« Coral is Key

Shopping Jun 4, 2009 @ 4:26pm

Social What?

by Britt Aboutaleb

the carrie shops alone.jpg We’ve been getting loads of pitches about fashion social networking sites and we don’t really get it.

The sites, for the most part, appear to be places where one can go for shopping advice. Each caters to a slightly different crowd or offers vaguely different services. On some, you upload pictures of yourself in outfits and ask for advice while on others you tick off your favorite stores or styles and either editors or fellow community members offer style advice.

While we’re of the shopping-alone persuasion - I hate shopping with anyone - we know there are people out there who consider it a social experience and need input from everyone from their friend to the shopgirl to the cashier in order to make a purchase.

Based on our experience both in retail and in fashion, that girl isn’t the fashion obsessed girl; she isn’t the customer scouring the internet for all things fashion related, which means there’s a giant divide between these sites and their target audience - not to mention a new version pops up almost daily.

Unless we’re totally off and you’ve forgone Barneys and Net-a-Porter for a communal virtual shopping experience.

But have you?

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Fashionista Main

posted by guest

Jun 04, 2009 4:35PM

Britt, I officially love you. I HATE shopping with people and everyone of my friends think something is wrong with me. I also hate shopping. People don't get how I love fashion yet hate shopping. Two very different things.

posted by AmandaMichele

Jun 04, 2009 4:36PM

I like the fashion community sites like chictopia because I think it is interesting to see other people's takes on fashion outside from across the globe, almost like a street-style blog. I do not want to shop with the random strangers on there just because they have cute shoes. Shopping, however, is a solo experience, like meditation.

posted by guest

Jun 04, 2009 4:53PM

eww, lame.

I completely agree with Britt on this 1.

posted by guest

Jun 04, 2009 4:59PM

Hmm. I like to see what other people have bought and their opinions on sizing, where to get the best deal for a particular item I am searching for, if the product is a piece of poop.... I usually hang out on the purse forum tho. I guess I want to be an educated consumer... especially if I am buying online. http://isnotfashion.blogspot.com

posted by guest

Jun 04, 2009 5:22PM

I'll assume you are not talking about great sites like the Purse Forum, are you ... it's a great place to find fellow fashionistas and to find out the flaws in the things you want to buy ...

posted by guest

Jun 04, 2009 5:52PM

Ohhh this is so mildly pretentious i hope some catty bitches come and wild this place out.

Window shoppers are no different than those scouring the internet, h8er.

posted by calvinshowblogspotdotcom

Jun 04, 2009 6:35PM

I agree AND disagree with this post. I really don't like shopping with others either. I hate the idea of people going "Ooh! You might like this." because they don't know. I'm very odd in my head when I go shopping for clothes or shoes. I also hate shopping with others because it's not all about me when they're running around picking up things for themselves.

I HAVE however asked opinions of the people that work at the shop on things. How it fits, if it shrinks, etc. I know when people are just talking out their ass so it's easy to disregard those "This is what I SHOULD say" comments because I used to do them when I first started in retail.

posted by calvinshowblogspotdotcom

Jun 04, 2009 6:36PM

The point of that was I don't think you can say someone isn't fashion obsessed simply based on the fact that they aren't afraid to ask questions about things.

posted by ChicAlert

Jun 04, 2009 6:40PM

Fashion Community sites have their place. As well as being helpful in seeing what others have bought and their opinions on such things as quality, fit and sizing, they are a great way of hearing about the best deals and finding out what's hot and what's not. I too prefer solo shopping and for a communal virtual shopping experience just love Barneys, Net-a-Porter and Bergies :)

posted by guest

Jun 04, 2009 6:58PM

I couldn't agree more on this one.

posted by guest

Jun 04, 2009 6:59PM

Agree with Britt, I mean

posted by guest

Jun 04, 2009 7:27PM

Proud member of the purseforum, so... suck it.

posted by guest

Jun 05, 2009 12:14AM

lol I don't get about the whole thing about not shopping with someone. I like it, but primarily with person who can give insight to me. I don't like asking people for opinions at random stores. I think it's best at least with 1 person to shop with. well someone who has your best interest at mind.

posted by guest

Jun 05, 2009 1:18AM

the description you gave of these sites sounds a lot like the 'community' section of fashionista, no? also, i definitely shop socially, and i would consider myself fashion obsessed (and i don't mean w/ juicy couture or tory burch). sometimes i need someone to tell me that the v. westwood shorts i'm trying on aren't as flattering as i think they are.

