If it weren’t for pesky little issues like returns and fit, Lauren Dimet would buy all her clothes online. Dimet prowls eBay for bargains on designer items, such as a coveted $375 Coach bag she got for $225. She scours Lucky magazine for its Web site discounts, and regularly shops Zappos.com for its cool shoes and free shipping.
All told, the thirtysomething Chicagoan estimates she’s purchased half her wardrobe on-line. “It’s easy, not stressful, and you don’t have to deal with the tourists on Michigan Avenue,” Dimet said of her online shopping sprees.
Last year, online clothing purchases totaled $6.9 billion, only a fraction of the $162 billion womenswear market, according to comScore Network, a Chicago-based company that tracks e-commerce.
Still, online clothing sales are growing: 2003’s total represents a 20 percent increase over 2002, according to comScore. E-tailers can thank women for that growth. In May, one-quarter of all female Internet users visited an apparel site, according to comScore data.
“Retail categories are significantly more popular with women than men,” said Graham Mudd, a senior analyst at comScore.
Orla Castanien, owner of Nuada, an Armitage Avenue gift boutique, buys 20 percent of her clothes at online versions of stores such as J. Crew and Lands’ End. She sticks with basic pants and tops “because you won’t go wrong. With more avant-garde pieces, you don’t know how it’ll look, and then you have the trouble of returning it.”
Carolyn Brundage, co-founder of Fashionistainc.com, a guide to all things fash-ionable in Chicago, New York, Miami and Los Angeles, likes to mix it up when shopping on- line. Brundage, who lives in Chicago, found a pair of Marc Jacobs boots that were 50 percent off at Nordstrom.com and a Forever 21 jacket that she wears “ad nauseum.”
Online shopping “doesn’t take the place of touching and feeling and window shopping,” she added, “but for a busy girl, it’s a nice alternative.”
There’s an art to online shopping, and Brundage, Dimet and Castanien are more than happy to share their favorite tips:
Check out the returns policy. Some Web sites, like some stores, don’t accept returns.
Make sure the site is secure. Look for a little gold lock that shows the site is SSL encrypted and thus secure. If you’re asked to submit a credit card number via e-mail, shop elsewhere.
Browse for deals. Google the site’s name plus the word “coupon” to find sources for discounts.
Buy in bulk. Some beauty sites offer free ship-ping on orders above a certain amount. What better way to stock up on your favorite moisturizer?
Work your way up. Buy at online versions of your fave stores, then graduate to more adventurous sites.
E-mail ctc-woman@tribune.com
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Sites worth seeing
The Internet is full of cool on-line boutiques. Here’s a sampling:
– Bagborroworsteal.com: This site rents designer bags for a fee from $19.95 to $99.95 a month.
– Bluefly.com: Designer duds at a discount.
– Blueplatefashion.com: Youthful, trendy, inexpensive fashions (beware: no returns accepted).
– Girlshop.com: Mixes designer goods with handmade finds.
– Medi-spastore.com: Well-known skincare brands, all under one “roof.”
– Mooshoes.com: Non-leather shoes, bags and belts for animal lovers.
– Net-a-porter.com: Ex-pensive, but unique designer clothes.
– Rubynesque.com: Underwear and lingerie in an eye-popping array of sizes and styles.
– Virginthreads.com: Cool, reasonably priced stuff from young designers.
