Well, you’ve all been diligently making your Be the Buyer picks, and voting on which potential designs you’d like to see for sale on ModCloth. And, drumroll please, the results are in for the first batch!!! Check the Be the Buyer category page to see which items made the cut. Simply look under the product image, and you’ll see either “You Picked It!” or “You Skipped It.” The “you” refers to the collective virtual buying team. If any of your favorite items didn’t get picked, make sure to spread the word next time you vote by using one of the sharing options on the product category page (i.e., email, facebook , twitter) to get your friends voting. To be the first to know when an item is actually available for purchase, sign up on the item’s category page for notification. If you already “picked” the item, you’ll automatically be notified via email. We’re having these items made, and will have them up on our site and available for sale as quickly as we can!

Psst, there are still a couple items left to vote on, so start picking now!

• If I had any money to bet you, dear reader, I’d say at least three of your friends have something related to the new Twilight movie posted within their Facebook status right now, (unless of course, you’re the guilty party!). Since vampires have existed (at least that’s how long it seems), Twilight fever has been sweeping the nation, and with the movie’s second installment New Moon out today, you can’t turn a corner without being forced to choose between Team Edward and Team Jacob. Twilight product mania is also bursting – from Pringle’s limited-edition ‘Salt and Vampire’ flavored chips, to the hand-painted Converses seen above, to The Unofficial Twilight Cookbook, which claims to “satisfy even the pickiest, puritan ‘vegetarian’ vampires.”
• If any of the previous products have trouble selling, perhaps their creators should look into hiring one of these advertising companies. Check out some of the craziest 3D billboards seen around the world.
• And since the season of overeating is upon us, why not top off this post with a rumination on the glory of cake?

So, ModLovers – fess up. What Twilight attire do you own?

Here at the ModCloth Headquarters, the holiday season is approaching faster than you can say “mistletoe.” We’ve spent the past few weeks poring over the many new garments, accessories, and decor items just waiting to be labeled with love. However, as visions of sugarplums dance through our heads more and more frequently (and with an alarming amount of distraction), we need your help to give a few special items the perfect names. The gift-giving spirit is simply contagious, so we’ve decided to present to you, our clever customers, with twelve chances to win in our beloved Name It and Win It Contest!

Beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, November 23, we’ll post the first nameless ModCloth item in desperate need of a tantalizing title! Submit your merriest monikers for the item as a comment to that blog post for your chance to win. We’ll pick a few favorites, then it’s up to YOU to choose a winner in a poll on Tuesday, November 24. The polls will be up and running from noon the day voting for that item begins until noon the following day. In the first item’s case, you’re eligible to vote from noon on Tuesday, November 24 until noon on Wednesday, November 25. If you miss your chance to submit names or vote in the poll, fear not! We’ll be launching eleven other items on ModLife every other day in the same manner until December 16. This gives you several chances to win ModCloth items and many opportunities to vote for your favorite names!

Starting Monday, November 30, the winners will be announced at the beginning of each week on both ModLife and in our newsletter. If you’re not already receiving our newsletter, sign up on our homepage – the field to enter your email is on the left side of the screen!

So put on your thinking caps this weekend, and get ready to spread the cheer of your amusing aliases on Monday!

Read ‘Official Contest Rules’ here.

All your fashion dreams could come true, if you just follow these easy steps:

• Create your very own wonderful wishlist on ModCloth.com, filled to the brim with all your favorite fabulous frocks, stylish shoes, posh pants, sparkly skirts, bold bags, and amazing accessories!

• Share your lovely list with whenyouwishuponalist@modcloth.com by noon on December 4th, and be sure to include your email address in the message. Only 1 wishlist per customer will be counted by our happy helpers!

• One propitious person will be randomly chosen to win a fantastic $50 ModCloth gift card, and the golden opportunity to create their very own gift guide, which will be featured on ModLife!

For full ModCloth contest rules, click here.

Update: Just to clarify, you can actually email us your wishlist right from the site, without copying and pasting into a new email. Just go to the “My Account” tab at the top of the page. From there, you should see all of your wishlists, and next to those, you should see “email” as an option. Please send us whichever wishlist you’d like to share using this “email” option in order to be eligible. You can also “share” your wishlists on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, StumbleUpon, and Kaboodle!

