How To Buy Clothes Online
How to buy clothes online? With caution.
A likely scenario: You browse through a website and fall in love with a pair of pants. You order the pants, and when they arrive you eagerly try them on. On the model, they looked great. Nice cut, elongated legs, flat tummy. On you, they look awful. The behind is too baggy but the thighs are tight. You look huge! They cling to your body in all the wrong places. How can it be?
Apart from the obvious issue of finding the right size without trying the clothes on, there are two big problems when shopping for clothes online. The main problem is that, when looking at a photo of a model wearing an item of clothing, it is very hard to know how the clothes will look like on you. Look at the model in the picture above: she is very tall and super skinny. The way those pants fit her narrow hips has nothing to do with how they are going to fit yours.
In addition, many photos in clothing websites are taken from flattering angels and conceal the fact that the back was gathered with pins or that a certain clothing item simply isn’t very flattering. Whenever I see a photo in a website where the model is sitting down, or bending, or standing at an obvious angle to the camera, I immediately suspect that an effort was made to hide the fact that the item just isn’t that flattering.
The bottom line: many online clothing purchases will have to be returned. If you enjoy shopping online, or live someplace where you don’t have easy access to stores, try to choose retailers that offer free shipping both ways. Otherwise you will find yourself spending a lot of money each year in shipping costs.
Related Reading: Low Rise Jeans
Photos from Nordstrom and Macys.
Hire Me as a Blogger
Subscribe to this Blog Via Email or Reader
Filed under Fashion & Beauty —
Email This Post,
Subscribe To Comments, Trackback,
Jill responds:
Posted: March 5th, 2008 at 11:04 am →
I probably pay a few hundred dollars a year in shipping costs. You pay a premium for the convenience of shopping from home. I think it’s worth it.
Computer Addict responds:
Posted: March 5th, 2008 at 2:36 pm →
The solution is to have some sort of web application that will enable you to see how the clothes will look on you – using your picture, your measurements, etc…. Sort of like EZFace (www.ezface.com) , but for clothes.
helene responds:
Posted: March 7th, 2008 at 9:45 am →
Ugh! Two of the hardest things to order these days are jeans and shoes! Both require the perfect fit and it’s just pure luck if the first pair you put on actually fit like a dream.
Helene
The Modern Woman’s Divorce Guide
Ryan responds:
Posted: September 8th, 2009 at 5:36 pm →
Getmysize.com is a community driven website that’s free to use. You create a simple body profile and then compare your measurements to the measurements of clothing in the website’s database. Users and businesses are able to add shirts, shoes, pants, anything that needs the right size. It’s a virtual dressing room that is tailored to you and not a generic size chart. Create a profile with your specific body measurements, you can also add Items of clothing. Then simply search for clothing with the measurements that are closest to your personal body measurements.