Since the late 1960s and 1970s exaggerated proportions
have generally prevailed and continue to exert an artistic
influence over most fashion drawings. Most standing fashion
figures are proportioned between nine and ten heads in height
(if the figure’s head is arranged vertically on the page alongside the
complete standing figure). Most of the additional height is gained
through the legs, with some added to the neck and a little added
to the torso above the natural waist. Most women in the real
world stand around 5ft 5in or 5ft 6in, but a fashion figure needs to
project greater height in order to better show off the clothes and
communicate the look to an audience, usually through exaggerated
gestural poses. Of course, a woman who might be 5ft 2in could be
proportioned the same as a woman standing 5ft 10in but for fashion
purposes neither would offer the desired ideal proportions for
communicating the look. When drawing the fashion figure the
look might refer to the prevailing styles of the season, such as
the position of the fashion waist, or it may be an exploration of
voluminous or contoured clothing styles with reference to
influences from a particularly favoured model or celebrity.