The sky’s the limit for Jessie, the pixie-coiffed model in our journey-filled summer stylebook. Aside from modeling dreams and an adoration for all things mod, this gal’s got a treasure trove of architectural know-how. Build your knowledge of this stylish smiling face, and find out what’s at the foundation of her picturesque personality!

When you’re not modeling ModCloth wares, what’s your go-to outfit?
I nearly always wear a dress and colorful tights. Usually, the dress is from a thrift store, because I love to find unique pieces. It’s also neat to wonder about what kind of life the outfit had before it got into my hands.

How does the fashion of the past influence your style today?
I’m really into the mod style of the ’60s. That was a very playful and colorful time, which I can appreciate, given the fact that I don’t take fashion too seriously, and I like to have fun with it.

What’s been your most memorable vacation to date?
A few summers ago, I went to South America and Barcelona, but it wasn’t exactly a vacation. It was a study abroad program through my architecture school. My professor took me and a few classmates there to experience the cities and their architecture. I remember falling in love with the cobbled streets and beautiful sunsets of Colonia, Uruguay and watching live tango on the streets of Buenos Aires.

What do you do when you’re feeling creative?
Make stuff! I always have a sketchbook by my side (probably a remnant of my architecture school days) that I like to doodle in. My favorite thing to do in architecture school was to build models, and now that I’m out of school, I’m going to start making more things with my hands. Furniture design has always interested me. Maybe I should pursue it more seriously now.

If you could spend a day anywhere in the universe, where would you go, and what would you do there?
In the entire universe?! I would say the moon or the Milky Way, but I have no idea what I would do there. I’ve always wanted to visit Angkor Wat in Cambodia, so that’s my more realistic answer. I remember learning about it in one of my architecture history classes, and it seems like such an amazing place full of history, beautiful architecture, and peaceful spaces for meditation. I really want to climb all over it, too — it’s basically a giant, ancient architecture playground.

Looking for a vintage accessory that really makes a statement? Well, these are not are not your average, run-of-the-’millinery’ headpieces. Though they may have been worn just for fun, these hats show that a little humor says an awful lot! Take a look at these atypical hats from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, and give some props to the charismatic ladies who modeled them with flair!

Image via Retronaut

Image via Retronaut

Image via jp

Image via Modern Mechanix

Image via Retronaut

Image via Retronaut

Image via whinendine

“Hats off” to these hilarious headpieces!

One of the longest standing pieces of feedback we’ve received throughout the years has come from our community of plus size shoppers about the lack of items available to them. We’ve always been dedicated to helping women of all shapes and sizes find designs that delight her and make her feel like the best version of herself. However, providing our plus size customers with the best possible product has proven especially difficult in an industry that’s often relegated any woman above a size 14 to dowdy styles and ill-fitting cuts.

The news today, though, is that we’re out to change that. Last week, we announced our pledge to revolutionize the plus size fashion industry. Learn more about how and why we’re doing it — and the amazing pop-up event, Elegance for All, we hosted to kick off the efforts and celebrate our community.

When we started digging into the data and the details about what it was our customer wanted – and how we could best bring it to her – what we found was pretty astonishing:

• More U.S. women report wearing a size 16 dress than a size 2 and 0 combined.
• ⅓ of U.S. women wear a mix of what is considered standard and plus sizes.
• 57% of U.S. women wear at least some clothing in sizes 16 and above.

ModCloth is a company centered around its community, and from the start, our plus size shoppers have craved the same great styles that come in ‘regular’ sizes.  So, why now – and not years ago?

“There are unique challenges in producing great clothes for plus size — and we weren’t going to go into plus for the sake of going into plus. We wanted to go into it wholeheartedly and do it right,” VP of Buying and Merchandising Lindsay told the crowd at our roundtable discussion last week, which was attended by prominent members of the blogging and media communities. “What we’re capable of today wasn’t available to us 18 months ago.”

