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I’m not a TV junkie, but I have to admit to a certain sudden attachment to the Mad Men series, where advertising executives in 1960s America flaunt their demons. What I love most about the show are the sets and costuming that recall the America of my childhood.  The era, as characterized by the Oakland Museum of California, celebrated the “Birth of the Cool.”

Mad Enough for Me

It’s the narrow ties and the short haircuts and the cocktail dresses that get to me. Plus, everyone smokes as if it’s good for you!

Birth of the Cool

If there’s a single chronicler of the decade to remember, it’s certainly photographer Julius Shulman, who caught the Bauhaus and jazz inspired homes of mad men and Southern California hipsters. Take a good look at these cool cats! That, friends, is a Hi-Fi!

Decked Out

When they weren’t jousting in the board room, Los Angelino trendsetters cut deals and chased each other around the pool. This Shulman photo reveals the So-Cal beamed architecture of the era.

Darkness Falls

In May 1960, Shulman captured architect Pierre Koenig’s vision of a hip LA pad nested over the lights of Sunset Boulevard. Read more about Shulman in LA Magazine.

Valley of Dreams

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley and had friends with parents in the entertainment business. (Didn’t everybody?) This Shulman photo shows where they cooled out with martinis after their commute over the Sepulveda Pass.

Blue Horizons

The Oakland Museum’s “Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture at Midcentury” celebrates Miles Davis, Van Keppel Green furniture, hard-edge abstract paintings, and this photo taken by Shulman during the era. Read more about the Oakland exhibit.