How to Shop for Clothes Online
The internet is a dream come true for voracious consumers of the latest clothing and hottest fashion trends. The sheer amount of variety available is astounding, and a boon to those who strive to look great while also standing out from the crowd. But it is not without its challenges.
When shopping online, you are not afforded the opportunity to try things on before you buy them. This leaves the consumer vulnerable to receiving something that does not fit properly or look right, resulting in wasted money.
Do not fear! There are ways to reap all of the benefits shopping online offers, while still being confident that you will receive clothes you will love to wear, and we are going to tell you what they are.
Get Measured!
If you are going around buying clothes online without knowing your measurements, you are putting yourself at risk of getting a shirt with sleeves that are way too short, or pants that sag past your heels when you walk. Going by the sizes that the shops suggest is not going to cut it. Why? Because a ‘small’ at one store is an ‘extra-large’ at another store. One store’s size 8 is another store’s size 11. For various reasons, clothing retailers apply their own interpretations to the sizing schemes we would all love to think of as standard across the board.
This is why it makes sense to figure out what your exact measurements are (and keep them current). What constitutes a size 10 may be up for interpretation, but the amount of centimeters around your waste isn’t. Thankfully, most online clothing retailers provide a chart with exact measurements explaining what their sizing really means. So if you shop for clothing armed with your measurements, one of the first things you should do is look at the sizing chart to see how your measurements line up with the sizes posted.
Some sites employ software called Truefit, which can streamline the online fitting process by allowing a shopper to input information about clothing which fits them best, and then using that as a reference point to provide information on how well other clothes might fit. This can simplify the process and is worth looking into for those who don’t want to take them time to get all their measurements worked out.
Read Reviews
There are rare instances where what you receive in your order will not match what was advertised online. Retailers who operate like this do not tend to last long so don’t let this prospect discourage you. However, it is always helpful to look at some reviews of the product in question and see what experiences others have had with it. If you see a lot of complaints about the garment not appearing to be the same as what was advertised, you may want to turn your attention elsewhere.
Examine the Fabric
A popular complaint about shopping online is that there is no way to know the texture and quality of a fabric when looking at it on a website. But this is not entirely true. Most clothing websites will disclose the materials used in each piece of clothing they sell. If you are looking for quality, natural fibers are the way to go (ie. cotton, wool etc.) rather than man-made fabrics (ie. nylon, polyester etc.). If you really want to know what will be coming to you in the mail, get acquainted with your fabrics.
Make Notes
If you plan on doing a lot of shopping online now and into the future, you will want to start keeping a log of what your experience was like with the product. Did it fit and feel the way you expected? Did it last long enough to warrant the price tag? Jot things like this down somewhere so that when the next season rolls around and you need to make a few more purchases, you will have the right idea of where to go to get the best experience.
Don’t Pay Full Price
This is the internet, where the ability to compare prices with little effort and time is in everyone’s hands. This means that retailers are constantly finding ways to cut their prices and put on sales. While rare and exclusive items may not be on sale, if you are just shopping for basic stuff, and do not care too much about the specifics, you try to find a deal or dig up a coupon code. By the way, the ReShip blog is a great place to go if you are looking for impending sales. Stay tuned next week, when we will post about the best 4th of July sales. It is one of the United States’ biggest sale days of the year, so it is something you won’t want to miss.