Vinegar Valentines were a type of insulting valentine card. Illustrated with a caricature and an insulting poem. These were very popular during the Victorian era, as the anti spirit of Valentines day. The cards were sent to people they hated and wanted to mock. In Civil War Humor, Cameron C. Nickels wrote that vinegar valentines were “tasteless, even vulgar,” and were sent to “drunks, shrews, bachelors, old maids, dandies, flirts, and penny pinchers, and the like.” Will be interesting to look into the history of caricature.

The origin of the word ‘caricature’ comes from the Italian carico and caricare – to load, to exaggerate. Caricatures are portraits that distort and exaggerate certain features whilst retaining a likeness. They were created in the 16th century to ridicule public figures and politicians. James Gillray was an important caricaturist in the 18th century – made powerful moral statements and was able to communicate powerful messages. These images held a lot of power in a time where a vast majority of the population could not read or write.

Now we live in a different era so we have to be careful how we caricature people of certain groups. I need to think about cliches and how I can use humour to drive home a point. The first thought that came to mind was the cliche of girls who shop, like in the movie from the 90s Clueless and from the 00’s Mean girls.

I found this amazing book of vintage valentine graphics published by Taschen. The origins of Valentines day go back to pagan times. A feast of the flesh was celebrated to honour the goddess of love, Juno Februata,

Valentines day has grown to be one of America’s most commercial holidays. Would be interesting to link this with a ‘girls that shop till you drop’ cliche. The consumerist aspect of love. How can I incorporate this graphic style with my own?

Characters from Mean Girls and Clueless. The embody the ultimate cliche of the “shop till you drop” generation. This will be a fun starting point – what caricature methods will I use to exaggerate their features?

I had to start with some interpretations of gingham fabric. To build up some textures I might want to use. Using coloured pencil and pens to make different gingham designs.

Initial sketches for different symbols that are classic motifs. Girls obsessed with how they look – lipstick, makeup, mascara, etc.

obsessed with what they eat, how they look.

I was thinking about that they would be selfish aswell. In the movie mean girls they happily sleep with other girls boyfriends without caring about anyone else’s feelings.

This ended up being my final outcome. I was looking at imagery of Indian gods and thought that would be a great symbol to depict the obsession with shopping. The millennial girl does not have enough hands to keep track of everything she is doing.