While I can’t pinpoint the exact time and place that this happened, at some point in my early teen years, the super-heroines of my youth were quietly replaced by a hero of a different kind: musical superstars. While graphic novels were still near and dear to my heart, I was captivated by the unique sound and look of artists like Siouxsie and the Banshees and Morrissey. So imagine my delight when I came across these mash-ups of superheroes and post-punk royalty by artist Butcher Billy.

Punctuated by the bold graphics and vibrant hues so ubiquitous with classic comics, it is only when you look closer that you realize Wonder Woman is looking considerably more power charged and The Flash is sporting an energy dome and glasses. Whether you’re a post-punk fanatic or geek out over graphic novels, these unique re-imaginings will be sure to save the day.

Morissey by Butcher Billy.

Mark Motherbaugh by Butcher Billy.

Robert Smith by Butcher Billy.

WARMING UP — Sure, it’s sunny in Malibu, but it was a breezy day when we shot the first part of our stylebook, Summer in Focus. Model Amy flies by videographer Jon’s camera to warm up on the chilly April day in Southern California.

Have you been patiently awaiting the arrival of a one-stop-shop in which to find all of ModCloth’s marvelous video coverage? Well, the wait is over! With our fabulous new redesign comes the beta version of our new video page! Each month, we’ll welcome guest curators to share their angle with us, and there’s so much to be seen. From behind-the-scenes coverage of our latest campaigns, to interviews with our favorite indie designers, there’s a little something for everyone.

This month we welcome our very own Editorial Videographer, Jon, who has selected some videos related to our latest campaign: Summer in Focus. If you’ve been wondering what goes on behind the scenes, or hankering for some outtakes, head on over to our video page, What’s Your Angle?, to see Jon’s point of view!

One of the most exciting parts of our recent blog revamp was tackling a complete visual refresh — we knew that a new name and responsive site structure weren’t enough, and that realizing Story by ModCloth meant taking on every pixel, post, and .png. For our lead graphic designer on the project, Erynn, this meant translating the inspiration and ideas behind Story into a design style guide for Story (pictured above), and using that as the starting point for our new header, sidebar banners, post graphics, and other designs you see on the blog today.

We swung by Erynn’s desk to peek at her completed style guide, and ask her how she and the graphic designers approached reinventing the ModCloth blog.

Okay, Erynn. What does a style guide do? 
Style guides remind designers where the general aesthetic behind a brand started from. After setting up these guidelines, it’s easier to create graphics that sit next to each other harmoniously. All the content on our blog tells its own story and has its own personality, and it’s important that the design doesn’t take away from that. Instead, the design should help further connect the content back to our blog.

When redesigning series like Best Job Ever, it was nice to have this style guide to draw upon. I didn’t need to reinvent the wheel. All the parts where there, I just needed to pull them together. And, if another designer needs to pull a graphic together for the blog, they’ll have an easier time creating something that matches our look. It also pushes our brains to think about how we can mix and match all these different elements across projects.

I talked about the overall concept behind Story in our redesign announcement post, but I’m curious to know how you’d describe Story from a strictly visual point of view.
The style guide for Story by ModCloth is clean, bright, and retro-inspired. A lot of the pins on your Pinterest redesign moodboard were modern designs that had a vintage feel, bold colors paired with pastels and neutrals, and straightforward typographic lockups. The photos on the moodboard were important in the creation of the style guide. Knowing where the editorial team wanted to take its content was key; a lot of the design we do on the blog sits above or alongside photos. Additionally, the moodboard provided a lot of inspiration as to the tone Story by ModCloth should take.

Lastly, it’s important for Story by ModCloth to be inspired by ModCloth’s overall aesthetic, of course!

Any favorite parts of the style guide? 
The shapes are my favorite. I’ve been really inspired by designs that make use of geometric shapes and patterns. It seems like a very modern trend at the moment, but I’m also excited to see how we can continue to design with this in mind, down the line.

We can’t wait to see what Erynn and her fellow designers will dream up in the days ahead, can’t you?

With spring and summer music festivals well under way, we decided to go straight to the source to find festival fashion inspiration from those original music festivals that started it all in the ’60s and ’70s. From Newport Folk to the very first Woodstock festival, we’re taking tips from the original hipsters and hippies and their free-spirited style.

Above: Woodstock, 1969. Image via vintage everyday. Rolling Stones concert, 1969. Photo by Frank Habicht.

Bob Dylan, Donovan, and Mary Travers at the Newport Folk Festival, 1965. Photo by David Gahr.

 
Joan Baez at the Newport Folk Festival, 1968. Photograph by Elliott Landy via Magnum Photos. Joni Mitchell and Steven Stills in Big Sur, 1969. Image via looking_for_a_cause.

“It takes a huge effort to maintain the usability of state parks, let alone the festivals and activities that make them so special,” Caleb writes on the Patch Co. site. “I began designing… in hopes that it would inspire both residents of PA and out-of-staters to visit parks and fall in love with the outdoors all over again.”

Image via Patch Co.

When we sought out to find a best job ever worthy of our blog’s redesign launch week, we couldn’t have imagined a better candidate than the one we found in sea otter aquarist Nikki Dinsmore. Videographer Jon and I headed down the California coast for a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on at the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Can’t get enough of Nikki and her furry friends? Be sure to check out Nikki’s namesake dress!

We recently discovered the awesome illustrations by Brisbane-based artist Mel Stringer, and after sharing a few of our favorites, she sent us this lovely thank you note fashioned after one of our original street style posts. Thank you, Mel!

TO THE SEA — Photo shoots are full of unforgettable moments, and the open roads and seaside settings of our new summer stylebook were rife with inspiration. Our videographer, Jon, captured this moody and magical moment of one of our models tiptoeing into the Pacific Ocean during the swim component of our shoot.

As our Senior Online Editor, Jenn, mentioned in our blog redesign announcement, this revamp has been a long time in the making. When our team dove into this massive project, the first thing we did was look back on everything we created and were inspired by in the last few years, and what was more than apparent is how much your voices have helped shape the ModCloth story. As we turn our heads toward the future, we can’t wait to set forth with you — our community of inspiring women, talented creatives, and fashion fanatics — and co-write the next chapters.

To get the party started and commemorate this awesome occasion, we tasked graphic designer Ryan with illustrating this quotation by J.K. Rowling. Whether you tell your story through writing, music, art, or your daily wardrobe choices, we hope you’ll join us in celebration by indulging your own creative side today!