80's sweaters

acrylic, ink, and pencil fashion illustration by sandra santa lucia

This week's Illustration Friday's topic is "sweaters".  The bold graphic sweaters of the 80's could be worn dressed up or down, and they really didn't require accessories to make them 'pop'! 
The cardigan and graphic turtle neck sweater were illustrated with pencil, ink, and acrylic paint. Bright bold round graphics were used in the background accentuating the strong graphic elements of the turtle-neck sweater.  

50's & 60's sweaters

A shortie, skims the upper part of a full skirt illustrated by Sandra Santa Lucia

Women's weaters in the late 50's early 60's were  pretty basic.  If fact cardigans, often part of a sweater set, and v-necks seem to be making a comeback. Another popular sweater was the shortie, often worn over a full skirt showing the waistband. The line drawn fashion illustrations of the sweaters below were drawn with pen and ink and pencil.

These cardigans and v-neck appeared in the Calgary Herald newspaper in the early 60's. Pencil illustration by Sandra Santa Lucia

paper dolls from the 50's

Elizabeth Taylor, 1950

Above and blow are some cutouts which I found on a web this morning reminding me of my youth.   Did you ever play with paper dolls?
 Not having the money to purchase store bought cutouts, I along with a friend, who also enjoyed drawing costume fashion would often draw a figure of a woman then design and draw the cloths for the paper dolls.  Our imaginations carried us from the 50's back to the days of knights, princesses and damsels in distress.  Later in life when my two little girls took an interest in paper doll cutouts I would make some for them. It wasn't long before they too took an interest in drawing and designing their own paper dolls. 
Now young girls play with Barbies. Interesting how the material things change but the concept of playing with dolls and using our imaginations has stayed the same throughout the passing of time.

Debbie Reynolds, 1953 

 

Betty Grable, 1953

fashion from the sixties

This week is New York Fashion Week…love fashion illustrating.
Women of the early sixties enjoyed the comfort which many casual shoes offered. 

Pen and ink wash of flat shoes of the sixties illustrated by Sandra Santa Lucia 

Pen and ink wash lingerie drawn by Sandra Santa Lucia

Pen and ink wash of a full slip drawn by Sandra Santa Lucia

Years ago, in the early sixties,  while a rookie layout artist in the graphic department, at The Hudson Bay Company in Calgary, Alberta one of the finishing artists would hand over a few art assignments to me.   The post above highlight a few lingerie illustrations which once appeared in a Hudson Bay Company advertisement in the The Calgary Herald newspaper.