#im sorry if there are typos i accidentally spent 3 hours writing this and now it's 4 in the morning - i'm so tiiiired holy crap

[lunchtimebedamned1997]

Playing around with Charlie's Design!

Speedpaint and fun fashion/design ramblies under the cut :3 (I'm not a fashion historian, I just have a special interest in it and know too much about it XD)

Oops I kinda wrote an article XD

So, I've heard through the grapevine that Charlie is actually somewhere around 200 years old - and not only does that make Rosie's "Oh, come now Alastor, she's much too young for you!" even funnier, I think it also makes her more hopeful outlook and determination for change 1000% more nuanced and interesting, AND I think it gives a ton of super fun space to play in as far as for-fun redesigns go!

I've really only seen charlie in 'historical' contexts art-wise in relation to Alastor and the Charlastor of it all (my personal tastes in Hazbin fan content probably account for a lot of that skew though tbh XD)

I'm mainly going to be referencing UK, Europe, and the United States in terms of the fashions and 'culture' I mention, which, yk, Charlie is an angel/demon and not human but also very obviously white so LMAO it seems fitting? That is also where the largest amount of my historical fashion/culture knowledge lays since I am also white, from America, and currently living in the EU XD (Plus the more you start delving into history in countries with a primary language other than English (including in Europe) the more you hit the language barrier, trying to find translations - and if its cultural and not fashion-oriented you have to figure out if you can even trust those translations or if they're bullshit etc etc etc (I cry))

But okay, so here's my train of thought with the left design:

Most people seem to have their style and/or tastes solidify somewhere around their 30s, and if we assume Charlie is somewhere near 200 in S1, then that would place her 30s around the 1850s! Given though that even with access to modern tech in S1, hell (More-so pride than the other rings imo) seems a little behind the human world - I think it would be safe to assume that divide would be more stark the farther back in time you go. With this in mind, I decided to base the majority of Charlie's style 'undertones' between 1850 and the early 1900's (AKA: Victorian era through the very early Edwardian period)

So lets go top down?

First up: HAIR! In many cultures around the world, an 'of age' woman wearing her hair down was considered very taboo. A social faux pa, if you will. This is one of the many reasons why beautiful updos in eras and areas where hair was allowed to remain uncovered were so popular. To be able to achieve these elaborate styles (and/or to be able to braid and pin back the hair to keep it still, and properly covered in other times/places) the hair was grown quite long. Though, many seeking elaborate styles, especially those with thinner hair, often employed the use of 'hair rats' and/or fake hair to be pinned/braided into the style. Buuut that's verging into a tangent lol...

I pretty obviously went with a Gibson girl look on this one,

The concept of the "Gibson Girl" first appeared around the 1890s as an expression of the 'ideal', but of course, like most aesthetics of the modern era, such as those within the 'clean-girl' or 'dark-academia' it is often displayed within a realm of privileged, upper-class, and faux-perfection that is largely inaccessible to most people. But, as Charlie is a Princess I thought the 'upper-class elegance' of it would work far better than attributing a style more common among the working class to this design. But the Gibson girl unlike many 'ideals' of the past, was not entirely a projection of male desire. In fact, in many ways they stood in opposition to this. Gibson Girls often represented independence and freedom. Many portrayed in the concept were emancipated and in the workforce (by choice), seen cycling and (GASP!) wearing cycling trousers!!! XD

The Gibson girls asked for equal opportunity, social and educational reform, and sexual freedom. The 'modern' and 'disruptive' girls of the turn of the century. All of which, I think speaks towards Charlie's character. And having her hair back while working is an element of practicality we see Charlie employ in canon! And you might say, Liz, that was so long ago! She hasn't changed her go-to hairstyle??? No. Not in my world. (I'm having fun!) Besides, we all know the distinction between the messy bun friend and the high-pony friend. We all have the way of putting long hair up that becomes 'automatic', I don't think it would be wrong to assume that something like this (esp. given her natural hair volume, which would negate the need for hairpieces), that is pretty, and stays out of the way would be retired from her usual repertoire (idk if I've ever had to spell repertoire before. My first guess was so wrong) Also I think the loose curls coming down are pretty and help fend off some of the uptight-ness that can sometimes come from a modern gaze looking at older styles. Loose curls are romantic! Charlie is romantic! I rest my rambling case!

Secondly: Her earring!

I wanted to bring in a quick flash of modernity here, as well as add a cutesy Charlie-esque nod to her more alternative emo phase we saw she had when she was younger XD Plus it helps bring in some of the heart motifs the show is so fond of in a more subtle way which I think is fun! Also, fun fact; did you know that nipple piercings and nipple chains were a thing in the Victorian era? No joke! There are articles from the era written about it! Here's a modern article that's just a bit of fun about it with a good general overview :3

Third : The Top! So, for the shirt I wanted to go with something that was a pleasant blend between modern and historical! In this design, I tried to keep a lot of the essence of Charlie's look: Hair pulled back, nice blouse, some sort of neck tie, red pants, etc.

I didn't go quite as long with the cuff as is historical, but the long, flush-to-skin sleeve cuffs were seemingly pretty popular in the eras I took inspo from. I decided to make the cuffs black because I thought it looked nice, matched the bowtie, and created a sense of visual completeness with the black tie at the top and the cuffs at the bottom, esp. bc I went more 'textured'/'sheer' with the stripes.

