Mad Men’s style definitely affected pop culture in general so that likely had an impact on what types of clothes some of our customers started to lean towards,” Frank Muytjens, J.Crew’s head menswear designer, tells Quartz.

J.Crew’s profitable “experiment.”
J.Crew’s profitable “experiment.”
Image: Courtesy of J.Crew

The suits that costume designer Janie Bryant created for the show, particularly those worn by its lead, Don Draper, were impeccable. Glamorous and masculine at the same time, with broad shoulders and sharp lines not unlike a ’60s-era Chrysler, they were slim, but not skinny, in a way that read more American than European.

J.Crew captured that allure better than Brooks Brothers and better than Banana Republic, which later made Mad Men-branded collections. All the details were just right for a hit: slim cut, accessible price point at around $600, good marketing, and impeccable timing.

“It was an experiment for us, and we made it a little tailored for the downtown guy,” a representative for J.Crew menswear says. “We dedicated a small space in the back room at Liquor Store for the suit and it just grew from there.”

Despite the tanking global economy, which deflated suiting sales overall, the Ludlow sold so well that J.Crew developed more suits and eventually opened a dedicated suiting shop, called the Ludlow Store, in New York. The Ludlow suit is still selling today, even as J.Crew’s broader business suffers a downturn.

In fact, slim suiting continues to be one of the big drivers of menswear sales (paywall), even as it fades from the runways. Although Mad Men is ending, a little bit of Don Draper lives on.

📬 Sign up for the Daily Brief

Our free, fast, and fun briefing on the global economy, delivered every weekday morning.