Posts tagged online stores

Online Store Of The Month: UnitedStyles

Each month, we’re going to take a look at a different online retail business that stands out from the rest of the pack (we found this idea on The High Low, which features an Online Retailer each week).  We’re kicking off this new feature with UnitedStyles.

image of unitedstyles screen shot

Shanghai based UnitedStyles is an awesome site for entertaining your inner fashion designer dreams.  UnitedStyles founders believe that you should be designing your own clothes online, and buying online for the custom experience, as outlined in this Techcrunch post by Alexa Tsotsis. The retailer provides an easy-to-use platform, enabling you to design clothing to purchase. Still in beta – the retailer so far offers four dress styles and one top. For each style, customers get to decide trim, sleeve length and necklines from the preset options. Once the silhouette is finalized, customers are given an assortment of colors and prints to choose from. Each print can be shrunk or expanded to be the perfect scale!  The custom made clothes are priced from $50 to $100.  Shipping is a flat $20 and can be delivered anywhere in the world.  Sizing runs from XS to XL, based on measurements at global chains like H&M and Zara, so figuring out the correct size to order shouldn’t be hard.

The site is truly making the self-design process accessible, and easy enough for non-tech moms to use.  The site’s design, outfits, and order process flow is very well done.  Their dresses and tops are named for global cities (like “Copenhagen”, pictured above).  3D garment previews, which buyers can access at the end of the design process, load smoothly.  If you want to send in your measurements to have a dress cut to order, you can do that, too, for an extra $30.  And whether you choose pre-fab sizing or the made-to-measure option, if the garment doesn’t fit, it can be returned and re-made, for free.

image of unitedstyles dresses

UnitedStyles, and other sites like it could represent a great start to the end of wasteful clothing production, since the company creates one item for every item ordered, which means no excess inventory.  Though that won’t make the flash sale sites happy, less leftover stock and more customized clothing are ultimately good things!

10 eCommerce Stores I Shop Most Often

Day One of the 30 Day Lifestyle Blogging Challenge is about the eCom stores I shop regularly. For the record, I try a ton of new eCom stores all the time.  I do AT LEAST 80% of my shopping online – I buy just about everything this way, aside from groceries.

Here are the 10 places I spend most of my money:

jcrew logourban outfitters logo

amazon logo

www.ideeli.com/invite/stylebustrunning warehouse logo
ruelala logo

 

madewell logo

asos logosephora logo

Why I love these stores:

  • J.Crew always has great seasonal staples in awesome colors.
  • Urban Outfitters inventory team buys everything in EXCESS – so nearly everything that comes through this store gets heavily discounted. I ONLY look at their sale section.
  • Amazon is an obvious one. I just found out that they sell my favorite moisturizer.
  • ideeli is the best flash sale site around.
  • Running Warehouse ships everything 2-day, and has great deals on everything for working out; not just running.
  • RueLaLa is the second best flash sale site around.
  • Beauty.com is the best place to buy everything for your skin. They share a shopping cart with Drugstore.com allowing you to really fill the cart!
  • Madewell is a great store for trendy pieces. But if I buy too much there I’ll look just like Kristyn (Madewell is her obsession).
  • ASOS has the best product pages ever, it’s hard not to buy everything they sell!
  • Sephora is my favorite place to replenish makeup and perfumes.

Divalicious App: The Virtual Dressing Room

For the first time, online shopping has become the preferred shopping channel for multi-channel consumers, surpassing stores, says a new consumer survey from The E-Tailing Group Inc. Consumers prefer shopping online because they are able to locate harder to find products, they have access to greater selections, they can avoid crowds at malls and it saves them time and money. Even with all of these great benefits to e-commerce, fashion and apparel retailers still face many obstacles when selling items online. One of the biggest obstacles is the customers desire to “try on” or see how they would look in an item before they buy.

Thanks to a new mobile app called Divalicious, customers can now virtually “try on” clothes sold online. With the app, consumers can select clothes to try on and virtually “see” what they will look like in the pieces – It’s a virtual dressing room!

How it works: Customers upload a full-body image of themselves onto virtual mannequins within the app. Customers select the clothing to place over their virtual mannequins to get an idea of what the items will look like. Divalicious is said to bring more than 300 popular brands, comprised of almost one million items of apparel, shoes and accessories for women, men, children and infants under one roof . In addition, there are options to browse products by Brand, Store, Size, Color, Occasion, Price and/or Sale. Then, once you find something you like, you can click to order and the application will transfer you to the mobile website from where you can proceed. Finally, some other features also come included, such as wish list and sharing capability.

