Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Ever-Fashionable

Having established that we’re more than a little partial here to retro in any number of its ubiquitous cultural manifestations (&, indeed, having already opened this year of blogging with a post featuring archive fashion illustrations), imagine the delight when a 1970s-published volume of fashion illustration came to my attention yesterday. Whilst being drawn in the then-contemporary style of the book’s day dates the appearance of the illustrations to a vary particular era, it lends to them a period charm that also invites appropriation: something suggests that the figures would hardly look out of place stylishly gracing the artwork of a release from the Moon Wiring Club, for example, elegantly populating a Clinksell drawing room - very much a case of ‘shoes off & chairs away’ for the dancing couple, perfectly illustrating the concept.

Aren't they all such fabulous dandies?! Interesting too to observe such examples of drawing for a specific purpose, the conventions that such genres obey, & the admirable economy with which the results are achieved in the interests of effective communication.











2 comments:

miss milki said...

These are great! I love seeing old fashion illustrations. The couple at the bottom with the moon in the background are my favourite I think!

James Rowley said...

They really are wonderful drawings, aren't they - in themselves & also for their historical dimension.
The whole book is full of more ofthe same, all delightful - will have to have a look & see if there's a copy or 2 going spare on Amazon or somewhere, it would be a great addition to the personal library (the copy I saw was in the library that's my workplace), & I'm sure you'd like one too :-)

I love that particular drawing of the couple & the moon too - terribly dashing!