The critical response to Batman v Superman may have been mixed, but at least its superheroes can inspire some great fashion. Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are behind the first designs in a new line created by U.K. fashion company My Odd Girl.
Owner Claire Norris came up with the idea for the collection after designing a dress inspired by DC Comics hero Booster Gold for a friend.
“It wasn’t just a dress in a character fabric. It was my translation of his uniform, so we turned that into a dress for her, and I thought ‘I really enjoyed making that. I’d quite like to do more uniforms.’ So, we said ‘Let’s do a whole range of them, any character,'” Norris told the Daily Dot.
She decided to concentrate on a Dawn of Justice angle for the initial looks after seeing a friend’s Wonder Woman painted denim jacket. The interpretations offer hints to while looking quite chic. The three paired together in a photoshoot look amazing, but the designs didn’t all come easily to Norris.
“[Batman and Superman] just came from the heart. It was what I wanted to wear. They just kind of flowed really and then it came to Wonder Woman [and] it’s kind of like writer’s block for designers,” she said. “I just hit such a block and I wasn’t happy with the resulting dress, but I’m working on it and there will be a new Wonder Woman inspired dress that I’m happy with!”
Those who like the idea of a uniform-inspired outfit but don’t want a Dawn of Justice design aren’t restricted to ordering these three looks. You can request a custom uniform order from the company inspired by any hero.
That’s not all My Odd Girl offers either. It sells a wide-range of geeky designs on its website, with an especially great selection for women and girls. The company started about two years ago thanks to Norris’ daughter, who wanted to wear her father’s T-shirts and none of the pretty dresses Norris wanted her to wear. When Norris asked her daughter if she’d wear a dress made from one of the T-shirts instead and her daughter agreed, she made a custom dress.
“She loved it, wanted more, so I made her quite a few and then her friends started asking for them and then the friends’ moms started saying ‘do you make them in adult sizes?’ So I thought ‘you know I can make a business out of this’ and quit my job and started Odd Girl,” Norris said.
In addition to options for kids and women, there is also fun stuff for babies and men. The products are inspired by a range of franchises and include a mix of licensed and unique My Odd Girl creations. The small company is composed of only three people, with Norris designing all of the in-house items herself.
“The uniform range we’re hoping to go a little bit bigger with so we’re hoping to maybe have those produced on a larger scale, but alongside our in-house range we do stock other licensed products that are not limited edition. We can take as many orders as we like for those,” Norris said.
The uniform line isn’t the first time they’re accepting custom orders. One of their custom options is to transform a T-shirt into a dress, continuing the idea that led to the company’s creation. Norris does this by asking customers who will meet her in person at events to bring a few of their favorite tops for her to look at to see what shape they prefer wearing.
“Because although somebody might go, ‘Oh well I don’t really know what I like,’ when you see the clothes that they’re choosing on a day-to-day basis you can see that they do have preferences to shapes even if they don’t realize it [and] that really helps with putting together something they’re going to love and wear all the time,” she said.
Often the print on the shirt will also help determine the style since the print might work best with one shape versus another. For those who can’t meet Norris in person, she asks that customers send her photos of three outfits they love with a photo of the shirt. Then she’ll draw what she has in mind for the customer to look at.
As for designing her other in house items, Norris said she brings a little book with her wherever she goes and doodles.
“It can be a shape I see just in nature or in a magazine or anything really. I see a particular shape, doodle it down, and a few weeks later the more I doodle it the more it will turn into a particular shape and then I’ll think ‘oh that will work really well with this particular fabric that we have in.’ So it’s quite an organic process I suppose,” Norris said. “I don’t tend to sit there and think ‘right we must have a new design by next week’ and decide that’s it I have to design something. It just kind of flows as and when they come.”
Luckily it’s not just people in the U.K. who can take advantage of My Odd Girl’s fun styles. The company ships internationally, so anyone can place an order. Recently there’s been an issue with choosing international shipping options, but Norris told the Daily Dot they are looking into it.
That’s good news because there’s much more on the way from My Odd Girl beyond that new Wonder Woman dress Norris is making.
“We’re working on Deadpool at the moment. We’ve done a couple of Deadpool skirts and I’m working on some vegan leather Deadpool dresses and then some more Star Wars inspired, because I adore Star Wars,” she said. “Star Wars-inspired dresses but more based on the uniforms rather than a Star Wars print, some more based on their outfits.”
H/T Tech Times | Photo by Stuart Thornes of StuArtful Photography