Today’s Online Shopping
January 27, 2013 § 6 Comments
My 1200 calorie limit per day lasted a whopping fifteen days, before the pull of a 400 calorie Starbucks scone was too delicious on my tongue, and too painful to input into My Fitness Pal.
I haven’t become a total failure in the calorie ingesting department, rather I temporarily quit counting and measuring, though I know this is necessary for long-term weight management.
The good news is that I have shown some semblance of control; I didn’t eat the entire pizza we had for dinner last night, the whole bowl of mom’s buttered noodles at her house on Friday, or the entire container of Brian’s home-made ice cream (Mint Oreo yumminess).
I think this is progress.
But as happens when one obsessive behavior is put on hold, another one likes to creep in and take its place.
Fashion and Internet shopping (not buying, there’s a difference) is the reason that my little bog has turned clothes hungry, my physical hunger momentarily subdued. Have you noticed?
I’ve been so out of the fashion loop, all mixed up with the unsexy stuff that normal life becomes when you aren’t looking (or scarfing down chocolate cake with a fork).
Clothes, for me, are fun. Fitting into clothes is motivation.
It used to be that you could browse higher-end merchandise on sites like Saks and Bergdorf Goodman, but even with store discounts, prices remained so high and quantities so limited that getting your hands on the good goods was still out of reach.
Large online retailers, once our only choice for finding the pieces that couldn’t be found in stores (or remained full-prce in stores), has changed exponentially with the advent of Internet-based boutiques (shoot-offs from brick and mortars; smart business for selling merchandise that may not be moving quickly enough at its location).
Seemingly overnight (or maybe I haven’t been paying enough attention), retailing boutiques have popped up online and are unloading unsold pieces for unheard of prices; getting rid of the old to prepare for the new.
For example, the online counterpart to South Carolina based boutique Hampden Clothing carries labels like Rachel Comey and Alexander Wang (at significantly reduced prices), and has more than 1,200 Twitter followers.
Larger New York based company La Garconne (with over 6,000 Facebook followers) is marking down (plus adding discounts on) lines like Proenza Schouler and Girl by Band of Outsiders; serious designing-know-how, seriously expensive.
Pairing up with clothing bloggers like Grechen at Grechen’s Closet, these companies are giving extra codes, making their prices even more bearable.
The hitch here is that the significantly marked down items are final sale. If you don’t like what you’ve bought, however, there’s a good chance you could re-sell it on Ebay for what you paid, or more (depending on the designer and the piece, obviously).
My newest discovery ChicNova, an online boutique selling reasonably priced, fairly fashion-forward merchandise is also thinking forward and paying bloggers with 1000 followers or more to review clothing that they are given. It’s a form of bartering; one of the biggest forms of payment in social media.
For bloggers with less followers, ChicNova will pay real dollars if said blogger buys a piece themselves, and then blog review their purchase, linking back to their personal forum. Incentive for both to team up and build their businesses.
Social media has changed much in regard to the way the world is run. Not only do we socialize differently, business has changed, and new jobs for bloggers and retailers have opened up fashion possibilities to regular women everywhere.
Regular women like me no longer have to go sleep to dream of wearing a pair of Rag and Bone red leathers. With a little research (hire me… I’ll do it for you), those red leathers can be hanging in your closet in 5-7 business days!
M.
What do you think of this new way to shop? Do you shop online or prefer to wander through stores where you can touch and feel, but maybe not get the same kind of price adjustments?
What about the idea that when you stop a behavior, another one creeps in?
Rag and Bone Wine Leather Skinnies $880.00, but less than $200 with Grechen’s code.
I was away for the weekend with my son at a convention, and I enjoyed far too many carbs (pizza, bread, breakfast rolls, oy vey). So, what you’re telling me, is that to overcome this, I must now treat myself to a purchase online. Oh, I like your way of thinking!
Carrie Rubin recently posted…Dreaming Of Clowns
Treating yourself online is always a good idea, except when it’s totally irresponsible, and then you go and eat some pie.
I ALWAYS shop online and always google for coupon codes before hitting order:) I love the instant gratification of ordering the right size, and then I love waiting for the package to show up. I also like the idea that the item hasn’t been hanging in a store, rifled through with grubby hands and tried on numerous times – this is especially true for shoes. BTW the skirt arrived from James Perse and it is PERFECT…I think I may have a new brand obsession – currently lusting after his ruched t-shirt dresses for the summer:) xx
OOOOH… I’m so glad the skirt worked. Sometimes it’s catch as catch can with these things. I’m awaiting a pair of Rachel Comey’s. They were practically being given away. What was I to do?
I almost have to buy in stores – unless I know exactly how a certain designer fits on me (I am super, super petite not to be confused with skinny – just “petite” – buying clothing is painful and almost has to be altered) And I do love to browse racks – but I get a lot of ideas about what’s new out there from online browsing- since I don’t even get out to the stores enough to know what’s on the racks. And clothing IS great motivation to stay in shape!
ilene recently posted…Happy Endings…Kind of
The hard part about online shopping is the fit…I agree. It can be frustrating to buy things that don’t work. I’m like joanna, though… love when packages arrive and things are just right. It’s too much fun, which can be a problem if I’m not careful!