There is something very tragic about a beautiful, lone earring, or a favorite old sweater, or a lovely, orphaned glove, isn’t there? Well, now you can stop being sad! Here are five ideas for how to repurpose those items you can’t quite bear to toss. And if you don’t see anything you like here, visit ecoterre.com for more great ideas about how to upcycle wardrobe.

1. Come On, Get Strappy!

You know how bags sometimes come with an extra spare strap you never end up using? Try using it as a belt. Simply loop the strap around your waist and clip the ends together. Easy and ingenius!

2. Turn an Orphaned Earring into Shoe Bling!

Almost everyone has an earring that’s lost its mate. Too attached to toss it? Then don’t! Use it to add sparkle to a plain pair of shoes.

3. Use an Old Sweater to Make a Plain Chair Better!

Is your favorite sweater losing shape, or do you have a stubborn stain that won’t wash out? Reupholster an old or thrifted chair for super-cozy winter seating!

4. Turn an Old Glove into Hair Accessory Love!

In their Fall 2009 show, Dolce & Gabbana had models walking the runways with leather glove fascinators. Not into that idea? You might consider fashioning your lone glove into a glove-scarf or kisslock purse.

5. Make Plastic Fantastic!

Have plastic bottles lying around? Take out your scissors and get to work on an incredibly hip and surprisingly easy statement necklace!

What about you, Mod Readers? Do you have any tips on re-fashioning wardrobe “trash” into “treasure”? We want to know!

Do you love ModCloth? Do you want access to exclusive info and mobile-only contests? Then you should join ModMobile! We are so very excited to have the opportunity to connect with our most dedicated followers via text messaging. We’ve been planning like crazy, and have tons of exciting things in store for you.

You can find out more and sign up here right now!

What do you think of ModMobile? Do you have any ideas about how we could use text messaging to make your ModCloth experience even better? We’d love to hear from you!

Here at ModCloth, we love our color. From our office decor to our daily outfits, color never fails to make an appearance. I love the technicolor ensembles and products that come through the door each day, but strangely enough, when it comes to dressing myself, I’m inexplicably drawn to black.  I love  my prints and patterns and colors like any other person, but somehow, whenever I leave my apartment I’m always head-to-toe in monochrome.

Don’t get me wrong, dressing in black does have its perks. I never have to worry about matching shades, stains are a non-issue, and its chic status means I’m guaranteed to look somewhat pulled together, even when I’m feeling a mess. I’ve also grown to enjoy the challenge of dressing in one color and matching different textures, cuts, and fits. So, as the little black sheep in the ModCrowd, I figured I would use my first Outfit of the Week post and see if I could rustle up an outfit in my staple shade.

With how much we stock on ModCloth.com, it was a cinch finding one-tone items in our vast digital closet! Given my love for theatrical forms, it’s no surprise I was gravitationally pulled towards the trapeze shape of the In the Year Two Thousand Twenty Tunic. To balance off the top’s dramatic cut, I wiggled into the New Black Skinnies, and then added a little grunge with the faux leather Heidkrüger Boots. To add a metallic sheen, I stacked my wrists with the Queen of Sparta Cuff, Buckle Up Bangle, and the Clash Bracelet. I grabbed the gorgeously studded, vegan-friendly Lita Clutch in Luna for a jolt of color, and then swept off to give Joseph, one of our photographers, my best Blue (Black?) Steel.

What are your thoughts on an one-tone ensemble? Am I alone in my love for monochrome? Or do you have a color you can’t resist either?

Too often when we think of our local library, we flash back to the days we spent as a child escaping to the story-filled stacks after school. But unfortunately, post-academia and pre-children of our own, too few of us take advantage of what our local libraries have to offer. Pittsburghers learned this the hard way recently when it was announced that four Carnegie branches face closure in 2010. Along with the closures, two branches face being merged, and all others face cutbacks in hours and programs.

