Breaking Bad isn’t a show that I turn to for fashion ideas; a yellow hazmat suit is hard to pull off in everyday life. This isn’t to say that costuming and the colors these characters wear isn’t important and something like the Heisenberg pork pie hat is an integral part of the Heisenberg/Walter White persona divide.
A few weeks ago I wrote about Lydia’s blue coat and Lydia’s wardrobe is the most high-end of these characters. No one would suspect that a woman who dresses in designer labels is part of a global crystal meth operation – the same can be said for Walt and his unassuming look. Lydia always looks incredibly out of place when she has to deal with the folks who are running the ground operation and her skittishness adds to this vulnerability. This was abundantly clear when she used Uncle Jack and his crew to dispatch the substandard meth making team she had employed since Walt has retired.
Fancy office wear is not really appropriate for the desert, drug related massacres or meth labs. Lydia’s appearance could be one of the reasons why Todd is so drawn to her; she looks nothing like the people he is used to dealing with and so far we have seen him act protectively towards her. Jesse Plemons spoke to Vulture about Todd’s Lydia attraction and he thinks that Todd “might have some mom issues. It makes sense. She needs him and he’s misinterpreting that a little bit.” This is the polite way of saying that Todd is developing a Lydia obsession and I wouldn’t want to be the person to get in the way of Todd and his crush.
When Todd met up with Lydia in the most recent episode he ditched the scruffy look and went for a smart pale button-down shirt – nothing says I love you like a clean, ironed shirt. This is his way of signalling to her that he can help run a successful venture and he’s essentially wearing his best clothes to impress her and mirror what she wears. It also helps reinforce the success that Todd has had with manufacturing meth that is of Heisenberg quality and color.
Back to the blue coat in the photo above and I have found a similar looking cobalt blue double breasted wool coat from French Connection in their A/W ’13 collection. While the collar detail is different and Lydia wouldn’t wear those pants, it’s definitely a near match. We’re about to enter coat season and between this and Olivia Pope’s Burberry trench I’m getting a lot of ideas.
TV Ate My Wardrobe 
Does anyone know the designer Lydia’s blue coat on Breaking Bad?