Fashion Illustrations, as promised

Below are a few illustrations my mom did for a Bullock's Lingerie brochure printed sometime in the 1970s. For those of you who weren't around in L.A. during the 70s and 80s, Bullock's Department Store was comparable to an upscale Macy's.  Several other department stores in Los Angeles hired my mom for freelance fashion work and when she lived briefly in Detroit she also drew for Bonwit Teller.

My mom drew fashion all through her 20s, 30s and 40s and then switched to painting animal portraits. She loved animals and I think painting them gave her more joy than the fashion did. Mostly she painted Thoroughbreds and dogs but every so often she'd branch out to paint a family portrait. Eventually she stopped drawing and painting altogether.  When I asked her why she replied, "It's just too damn hard." That was so something my mom would say. She did paint very sporadically on and off for the next 20 years but only if it was something that truly inspired her, or if a friend would ask. The latter of which took a lot of cajoling.

After Mom quit art she worked for ten years in the psych division for the Veteran's Administration as an administrative assistant. I can't imagine that being much easier. Right?

Moral of the story: Good artists make something difficult look effortless.  Or...don't underestimate your administrative assistant, you never know what skills he/she may possess.








This brochure was printed in purple ink so back then, like now, purple must have been the "it" color.

Comments

nancy said…
love these, back in the day my big sis worked for Bullocks. It was way better than Macy's
10:44 PM
Kitty Sheehan said…
These are so wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing. The style is right out of the Seventeen magazine of my formative years.
I love the ending of the story--no kidding, you just never ever know.
6:02 PM
RIVIERA VIEW said…
Hi Nancy,

I remember Bullocks being higher end too but we were just kids back then so I'm not sure if my recollections are correct. I just know that when my mom took me shopping there it was a treat.

- A
10:46 PM
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