Serving over 2.5 million people in 2008, the library is far from the often preconceived hushed arena refereed by a librarian with a tightly wound bun. Carnegie is a vivid place that promotes literacy and life-long learning throughout its nineteen branches in the Pittsburgh area. With over 250,000 card holders and hosting more than 8,000 programs a year, Carnegie provides diverse features for its community members, ranging from story time offered in various languages, to workshops to help recently unemployed adults find their way back into the workplace. The library also acts as sole provider for many individuals who don’t have other ways of accessing the Internet. While circulation has increased over recent years, so have costs – yet funding has remained relatively stagnant.

According to library spokesperson, Suzanne Thinnes, a temporary fix won’t do. Long-term substantial funding is needed so that the system doesn’t have to face these challenges year after year. In the face of the closure, local residents are rallying to save these branches. While all support is welcomed, Thinnes urges patrons to write to their elected officials for a permanent solution.

To learn more about the danger facing Pittsburgh libraries and ways you can help, click here. For our readers located beyond the Pittsburgh area, this is not a problem unique our area, libraries throughout the country are facing similar challenges everyday. Think about volunteering at your local library and rediscovering that long lost love of escaping into the stacks!

How do you plan to help out your local library, ModClothers?

When I initially picked up this “Guide to Charm,” originally published in 1938, I wondered what relevance remained for a book that guides its readers on skincare for a generation raised on Retin-A and Proactiv. But for all we know and all we’ve learned in the past seventy years, we haven’t exactly perfected the art of charm. In fact, many argue that the art is depleted entirely (underwear-less starlets, anyone?).

The reactions to the advice dished out in Better than Beauty range from “I wish,” to “You’ve got to be kidding me.” For instance, “I wish I had the time and memory to push back my cuticles each time I wash my hands,” and “You’ve got to be kidding me that people need to be told they should wear antiperspirant.” The book is broken into two parts – what one should do with herself, and how one should act when in the company of others. The first section explores basic upkeep and personal hygiene – how often to brush your hair, how much you should weigh, how to plan a suitable wardrobe for your figure and your budget. While it’s all generally good advice, it is more often than not antiquated. I’m much more likely to hit the gym, than perform the exercises illustrated in this book. And no matter how much I practice lowering myself gracefully into my chair while in public, at the end of the day, I’m still going to plop down on my couch in sweatpants.

The book’s second section, while still providing a dose of “Duh” advice, thoughtfully reminds its modern readers of easily forgotten manners. Perhaps, we shouldn’t be overly generous with our “Thank Yous” for fear that its genuine meaning get lost. And I can think of about a million people I’ve encountered on public transportation who could use a friendly reminder of how to talk on the phone. Throughout, our authors are careful not to criticize and maintain an evenhanded and good humored tone about what they are dishing out. They emphasis the importance of learning to accept yourself as you really are, advising, “Never be afraid of doing the wrong thing.” The only bad manners are those in which one intends harm, and in this world of constant speculation, where tweets go up faster than a weave in flames, we too often worry to excess how we come across.

So, while parts of the guide might be out of date, (too few women work for money to know how to manage it), some things never change (if you talk too loud, people will shut their ears off to you). Likely, no matter your experience or disposition, you’ll take away some gem of advice or a friendly reminder. It may also be the perfect gift for the young girl in your life who you fear might one day end up on For the Love of Ray J 9.

Have you read Better than Beauty? What do you think?

Believe it or not, Thanksgiving’s just around the corner! Have you already started thinking about what you’re thankful for? If not, you can add ModCloth to the list!

This turkey day we’re hosting our first ever Thanksgiving Thank-a-Thon Blog Contest, and we want to hear who or what you’re thankful for! Write a post thanking that special something or someone on your blog, mention the contest in your post, and then share it with us for a chance to win $100 gift certificates for you and the person you thanked!

Contest Guidelines

• Beginning on Monday, November 9, you can comment on this post with a link to your submission through Monday, November 23
• Your blog post must include a mention and link to this Thanksgiving Thank-a-Thon Blog Contest post
• Submissions can only be made by commenting to this post with the link to your blog post. Stories submitted as comments will not be accepted.
• The winner will be announced on Thanksgiving (just in time for Black Friday shopping!)

As always, we can’t wait to see what you guys cook up! So put on your thanking caps and thank away!

For full contest rules, check out our Contest and Comments Guidelines!