'Mad Men' Then & Now: Hair Edition

Over the past seven seasons, we've seen a lot of changes ensnare Mad Men cast at Sterling Cooper (including those to the name of said company: later Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and finally Sterling Cooper & Partners). We've seen promotions, dismissals, and department shifts. We've seen marriages, divorces, and newborn children. We've seen just about every single employee on staff spiral out of control in a state of calamitous despair. But more significant than any of these changes are the changes that we have seen overtake their hairstyles.

Yes, the 1960s did a number on the locks of everyone (well, almost everyone) at the Manhattan advertising agency. The decade introduced us to characters with tresses that would struggle, season by season, to keep up with the trends, often to uproarious results. The Mad Men mid-season premiere offered some of the best work from the hair and makeup department that we've seen to date, as the spiked Twitter prevalence of the word "mustache" this past Sunday night might suggest.

Here's a look at our favorite Mad Men characters from "then and now," celebrating the wondrous follicular transformations to take way in the interim period.

Roger

When we first met him...

A clean-cut silver fox without a hint of shag. Roger truly represented the American man that reigned straight up through 1959.

As we leave him...

He's given way to life as a Sam Elliott-inspired spiritual cowboy, allowing a permanent resting place for his good vibes in that wide-smiling 'stache.

Peggy

When we first met her...

Unassuming and uncomfortable, tucked tightly beneath a rain hat so as to safeguard herself from the daggers of the world around her.

As we leave her...

Letting her beautiful locks fly loose on a wine-soaked date with a My So-Called Life star, Peggy may as well exact a ceremonial burning of her pilot-era rain hat.

Pete

When we met him...

Prim and confident, emanating the promise facing any young white fella at the dawn of a career in '60s advertising.

As we leave him...

That receding hairline and combover are proof that the years have reneged on a few promises they made to Pete.

Joan

When we met her...

Bold and powerful, but tightly contained: kind of how Joan saw herself.

As we leave her...

Although the world still won't let Joan be exactly what she wants to, she's at least opting for a looser, freer, larger take on herself (and her hair).

Ken

When we met him...

More or less indistinguishable from Pete, or any of the other tools on the accounts side of the firm.

As we leave him...

If the epilogue doesn't send Cosgrove deep into the woods on a soul-searching journey that lasts through the 1990s, I don't know what to make of this shag.

Harry

When we met him...

Oh, Harry. You can try all you want at that trendy tight cut, but you'll always be the schlub.

As we leave him...

See?

And please, let's not forget about this...

Oh... Harry...

Ted

When we met him...

There was something comforting about finding Ted, a beacon of "normal" in this word of depravity. The sort of man who'd stay true to his comfortable style, without ever submitting to the beckon of...

As we leave him...

Oh, for heaven's sake!

Stan

When we met him...

The sort of guy you just wanna go for a riiide with, you dig?

As we leave him...

...the sort of guy who you don't come back from a ride with.

Don

When we met him...

There he is: old reliable. Armed with a pen, cloaked in a distinguished suit, and topped off by a professional, assertive, sophisticated and simple haircut. That's Don for ya.

As we leave him...

Yeah, Don's just... Don. Through and through. Never changing. But we're sure that'll work out for him, aren't we?

Images: AMC (19)