The Gents

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't draw men very well. Give me ladies, babies, children, animals, flowers, cars, buildings, anything else; if I can see it, I can draw it. Except men. Their bodies come out awkward and they look like they're wearing lipstick. Nonetheless, I thought it might be amusing to see some of my past attempts to sketch the, shall we say, less fair sex...

Here we have one of my rare male sketches that actually came out well. In 1977, Beau Bridges starred with Jane Seymour in a TV movie called The Four Feathers. There was a picture of Beau Bridges in the TV Guide to advertise the show, and I thought he was incredibly handsome. So of course I had to draw him!

I generally try to avoid drawing men altogether. However, in my junior year of high school I took a fashion design class with a chubby young teacher, fresh out of college, named Miss Laws. All the fashions we created in her class were based on historical periods. Mercifully, most of our assignments involved designing for ladies and children.

However, there were these four unfortunate assignments that produced male fashion catastrophes. Try not to laugh too loud--you might alarm your neighbors! From spring 1971, this little number was based on styles of the 17th Century. I actually think it might have been a big hit as a costume for one of the singing groups of my high school years, like Paul Revere and the Raiders! Don't you love those thick sideburns? This assignment also included using pen and ink, but most of our work was simple pencil sketches.

Also from spring 1971, this suit represents the 18th Century. To me it seems Irish in style. I rather liked this one at the time, and so did Miss Laws. The fashions she liked best were taped up on the classroom wall--hence the little dark squares that stained the paper over the years. Someday maybe I'll buy and learn how to use one of those art software programs and remove those stains.

Again, from spring 1971: Based on 16th Century styles, this evening suit has a very odd cape/jacket trimmed with fur. I think my boyfriend at that time had a pair of brogue shoes like this guy's! Obviously Miss Laws liked this one, too, judging by the tape stains.

And finally, this outfit, which I drew in December 1970, was inspired by 16th Century fashions. But those striped pants are so very 1970s! After looking these over, I think one of the problems was I gave the men narrow, sloping shoulders, which doesn't look very manly. Note to self: in future male sketches, remember the broad shoulders!