To be honest, I have resisted exploring the world of fashion online until quite recently. Besides doing a little shopping, I rarely used the Internet as a fashion resource. As a student studying fashion theory, I couldn't understand how going online could benefit my studies, or enrich my knowledge of the fashion system. I felt intimated and overwhelmed by the complexity of it all. Where would I start? How can looking at fashion online even be fun?
But I soon discovered that the Internet isn't just a place to shop anymore. It is a place where a vast community has sprung, sharing trends, designs and ideas on fashion. My first experience with fashion online began with Pinterest, which is a huge virtual bulletin board where you can "pin" images of your own, ones you find online, or you can simply repin other people's images from their boards. Here, I can gather examples of outfits and silhouettes that I like and I can access them at any time from my iPhone using their smartphone app. Not only is this convenient and fun, but it inspires my style, especially when I need a little help getting dressed in the morning.
From Pinterest I found another fun website called Polyvore. The concept of this site reminds me of the paper-doll books I used to play with when I was a little girl. Here, users can create ensembles and inspiration boards using a collage technique. You have the option to search through their database of clothing and accessories and then you can add embellishments to your collage like backgrounds and text. Users can create outfits for themselves to showcase their personal style, share their collages with others on the site and even post them to Pinterest. I have only gotten as far as experimenting with the dresses, bags, shoes and make-up, but the options are endless on this site!
I have used Style.com in the past for design projects and research when I was an undergrad design student, but I never fully appreciated its services until now. Style.com is the online go-to place for everything fashion! It features articles and images on next season's trends, the latest retail news, people and parties, as well as every major designer's collections. It is updated daily to reflect the fast-paced nature of the fashion industry. One of my favorite things about this website is its designer database, which stores images of the designer's collections from every season going back over 10 years! For me, looking at these fashion shows is almost like being at fashion week.
Fashion blogs, just like mine, are indeed infinite on the web. I have just dipped my toe into this online fashion pool, but I am working on getting more used to navigating these waters. The best place to start looking at fashion blogs is The Sartorialist. Founder Scott Schuman takes photographs of street fashion all over the world and posts them on his blog daily. His site presents are interesting view into the lives of real people and how they dress.
My last stop on this virtual fashion tour will be the online shop, but I'm not talking about your typical online shopping. I would like to talk about the local designers from the Lehigh Valley who are selling their goods online right now. The venue they have chosen to sell their products is a site where millions of people visit each month to look, buy and sell. Etsy.com is a global marketplace where anyone in the world can start their own business selling their handmade wares. I chatted with two Etsy sellers about their experiences with the site and why they chose to use an online setting to sell their merchandise.
Lauren Warner, who runs the RUM PUNCH jewelry shop on Etsy, creates her unique accessories by hand using the islands of the Caribbean as inspiration. She gathers and stores images of her inspiration online as well, using sites like Pinterest. Warner chose to go online to start her business because she liked the ease and clean look of the website. "There's a subconscious influence by having everything right in front of you on a computer screen, it just helps to reconfirm what you're doing," she says. Her favorite thing about the creative process online is that once everything is created she can view the cohesiveness of the shop. "I like to photograph it and give it a name. I just love the merchandising of it." Warner has sold to customers all over the world including Russia, Australia and England. "One of the biggest successes I've had being online is that I can reach everyone in the world," she adds. While she thinks of her business as primarily an online venture, she says her presence in stores is just a branch of her online business. You can find RUM PUNCH jewelry on Facebook too, where Warner markets her new products and posts special deals for her Facebook fans.
Icon Charm bracelet from RUM PUNCH jewelry, etsy.com/shop/rumpunchboutique.
Ultraviolet earring from RUM PUNCH jewelry, etsy.com/shop/rumpunchboutique.
If you have kids, you may want to check out Jennifer Impink's Etsy boutique called Creature Crawlers. Her t-shirts feature images of actual insects that she photographs; some of the bugs are native just to Pennsylvania! Each shirt comes with a unique hang tag with facts about the bug. Impink uses professional iron-on techniques using a heat press and professional transfer paper. She's currently working on switching to sustainable design methods like using organic cotton for the shirts. For Impink, the appeal of Etsy was that she didn't have to have a large inventory to start. It takes about a week for her to produce a shirt from start to finish because she cuts out each intricate insect by hand from the transfer paper using an X-Acto knife. This truly is a labor of love for Impink! She also sells other products for kids in her shop including counting cards and a memory game all showcasing these real-life bugs. Some of her Etsy customers hail from Philadelphia, the West Coast and even England. Her designs are so chic and cool that you would never know Impink was afraid of spiders!
Check out these amazing Etsy shops and other style websites and you'll find a whole new world of fashion online!
Locus t-shirt, http://www.etsy.com/shop/creaturecrawlers.
Jennifer Impink poses with two of her newest adult designs which will be online soon.