“You no longer need to go to the stores to see what you would look like in a dress from BCBG, shoes from DSW or a handbag from Saks,” said Rich Kessler, chief technology officer at Weyrich Enterprises – the company that released the app.

When you shop through Divalicious, everything is in one place for you. Find out more about the new app Divalicious.

Shop The Far Out: Find Style Online

Shopping online boutiques has become an obsession for style conscious women who value a good deal and quality product. But even the most savvy online shoppers consistently find themselves asking, “Does it look like it‟s worth the price they are asking?” and “Will this look the same on me as it does on this model?” The owners of Shop the Far Out have made it their priority to make the answers to these questions a resounding “YES!” Shopthefarout.com arrives at the perfect time with product that is wearable, functional and represents the best of what you want for your wardrobe.
Shopthefarout.com is a new boutique and complete fashion online destination for women. The goal of the site is to make great fashion more accessible by providing high quality designer products styled for the everyday woman. Stressing the quality of product, fit and design, the finely curated shop brings the true ’boutique’ experience back online. Founder Geraldine Calixte, views clothing and accessories as a form of self-expression. There are no rules to personal style, no limitations to how a woman can show off her panache. image of Shop the far out compliments of you

This is where Compliments of You (known as C. O. Y. within the sites navigation) becomes an integral tool of the website. This section features real women who have styled their own looks by incorporating their favorite pieces with items from Shop The Far Out. Whether your personal style is edgy like Rihanna‟s, refined like Emma Watson‟s or on trend like Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian, Compliments of You enables the shopper to envision how to incorporate new pieces from Shop The Far Out into existing wardrobe or become inspired to try something new!

image of Shop The Far Out COY

“Ultimately it’s not about filling a trend, it‟s about finding items that work for your features. The best accessory is confidence, and when you find a piece that fits and looks great, that confidence inherently shines through” emphasizes Geraldine, who passionately focuses on individuality. No two women are alike; some women are more downtown a la Zoe Kravitz while others prefer Blake Lively‟s uptown chic. Shop the Far Out recognizes this and embraces those differences. It gives women permission to find something different.

With brands such as Bleulab Reversible Denim, Fallon, Madison Harding, NSHA and Rebecca Minkoff, Shop the Far Out has something for everyone. There is a personal touch to the items selected and finding these specific gems on other retail sites might be a difficult task. Check it out at www.shopthefarout.com

image of Shop The Far Out Designers

Conversation with the founder of Indeeyo

indeeyo

Indeeyo is the ultimate online destination for unique clothing, gifts & accessories. With a well curated assortment of the best indie labels and more established brands, Indeeyo provides shoppers access to rare and innovative styles that aren’t available in traditional shops including items designed exclusively for Indeeyo.

Jasmin co-founder of Indeeyo sat down with me to answer a couple questions about the company.

Style Bust: What was the inspiration behind starting Indeeyo?

I previously designed a line of handbags as well as jewelry. In that journey, I met a lot of other indie designers along the way. We had participated in local shopping events in SF and LA and wanted to bring this experience online so shoppers across the country could have access to unique goods.

Style Bust: With tons of online stores, how did you come up with your unique niche?

Indeeyo embodies an eccentric aesthetic for discerning tastes. We have a carefully curated line with exclusive pieces that you won’t find anywhere else. We also love to travel and find unique things from all over the world. We recently went to Thailand and discovered a jewelry designer that makes beautiful handmade necklaces . This is one of her truly a one-of-a-kind necklaces.

Style Bust: How did you come up with the name Indeeyo?

The idea behind the boutique was to provide shoppers a unique selection including exclusive or one-of-a kind pieces from designers. So in Thai, the word “un-deeyo” means “unique or the only one”. We combined that with “indie” (from “independent designers”) to create the name “Indeeyo”.

Style Bust: Tell us more about your focus on independent labels.

It all started with a few designer friends that we knew and loved…one if which is Jennifer Dekoeyer jewelry. She hand makes a beautiful line of nature inspired jewelry. I get compliments on her pieces every time I wear them.

Style Bust: How do you meet and select the designers?

We’re continuing to bring on new designers each week so it’s an exciting time. Aside from traditional trade shows, we try to discover new designers through friends and other networks. We also travel abroad in search of coveted finds that we share with our shoppers.

