy figureChristina is celebrated for her cleavage. While I have curves, most are in the wrong places, so help was needed. The first weapon in my armoury was a pair of Huit padded knickers from Figleaves.com.
Although they didn't transform me into Jennifer Lopez, they improved my shape.
In the early Sixties, most women still wore corsets. I ordered one from upmarket lingerie firm Rigby & Peller but it was late arriving, so I improvised. Ladies, let me tell you that two padded bras stuffed with loo roll and combined with a large elastic nurse's belt round the waist is an adequate alternative.
Now I was starting to feel - and look - more like a screen siren. Just one problem. I could scarcely breathe.
The phwoar factor
The outfits Christina wears as Joan may be modest by today's standards, but she manages to make even an innocent shift dress look practically pornographic.
She oozes out of clothes like Jessica Rabbit.
Motherhood has made me self-conscious about tight clothing, but my stylist cunningly ordered everything a size too small, so I had no choice but to let myself spill over.
It felt quite alien to show off my 'curves' so ostentatiously, but where Christina leads I shall follow. For the day at least.
Ginger SpiceOne of the banes of being ginger is that you are continually told you resemble other 'copper tops'. Over the years, I have been compared to Sarah Ferguson, Patsy Palmer and, after a dodgy perm in the Eighties, even Bonnie Langford.
But for once, I' m not complaining - Christina's bouffant red hair is her stand-out feature.
My approach to hair care - as with most aspects of personal grooming - is sporadic, but in the Mad Men era you couldn't just wash and go.
It took celebrity hair stylist Simon Izzard an hour and a large can of hairspray to achieve my fabulous French pleat.
It beggars belief that women used to do this every day - before work. Where did they find the time? Sometimes I get to lunch before realising I've not even brushed my hair. The shame. It may sound shallow, but after my session with Simon, I realise that good hair makes you feel better equipped to cope with life - even if come bedtime it's the only thing left intact.
Magic make-up
Make-up was similarly high maintenance and, back in 1962, a full face of slap was even worn to put out the milk bottles.
To get the Mad Men look, I had false eyelashes from Eylure and thick black kohl applied on my upper eyelids - instant and easy glamour.
Make-up artist Julia Bolino says: 'Women used to spend an hour doing their make-up every morning. There was no getting ready on the Tube. They had matt alabaster complexions, which seem quite old-fashioned and even ageing now. These days, it is about the sun-kissed natural look.'
A little wiggle
Now the only thing missing was the Mad Men walk, and to help me perfect my Christina wiggle was deportment expert Chyna Whyne, author of Walking in Stilettos, which teaches women how to ooze sex appeal (while looking classy).
Before giving me any advice, she watched me walking across the room. All of a sudden, I felt like a heffalump.
'Hmmm,' she said, pausing tactfully. 'There is no grace and sexuality in your walk. It should be one of the most powerful things about you. Think of all the old stars with sashaying hips. It says this woman is confident, sexy and knows who she is.'
Blimey. Chyna teaches me to walk by placing the ball of my foot first - not the heel - and to turn my feet slightly outwards while swinging my hips artfully to and fro.
Initially, it feels more complicated than rubbing my belly while patting my head, but practice makes perfect and, when I master it, I feel like a supermodel.
But I don't know if I will keep it up. If I walked like this in the school playground, the other mums would (quite rightly) hate me.
PS - here's what her (gob-smacked) husband said
Lucy is married to LBC morning show presenter James O'Brien.
James says: Lucy is a great-looking girl. But, as a working mother of two little girls, there are several hundred things more urgent on her to-do list than pampering or self-indulgence.
Consequently, she's always rather more, er ... relaxed about her appearance at home.
Slippers and my tracksuit bottoms are not unfamiliar apparel, and while she puts a bit of warpaint on for the outside world, she's never been one to spend hours in front of the mirror.
Emulating the Hendricks look appears to have added several layers of sophistication and released her inner femme fatale. I must confess to being smitten anew.
I appreciate that a large amount of time and effort go into looking like this and I can imagine nothing worse than Lucy turning into an obsessive uber-groomer.
Trussing yourself up like a Christmas turkey may not be very feminist. But the results are quite spectacularly sexy.
source: dailymail
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