Plus Size Buyer, Samara, and Head Merchant, Lindsay, hi-five to congratulate the recent success ModCloth’s had in increasing our plus size offering on the site.

In 2012, our Plus Size Buyer, Samara set out to find partners within the design community who could help bring better merchandise to the site. What she found? Of the 1,500 approved vendors we worked with, only 35 were set up and willing to do plus sizes.

We have since grown our plus vendor base to 100 (and growing!), much to the success of developing our own team of in-house designers who are working closely with vendors to specifically tackle the challenges that come with producing great fitting product for plus size customers.

“A lot of vendors will encounter a challenge when trying to design for plus and stop there,” Technical Designer Goretti explained. “You want to feel flawless. You want to put it on, zip it up, and go out and not deal with too large arm holes or restricting fabric. When working with designers, I get to be your advocate to make sure what’s getting made ultimately is amazing — and not letting the limitations of fabric or patterns get in the way.”

Amanda of In the Thick of It (front) discusses her personal experience finding plus size styles while Jess of The Militant Baker (right) and Jaimielee Velasquez of Hippopotamuslee (left) look on.

During our roundtable discussion, our team of experts dove into all the challenges and triumphs we’ve encountered in the past year as we’ve set out to grow our plus size business, from visiting customer’s homes to tour their closets and learn about what it is  they feel confident or insecure about to building an in-house design team dedicated to taking on the challenges that come with producing great-fitting plus clothing.

In addition, bloggers like Jess of The Militant Baker, Gabi Fresh, and Nadia Aboulhoun attended and talked to our team about the unique challenges they’ve faced when looking for items that express their unique style — from having to be extremely creative when it comes to styling or often rigging clothing to get it to fit their unique body shapes. “Plus size women have been rigging our clothing forever, because we have to,” said Jess of The Militant Baker.

Anxious shoppers began showing up to the pop-up shop two hours before we opened the doors!

As the blogger and media portion of our event wrapped up and our team readied the space, a line began to form to attend our first-ever pop-up shop! The ModCloth team traveled from Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to give customers a hands-on experience, allowing them to shop product featured in a full range of sizes, from XS to 4x.

Over four hundred people attendees gained a sneak peek at our fall collection, shopped some of our latest styles, mingled with fellow ModLovers, danced to our custom Rdio playlist, shared their ‘fearless fashion moments’, and crafted DIY lace earrings.

Members of the ModCloth team get set to check out customers at Elegance for All Pop-Up Shop.

We asked shoppers to share their favorite fearless fashion moments with us – the answers were inspiring and smile-worthy!

To see more of the fabulous fashions seen at Elegance for All, check out the Style Gallery collection, and discover all the amazing plus size styles available for sale on the site.

The ModCloth team, after a long day of set-up, taking a well-deserved photo break.

We’re definitely just starting down this road to make plus size fashions a core part of our business – and always seeking your feedback. As we see it, ModCloth is a constant conversation that we want you to be a part of.

So tell us, what challenges do you face when shopping for plus size? And where would you like to see our next pop-up shop appear?

No darling detail was overlooked when creating the second chapter of our epic stylebook, Summer in Focus. Apart from the pretty dresses and perfectly coiffed hair, our stylists, much to Nail Klub’s delight, snuck in some signature nail designs. The looks they created are colorful, simple, smile-inducing, and best of all, easy to recreate at home! Check out this enchanting bit of inspo, and bring the beauty of our photoshoot to your fingertips!

Get the pretty party started by inviting these balloon nails into your look! Start by tracing a semicircle across the middle of your nail, then fill it in to create the balloon. Add a wiggly black line and some dainty details with a toothpick or skinny art brush.

A fleet of colorful dots give solid nails a subtle dash of effervescence. Use a toothpick, nail art tool, or even the pointed end of an old makeup brush to create spots of every size in a few bright colors.

Where have you found nail inspiration this season? Share your ideas in the comments below!

