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"Mad Men" has gone beyond a fashion fad. The AMC show about a 1960s ad agency - by which style is as important as the characters and plot - continues to influence runways and retailers with a branded collection debuting this week at Banana Republic.

The new clothing line also provides a temporary fix for "Mad Men" devotees awaiting the show's return in 2012. No new episodes of the show aired this year.

The clothes are sexy, and Joanna Coles, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire, said that is one of the things that has resonated with viewers and shoppers. The show gives us permission to dress to impress the opposite sex - and in fact encourages it, she said.

Madison Avenue during that era was practically a catwalk with men in three-piece suits and fedoras, and women in sheaths and high-heel pumps carrying handle-top birkin handbags.

It's a good look - then one that people look good wearing, said Simon Kneen, creative director for Banana Republic. "It's about good tailoring, it's bon ton, and a little more buttoned up and polished."

Gone is the enhanced hourglass created with bust darts and high waistline, Ms. Bryant said, and they have changed the colors to focus on more sophisticated navys, reds and blacks instead of the popular palette of the 60s of acid green and mustard yellow, Ms. Bryant said. She said the 2011 alternatives to those shades - if you're married to green and yellow - could be emerald and canary.replica hermes handbags

Fabrics have stretch and so are more lightweight, and the design has to consider comfort.