Style Bust: How do you choose items to feature? Do the items portray your own personal styles?

When we shop, we look for pieces that, at the end of the day, just make you feel good…whether it’s because it a very flattering dress or it’s the softest French terry tunic or it’s for a good cause (see Falling Whistles blog post).

Our personal style is definitely reflected in our selections. I would describe my style as playfully sophisticated and refined. I love the juxtaposition of grit & glam and a blend of modern & vintage.

Style Bust: What kinds of trends are you seeing for Summer 2011?

Lots of lace and florals. Maxis and rompers are still staples that embody a carefree style.

Style Bust: Jasmin and Sancha, fill us in on your backgrounds.

I (Jasmin) previously designed my own line of handbags and jewelry so I understand the needs of the designers and work with them to highlight their brands. Sancha, a self-professed “hat-junkie,” studied luxury and fashion brand marketing in Paris where he was inspired by the creative innovation growing from cultural heritage. We both try to understand the shoppers as customer service is a key focus. We both have an MBAs in marketing and leverage our past experience in building global brands to build our site.

Style Bust: What are some of the perks and challenges about running your site?

We feel fortunate to have an opportunity to work on something we feel so passionate about. Setting our own schedules is a major perk…but on the same token, work never ends because it’s our own business.

Style Bust: How do you promote Indeeyo? Have you seen an increase in sales or traffic by using a particular marketing tool?

Indeeyo has been growing organically and we continue to outreach to the community.

Style Bust: If some fashion guru is out there right now dreaming of starting their own online boutique, what advice would you give them? What are some good first steps to building the brand and starting this business?

Network and seek advice from mentors or others in the industry as they can help you avoid some unnecessary mistakes. Building a brand takes time but the first step is to understand who your audience is and why would they want to buy from you. Hone in on what differentiates you.

Style Bust: What are some future plans for Indeeyo?

We’ll continue to build up our list of designers and finds from abroad. As we grow and evolve, we’d also like to eventually carry home décor items.

Style Bust: How can Style Bust readers stay connected with you? Anything else you’d like our readers to know about Indeeyo?

Join our facebook, twitter and email newsletter to get the latest scoop. We’re constantly adding new designers and must-have pieces to our site, and articles to our blog!

Lastly, here are a couple of examples of items found on Indeeyo.com.

Amanda Christine Coral Dress
Amanda Christine Green Silk Dress
B Boheme Cocktail Ring

Rue La La Builds Mobile Success with the Launch of Complete Mobility

Rue La La, a leading invitation-only private, flash sale shopping site introduced a new mobile application for the most popular mobile devices on the market. The mobile devices that support this new application are the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android.

Rue La La’s 48-hour, flash boutiques create urgency and excitement among shoppers with coveted items selling out quickly. The urgency that accompanies the opening of each boutique spurred Rue La La to expand its mobile offerings to mobile devices, providing increased opportunity to shop and pass along membership from anywhere. The apps offer fully integrated Facebook and Twitter features that allow shoppers to share their shopping success and to invite friends within their social circles to join Rue La La.

Rue La La is excited to deliver complete shopping mobility to our members allowing them to experience the thrill of accessing their favorite brands when our boutiques open at 11:00 a.m. no matter where they are,

explains Ben Fischman, CEO, Rue La La.

We have answered their call of urgency by providing the unparalleled shopping experience found from their desktops with the most popular mobile devices, including iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android. Rue La La members never have to miss another boutique.

To celebrate the launch of the apps, Rue La La will be giving away one iPad and a $500 shopping spree every day from May 24 – June 6, 2010. To enter, consumers need to download the application to their iPhone or iPad and register. Visit ruelala.com for details.

The iPhone and iPad apps are free and available for download at http://www.apple.com.

CottonInk Official Webstore Launching

image of cotton ink webstore

The official launch of the Indonesia brand CottonInk webstore took place yesterday May 18th. The new site offers a convenient shopping experience with the items divided per category featuring a shopping bag to place your item(s) to be purchased. Moreover, the webstore includes a blog story section that features a compilation of interesting stories and images that you can submit about the brand.

image of COTTONINKWebstore_Main

For the few that are unfamiliar with the brand Cotton Ink, Cotton Ink was founded on November 2008 by Carline Darjanto and Ria Sarwono. This duo fashion designer and graphic designer team created a brand, which as the name implies is made of cotton, which I believe, is the perfect material that suits this tropical weather.

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