Ever-inspired by the freshest crop of teen talent, we thought we’d share the work of 19-year-old student and photographer Micaela Hoo of Drifter and the Gypsy. Micaela shot a ’60s-inspired editorial for the latest issue of London-based indie mag, Ballad Of that was too dreamy not to share. The editorial’s vintage-inspired ensembles are set against California’s historic Claremont Hotel, with hair and makeup inspired by Brigitte Bardot. Not only that, but there’s even an appearance of our favorite suits by Esther Williams, the Beach Blanket Bingo Two Piece!

Tell us — which of these fab frocks is your fave?

Object of My Collection Dress

Roadside Attraction Dress

Spoke and Word Dress

Clowning Around Dress

Haute Rod Dress

Cerise to the Occasion Dress

If there’s one person who’s got summer vibes down pat, it’s Brooklyn-based illustrator and graphic designer Lan Truong. Her summery style and retro aesthetic have got us in the mood for lazy days filled with weekend BBQs and pool parties.

Image via LIFE

There’s nothing that ushers in the beginning of summer quite like a trip to the drive-in theater. As a kid, I was lucky enough to have a functioning drive-in only 20 minutes away from my family home; we’d pile into the back of my mother’s Volkswagen van, pop the trunk, and sit with our legs dangling from the bumper, inhaling popcorn and completely entranced in whatever summer blockbuster was before our eyes. So when I came across this set of vintage drive-in photos from LIFE Magazine’s online photo archives, I just had to share. While drive-ins are unfortunately few and far-between these days, I hope these images inspire you to grab a group of gal pals and seek out the closest outdoor screen (check out DriveinMovie.com for its helpful list) for a drive-in date of your own!

Image via LIFE

Gilmore Island, Los Angeles, 1949.

Image via LIFE

A scene from Beach Blanket Bingo plays at a drive-in in Florida, 1965.

Image via LIFE

Drive-in theater, San Francisco, 1948.

Image via LIFE

We love the vintage car and the outfit in this image from 1948!

So off we went, in search of ModEmployee’s photos of their dear old — or, rather, young –  dads, and while each and every photo found was amazing, it was Customer Care Advocate Kelsey’s pic of her father on his wedding day that truly inspired us. Sporting a stylish slate grey tux, striped tie, a fresh rose on his lapel, and a dreamy look in his eye, Mark– who was 25 at the time– was just minutes away from walking down the aisle to his bride-to-be, Cynthia.

To translate the look from wedding day to every day, we took inspiration from the neutral tones, striped tie, and floral accent of Mark’s wedding day duds to create a look that’s perfect for work or play. A mustache-bedecked bracelet such as the Mustache Sally Bracelet adds a humorous wink towards that upper lip adornment so popular among — seemingly everyone’s — dads.

In this outfit:
Spectrum of Alignment Dress
Front Page Photo Jacket
Thrive Got a Feeling Scarf
Fill In the Black Bag
Linzer Cookie Flat
Mustache Sally Bracelet
Stud-y Abroad Watch

Still looking for that perfect Father’s Day gift? Be sure to check out our Gifts for Guys category for  more great ways to show Dad you care!

Summer is the season for sleeping under the stars, swimming in the lake, and singing ’round the campfire. Who doesn’t want to unplug and unwind a little in the Great Outdoors? If a camping trip on your summertime itinerary, get inspired by this collection of campgrounds past.  We bet our biggest bag of jumbo marshmallows that you’ll love these photos!

Colorful campgrounds (1950s) via Artsmonkey

From Better Homes & Gardens’ Book of Camping via Alison

Loading up the supplies via George Lane

Gathering ’round the campgrounds via Skittzitilby

Tents at Carrington Falls (1956) via NettyA

Camp Fresno in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (1955) via Lance Nix

Happy campers via Christian Montone

Camping in Adirondack Mountains via Christian Montone

Family fun via Boo

Tents along the Rhine River via Jim & Connie