What do you think when you see this image?

Do you think she looks cool and sassy? Or does the fact that she’s smoking turn you off?

I shall leave you with those questions, while I expand on why I chose the image to illustrate my piece this week.

I have been watching MadMen on Netflix. I know, I know, I’m somewhat late to the party on this. I have tried before, when my brother bought me a box set years ago, but the idea of ploughing through the 92 episodes just got the better of me. Now, I have committed. It helps that one of my daughters has been watching it too, so we compare notes.

I am much less interested in the storyline of Don Draper (the magnificent John Hamm) becoming increasingly unhinged, than I am in the period detail that so brilliantly transports us back to the 1960s. The costumes, the interior decoration, the product packaging and the social scenarios are fascinating, brilliantly recreated and remind us just how much things have changed, especially for women, in the past 65 years.

We despair over Betty’s dreary existence as a housewife in the New York suburbs, that leads to therapy and barbiturate prescription, when all she needs is something to challenge her brain.

We gape at the corresponding culture of indulgence, extravagance and fatuousness in the Manhattan advertising agency. The fact that Peggy can overcome the overt sexism to rise from the role of secretary to copywriter is cause for celebration and evidence of the changing role of women in the workplace at that time.

But it’s the smoking that leaves me incredulous. So many of the characters are constantly lighting up - in the office, while shopping, at the breakfast table, and even, in bed.

I had completely forgotten how everyone smoked back then, and how it seemed so glamorous. From the opening graphic of Don Draper with his arm laid along the back of a sofa, a fag between his fingers, to the beautiful, Princess Grace lookalike, Betty extracting a long, slim ciggie from her handy case every five minutes, it’s hard to get away from the habit.

Clearly, many viewers felt the same as there are numerous searches online for “Why does everyone smoke so much in MadMen” and one of the answers is: “In the 1960s, smoking was extremely common and fashionable, a symbol of sophistication and coolness, especially in professional settings like Madison Avenue”.

Then I remember: my parents both smoked, like pretty much everybody else did back in the day. My mum looked so stylish, in her capri pants and v neck sweater, legs crossed elegantly and a Silk Cut between index and middle finger, a curl of smoke drifting above her head. It never seemed odd to me at all.

My father smoked cigars, and the sweet, leathery scent followed him everywhere he went. The car always stank of stale cigar smoke. His tailoring shop in Belfast’s city centre was panelled to picture-rail height in dark wood and had heraldic motifs along the frieze. The rich aroma of tobacco that lingered permanently in the air seemed to fit in perfectly, but I imagine that the jackets, shirts, ties and everything else he sold, must have all carried their deeply ingrained smell home with their purchasers, only to taint everything else hanging in their wardrobes.

But nobody really seemed to mind, so used were they to existing in a fug of tobacco smoke, and even if they did object, there wasn’t much they could do about it, for people smoked everywhere: in the home, the car, the workplace, the cinema and theatre, on public transport, in cafes and restaurants and even in hospitals. Patients smoked in their beds, doctors and nurses smoked on duty and hospitals often had vending machines selling cigarettes and even provided ashtrays, so prevalent and acceptable was the habit.

I remember my mum’s bedtime regime. Once she was settled in bed with her book, my father would bring her a cup of coffee and a plate with two Jacob’s cream crackers and cheese. When she had finished these, she would smoke a cigarette before turning in for the night. It was madness. Coffee? Cheese? Nicotine? All stimulants that can lead to indigestion and disturbed sleep. I can only imagine she was regularly awake half the night.

In my teens and twenties, we all smoked. After an evening at a club or in the pub, our clothes had to go straight in the washing machine or be hung up and sprayed with perfume or fabric freshener to try to get rid of the smell of smoke. I couldn’t complain because I was a smoker but it must have been so irritating for those who weren’t.

So, back to my questions at the beginning of this piece. What do we feel about images of smoking? The habit has become culturally unacceptable for all the reasons we know, but is there still a place for the cigarette as an accessory as part of a “look”?

At the risk of going out on a limb here, I think this woman looks really cool. I like her make-up, her hair and the way she is dressed, especially the hat which adds a stylish quirk, and I think the cigarette with its cloud of smoke captured in the sunshine, all adds to the effect of the image.

In the same way, I love the look that the designers on MadMen created for Don Draper: he looks so chic with his sharp suit, slicked back hair and fedora: the cigarette just adds the perfect finishing touch. He wouldn’t look anywhere near as cool without it.

Thank you for reading and if you have enjoyed this piece, please give it a heart and/or share it with others. This gets the algorithms working to introduce me to new readers.

If you’d like to comment, do so by clicking the button below and I will respond.

I produce these articles because I love writing and communicating, but it’s also good to be paid for doing the work, as I was throughout my journalistic career. If you feel you could support me further, please consider paying the (very reasonable) £50 a year it costs to become a paid subscriber. Just click below

FOOTNOTE

You’re reading Home Truths, from me, Susy Smith. I write here on an eclectic mix of subjects about home and lifestyle. I am many things: a parent of grown-up kids, a dog owner, a gardener and a compulsive mover of vases (I worked for years as a stylist). I am also a writer/editor and former Editor-in-Chief of British Country Living Magazine.

Photo by Aleksandra Dementeva on Unsplash