Though the 1970s saw massive changes for women, she continued, the fashion industry had not yet modernized: “There was no H&M. [The clothing] was much more individualistic. Women [of a certain means] had their tailors and went fabric shopping together. They’d take the fabric to the tailor and say, ‘I want to have this Chanel-inspired suit’ or ‘I want to have an A-line skirt’ or ‘I need to redo my winter closet.’”
Mrs. America is an ensemble series that follows other real-life women—including Democratic congresswoman Bella Abzug (Margo Martindale), presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm (Uzo Aduba), pro-ERA Republican Jill Ruckelshaus (Elizabeth Banks), Feminine Mystique author Betty Friedan (Tracey Ullman), and Ms. magazine founder Gloria Steinem (Rose Byrne)—across a period of about a decade. Daigeler assembled a workroom and staff to crank out dozens of costumes inspired by the women’s actual wardrobes.
“We moved so fast in the 10 years of time that we documented that we had to constantly change the wardrobes—because my characters were in constant evolution,” said Daigeler, explaining that she pored over the internet for research and inspiration.
“With Gloria, I was very lucky. She is just a fashion icon, and always looks so amazing, so effortless in everything that she wears. To re-create a character like that is already a gift for a costume designer. But then, on top of that, you have somebody like Rose Byrne who has the same thing—if you put her in anything, she looks amazing. In a dark blue T-shirt and blue jeans she looks smashing,” said Daigeler, explaining that she re-created most jeans and T-shirts that Byrne’s Gloria wears in the series to ensure that they fit Byrne’s body the way Steinem’s clothes fit hers. “We mixed in some Diane von Furstenberg dresses, a Yves Saint Laurent skirt, and the exact same aviator glasses Gloria wore.” The series also tracks Steinem’s sartorial transformation. Daigeler said, “When Gloria Steinem started, she was wearing much more feminine miniskirts and knee-high boots…but when she got more into her political career and more powerful with her magazine, she switched her style and was wearing more jeans—like a uniform.”
Another favorite character to costume was Chisholm.
“Shirley Chisholm had such a personal, individual, amazing style. We re-created some of her exact outfits from some of her most iconic moments,” Daigeler said. “She had a very unique style, and wore dress suits, matching jackets with a dress, or a matching jacket with a skirt. Very fitted, very elegant. She also had a lot of accessories—always the right combination of pearls, or gold chains, and earrings, and really elegant, individual glasses. She was very clever—she knew she was a public personality, wanted to impress, and wanted to say, ‘Here I am.’”
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