Joan Harris may be striking out on her own in the final episode of Matthew Weiner’s Mad Men, but she’s had her feet firmly planted on the ground for the entire final season of the AMC television show about New York advertising executives and their families. Costume designer Janie Bryant put Christina Hendricks’ character in Palter DeLiso pumps for the season that ended with Harris walking away from marriage, bosses, and a corporate structure to make her way in the world. Turns out that Taz Saunders and Lauren Bruksch revived the heritage line—launched in New York in 1927, by Daniel Palter and Vincent DeLiso—just in time for the series’ final episodes. The brand was an American fashion staple in the 1960s, and the Vixen heel is exactly the sort of shoe that Harris would have worn. “The heel has an hourglass shape,” says Bruksch. “Taz spent 24 hours sitting in Italy with the team, carving the heel to get the proper shape. He was keen to keep it authentic to the original,” she adds. Before the season started, Bruksch chatted with Bryant and asked if the costume designer was able to use the heels on set. “Janie said, ‘Oh that’s all Joan wears this season.'” says Bruksch. More costume designers may soon come knocking at the brand’s new Beverly Hills headquarters that is fronted by a jewel box boutique filled with the archival heel and new designs that are crafted in Italy. Saunders has compiled an archive of handmade Palter DeLiso shoes, and he continues to collect and rework them, so its only a matter of time until they appear again onscreen. So whether or not Jon Hamm’s Don Draper actually achieves enlightenment on Mad Men, one thing is clear: Joan Harris has found shoes that fit.

Pictured: Interior of the Palter DeLiso boutique in Beverly Hills
Photo by Robert Richmond

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