Don Draper and the other men at Sterling Cooper have haircuts that demand that you take them seriously. Your grandpa probably did his hair the same way: tight on the sides with a sharp part on the left side of the head. And of course, the hair needs that healthy looking shine.

Unfortunately, many men today walk around with the same boyish haircuts they’ve had since high school. Sure, your hair spiked in the front or tussled carelessly looked cool when you were 17, but it looks goofy when you’re 30. You want a haircut that looks manly, not juvenile.

To help upgrade your hairstyle to something more respectable, we provide the following tips from the Emmy Award-winning hairstylist of Mad Men, Gloria Ponce.

Worth noting that I’d been sporting the ‘Don Draper’ for a month before this piece ran.

FYI, while Brett likes good ol’ Brylcreem, and Gloria Ponce prefers American Crew products, I’ve been using Gage for Men products for quite a while now since my stylist recommended them to me, and I like them a lot.  The Gage products all have a very masculine fragrance that I find rather pleasant.  The scent is very old school barbershop, I enjoy it.  It’s not so overpowering that it would interfere with a cologne or after shave, however.

I haven’t tried any of the pomades yet, but I’ve used and liked the 3/4 Cream, the Shaping Gel, and of course, the Daily Shampoo and Daily Conditioner.

Since I can’t find a description of the suit on Brooks’ website yet, I’ll crib this one from Uncrate:

What would you pay to be Don Draper or Roger Sterling? How about to look like them? The Brooks Brothers Mad Men Edition Suit ($1,000; October 19) pays homage to AMC’s hit show with a medium gray sharkskin suit designed by Janie Bryant, the Emmy-nominated costume designer for the show, and is modeled after Draper’s and Sterling’s wardrobes. Features include a noticeably slim cut, diagonal pockets, narrower notch lapels, and side vents. Limited to just 250, the suit is made in a Brooks-owned factory in Massachusetts, and while it might be more classically stylish than your current attire, don’t expect it to magically turn you into Jon Hamm.

Speaking of Mad Men, Don Draper was recently selected as AskMen.com’s Most Influential Man of 2009.  Quite an honor for someone who doesn’t actually exist to be considered so influential. From AMC’s Mad Men blog:

“Men are seeking the stability of tradition in the masculine qualities that they imagine their fathers and grandfathers to have had,” says James Bassil, AskMen’s editor-in-chief.   “The character of Don Draper brings all these traits together, and in doing so speaks directly to the modern man. He’s a man whose time has come.”

I’m not certain we should be adopting all of Don’s traits, but I’d be pleased if the show’s style caught on.  (The narrow ties and lapels are a bit too narrow for my taste, but you know what I mean.)

If nothing else, if Mad Men inspires a few men to purchase their first fedora and wear it with pride and confidence, I will consider it a Very Good Thing.  And besides, when you contemplate Don’s style and influence, remember what Don goes home to.  When he goes home, that is…