You can also see, much like Charlie's OG design, we have high collars on the inspo pictures! however, I was worried Charlie was going to start looking a bit too matronly/snobby school mistress-y, and so I decided to implement a bit of modern flare into the collar, having it fold over the much daintier bowtie (which is truly more of a bow, but it does tie the shirt together quite literally, as I've left a very large opening in the neckline to show a bit more skin (still trying to beat the matronly) as well as accounting for non-stretch fabric without buttons. I cannot allow myself to design things that wouldn't work if I decided to try and sew them XD I just can't!!! Non-stretch fabric gives you that nice drape effect while still allowing for a certain amount of structure, as well as being - sigh - historicallllll lmao These days only natural fibers in a garment tend to be pricier/more of a luxury, but elastic didn't even exist until the early 1900s, and synthetic fibers didn't exist until the 1930s. Oh boy I'm starting to tangent - the shirt, Lizzie!

Black and white stripes bc I grew up as Tim Burton trash and my love for them has never faded + yk, hell, and Vivzie's general love of a similar vibe hehe. I also felt like Charlie could use a little bit of patterning somewhere in her design. The most detail we get in the OG is her hair striping. TBH I think it works in her OG design, showing off some of her more practical nature in the face of her rainbow crayon drawings, but I think the hair in this design helps a little in that respect and I wanted to have fun damn it! XD Not to mention that a plain color (especially white) would make the design feel too plain and too old imo, where as the stripes help create interest and add in a little fun w/o making it too busy :3 (Though I think if the stripes had been solid black it would be too busy. I didn't want too many 'flats' on her. Going for a different or more in-between shade helps a lot I think)

Fourth: The Pants This one is another blend of Historical and modern! (pls don't take a shot every time I typed historical u will be very ill or very dead :'( that would be sad)

Most obviously, I primarily brought back the red in her design here! Though, I did pull the darker color from her OG lapels rather than the color of her suit - I'm trying to get more comfy with more vibrant colors in my work, but I just really felt averse to using the bright red with this outfit. Even though Zippers were invented (/first patented???) in the 1850s, they didn't really start being used in garments until the 1920s-ish, and I also just think lots of buttons on pants are really pretty XD and hey, look, I used the brighter red from her OG suit for the buttons, r u proud of me?! (I think it's cute :3 I usually default to metal buttons in my art, but colored and fabric buttons are SO pretty! Button diversity needs to be addressed! I am calling myself out rn! Lizzie! Use more colorful/textured buttons in things!)

I know a lot of people still try and call for the death of capris, but y'all are kinda wrong (I'm sorry) (Not really) what you hate is wide-straight leg capris cut at the wrong length!!! Skinny, well-cut straight leg, or wide-leg capris are cute! Deal with it! I will fight you!!!!!! This specific silhouette (perhaps minus my very 1800's buttons lmao) is very 1950s/60s

And again, showing off a liiiiitle more skin to help keep her from looking too modest. She may be trying to reform people and the squishiest goody-goody, but we're in hell, toots. And it's not like she's a prude - or like she ever grew up with historical earthly morals Asmodeus and the sins are her aunts and uncles - enough said XD

Fifth - Shoes I didn't draw any. They intimate me, I wanted this drawing to be fun, and besides! Too many of these characters have hooves (literally just charlie and Al (?) lmao but I like those two shush) and I need to practice!!!!

Did I draw them well? Perhaps not? Idk, I didn't look at a reference, but I think they're cuuute! I squealed when we saw her little hoofsies in 'Hello Rosie' As for the right design, my only real note is that I included eyelet lace bc lace was all the rage in the times I was pulling from, and eyelet has always been my personal fav of the laces hehe ...yeahhh I just really wanted to draw Charlie in jammies XD

As a final note before the speedpaint, I made Charlie's body a bit curvier! This was for a couple reasons! (yes I'm a nerrrd, if you read all this you know hehe)

Prettyyyyy! Bodies are pretty! Pretty curves

As far as character shape language goes soft shapes + soft character = very harmonious Idk I just feel like Charlie would have a little more curve to her (in my universe anyway lmao) even though she's a tall gorrrrlll (They're all like, stupid tall lmao - do y'all realize Lucifer is probs actually like 5'6/7?! I'm 5'6!!! Val is like TEN feet tall!!! :0)

It's also a fun(? maybe the wrooong word - interesting) bonus that historically (IDK about the time periods I took inspo from, but generally), the bigger/curvier/plumper you were, the more people assumed you to be in higher social-standing. This was bc the wealthy tended to have access to more (and often, better) foods. Ofc partnered with not having to do manual labor, which generally tends to (esp. pre-industrial revolution) to cause one to be more muscular and have less physical softness (tho ofc genetics also play a part in this nuance nuance).

Plus, yk, goat features bc I did that in my Charlastor Painting and I really liked it! I considered adding horns this time bc I think they're so cute but I honestly just forgot. I'll have to play with that another time!

Oki, I gotta shush up and post this soon my whole browser is lagging SO HARD :( If any of you read to the end uh - holy crap??? Glad I was interesting to you! (pls talk to me about fashion and hazbin and history lmao my asks are open! Feel free to request!)