Esta

If the women depicted by fashion illustrators in the 1930s and ’40s were busy at sports or patriotic duties, those in the 1950s seemed to be doing nothing at all. They existed in undefined space. In this decade, certain illustrators like Esta Nesbitt (1918-1975) became adept at drawing, and forever associated with, the junior figure. Esta, as she was known, drew a young lady with a cinched waist above a billowing skirt, hugging herself in delight. Esta’s juniors were always slightly sassy, which endeared them to young readers.