Little Black Book: Fashionary

Part sketchbook, part reference material - all Fashionary. This handy book has two parts - the first being a fashion dictionary and the second being a sketch pad. It's designed for quick brainstorming, fast sketching and easy referencing. I saw this on Love at First Blush's blog and thought to myself - I gotta try this out.

The first part of the book is 38 pages jam packed with tons of info including different types of stitches, care instructions, spec sheets, pattern and flat drawings, fabric dictionary, typography and more. Definitely a great resource on the go.

Some various cuff details

Different types of jackets

The second section of the book is 130 pages and is the sketchbook portion of the book. This is no ordinary sketchbook though! Each page comes with preprinted croquis which are barely visible and outlined in small dots. You can use the outlines as a guide or just draw freehand since the printed figures are barely noticeable.

About a few months ago - I tried drawing clothes for the first time ever! I ended up getting hung up on drawing the proportions of the people vs the clothing and it took a while to finish. Since each page of the Fashionary has croquis' already in place, I was interested in seeing how things would turn out - here's how I made out.

I started with pencil and just traced the body outline just to see the body form. I ended up sketching on top of the outline and kept going. Each page has three forms on it so you get the most out of each page.

I was actually really surprised at how fast and well this works. I drew three bodies in no time and decided to test the thickness of the paper by going over the drawings in ink. Nothing bled through to the other side which was nice.

Since the ink didn't bleed I ended up coloring things in with marker - which bled through a bit onto the other side. So if you're looking for color options, you might want to opt for lighter mediums. Overall I was amazed at how much time was saved by having the templates as a base to work off of. By not focusing on the proportions of the figure, you can focus more on the clothes you are actually drawing!

Definitely a great and handy little book which I will be using a lot! If you're in the fashion industry or just like doodling or drawing (like me), this is a great tool to have. If you're interested in picking one up (they have one for women and one for men) and can be purchased online here.