When 2022 began, I found I had ended the previous year with a successful collection of illustrations, all of them being finished works of characters from my original series "Evangeline and the Latchkey Kid" (ETLK). Many of these illustrations were inspired by various sketches I had completed in my sketchbook, favorite works of art (by other artists), or pieces of media. I used my inspiration and finished character designs to create pieces involving my characters interacting, in order to flesh out their potential relationships. However, I felt like there was something missing. There were obvious ways I felt unsatisfied with my work that just required more practice, or experimentation in materials, but something was off, and I was determined to figure that out.
Nowhere did I feel this gap in my work as much than with this piece on left, "Family" (2021). Besides various regrettable decisions I had made with this piece, I found that I disliked the characters' outfits. My story takes place during the 1970s, but the outfits I placed on my characters felt more "70s inspired" then authentic to the time period. I wanted these characters to feel like they were living in the decade. I had been holding on to fashion references for quite a while; saving the occasional Pinterest image, or unique pieces hidden inside vintage stores or books.I had wanted to apply these designs to my characters, but it felt so overwhelming, especially since I didn't have each character's individual style pinned down. That is when I decided I would do just that; research, sketch, and draw a collection of outfits for each one of my 8 main character, in order to figure out their individual style.
I decided to create 4 categories for the types of outfits: coats, pajamas, casual outfits, and formal wear. For "coats" and "pajamas" I gave each character a basic outfit to try to keep things simple, so every character got a coat, and every character got a set of pajamas (as seen below).
Things got a bit more elaborate when I began making casual outfits and formal wear. I gave each character 2 pages of casual outfits, with total of 6 outfits on each page. This is where I did the bulk of my work, since these outfits informed me the most about the character's basic style. Down below is an example of the set of casual outfits I created for the character, Kitty.
Through these sets of outfits, I was able to pinpoint exactly how I wanted the character to look and feel. For example, with Kitty her style is very feminine and "cutesy." Although, she lives in the 70s, her fashion is highly influenced by the 60s as well, with mini dresses, simple patterns, and bold colors. Many of my designs, and layouts for these designs, were based off of older fashion magazines such as "Butternick Publishing Company" or "Simplicity." Magazines such as these would features illustrations and/or photographs of models wearing different stylish outfits, which distributed sewing patterns. Here are some examples shown below:
I also used references from old advertisements or model photoshoots, such as the examples here;
Finally, I used photographs of everyday people such as these examples shown below;
Fashion should not be solely defined by celebrities, models, and designer brands, but the average person too. I love finding old photographs of random people just going about their day and being extremely stylish!
I used these illustrations and photographs to get an idea of the different poses and facial expressions to use on my characters. Not only did this prevent them from looking stiff and lifeless, but it also informed their general personality and temperament. The fashion projects, didn't just inform me about the character's basic style, but about what that style said about them as a person.
For the last part of the project I created a set of formalwear for each character like this image of Cleophus shown below:
My characters (especially the vampires) tend to go to a lot of parties, so I made sure to devote an entire section to what they would wear at these events. I went all out with these outfits, allowing each characters to fully express themselves. One aspect of the decade that is so fun and fascinating, is how experimental and unique men's fashion was compared to most of the 20th century. Much like women's fashion in the 70s, men wore vibrant colors and patterns, accessories, and even platform high heels. Overall, men's fashion was flashy and bold, even within the smallest details; for example, men's suits usually included wide ties and oversized collars.
I decided to close this project with the formal wear outfits; however, that doesn't mean I'm finished with it completely or out of ideas. Some of these ideas include creating pages for bathing suits, costumes, or specific accessories (shoes, jewelry, hats, etc.,). I have even thought of creating outfits for some of the side characters
I think the most rewarding aspect of this project, wasn't the actual outfit designs, but getting to know my characters a lot better. Oddly enough, someone's fashion sense can tell you about their character. Style choices introduce different quirks about that characters and their habits, cultural background, income, gender identity, values, and more. I would give some examples with my own characters in this blog post, but instead I made a separate page for each one of my characters. They include illustrations, descriptions, photographic/illustrative references, and explanations on the characters.
If you would like to find out more about ETLK's characters and their groovy fashion sense, click on the buttons down below!
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