posted by etoilee8

Jun 05, 2009 2:25AM

I haven't joined any of said networking sites and I don't see it happening. I go shopping with one person and one person only. That would be my best friend. I don't need fifty different people to weight in, because if I love it and I feel fabulous, that's all that matters. Now having said all of that, I do love hearing about a good deal (or a bad one, for that matter too). I'm not a fan of shopping with someone who's taste is way far off from mine. Yes, you can stand to learn from them and maybe try on something you wouldn't think to wear normally. But there's nothing worse than someone saying "how do I look?" and me thinking "you don't really want me to answer that". And vice versa.

posted by guest

Jun 05, 2009 4:29AM

I can only only only shop with my sister. anyone else and its a painful experience. I dont think the value of these sites lays in the shopping aspects of them, but in other things, and i think that those other things make them valueable sites.

posted by Dutch Fashionista

Jun 05, 2009 4:58AM

Me too. I shop alone or sometimes with one friend that has almost the exact same taste. I know its kind of anti-social to shop alone especially when I do it often. But its just way better for me. Plus I like Fashion 100000x better then actually going shopping.

posted by raphael

Jun 05, 2009 8:23AM

I can't shop with any of my friends. They all have utterly different taste and so they don't quite understand me. Plus, it's so much faster if I shop on my own. It's, like above mentioned, almost like meditation. Talking to shopping assistants is very pleasant sometimes but I don't ask them for advice.

I sometimes take my mother, because she pays and she knows a lot about fabric (since she worked in a shop herself for almost all her life) and she shortens all my pants.
And she always asks me for style advice, which means I can pick things that will be in my mother's wardrobe, which is really nice!

http://barbie-ken.tumblr.com

posted by guest

Jun 05, 2009 8:43AM

since when does shopping with my friends and valuing their honest opinions mean i'm not fashion obsessed? seems like a rather silly assumption.

posted by guest

Jun 05, 2009 9:48AM

Must shop alone. Shopping is a very selfish experience for me. If I'm with someone else, it's more of a social outing than serious shopping, and I might buy something if I come across something I like. But if I'm on a mission (and I usually am) I cannot be totally selfish and try on 50 things if I know that someone else is waiting for me outside the dressing room. I don't need or want my friends' opinions. I just need time to search and try stuff on.

posted by Donald

Jun 05, 2009 10:17AM

I don't like anyone to go with me when I'm shopping, but I love to go with other people when they are shopping.

posted by guest

Jun 05, 2009 10:57AM

you have lifted information directly from MUA and TFS, so you are someone that needs a little from your fashion friends.

posted by guest

Jun 05, 2009 11:25AM

While I don't visit fashion social networking sites for advice, I do enjoy browsing members' photos for inspiration.

posted by guest

Jun 05, 2009 12:07PM

completely agree with this post - i consider shopping a creative outlet, not something i need to do with others. in fact, i'm less productive shopping with others because i can't give the clothes my undivided attention... and here i thought i was all alone. fashion networking sites? yikes.

posted by guest

Jun 06, 2009 10:54AM

I don't understand any of it... I don't even understand Facebook. I guess this is a forum of sorts, but it is related to news, so maybe that is what makes sense about it.

There are times when you go shopping with a friend because you need to divide and conquer when scouring the shops, or you aren't sure what is appropriate for some occasion, but most of the time I prefer to go alone for the same reasons everyone has given, above.

posted by guest

Jun 07, 2009 9:23AM

You are so cut from a cookie cutter I swear...

posted by guest

Jun 07, 2009 9:56AM

I don't think you "get it" fashionista because you are too obsessed with fashion for fashion's sake. I own a fashion boutique and I prefer to shop alone and would never ask advice of a shop assisitant. However I am not fashion obsessed as I HAVE A LIFE and like sites such as Fashionism for their lively chat about fashion and other subjects. They give me an insight into fashion in different countries and I love to hear other people's enthusiasm for fashion that I would never normally look at. They are real people with real lives just like me.

posted by guest

Jun 07, 2009 11:29AM

I don't know about social shopping, a good blog is all you need. I'm Canadian so I look for fashion blogs with at least a bit of home grown info.
Found two on this site
http://www.thebrandsclub.com
There is one on fashion and another on beauty. A lot of the usual stuff, but they do profiles on Canadian stores and designers also..

posted by guest

Jun 07, 2009 12:08PM

dude, it's britt & abby's job to write a website about the fashion industry - do you honestly think it's their only interest or that they don't have lives outside of work like everyone else? stop and think for a second before suggesting you know exactly what they're like from a couple of blog posts written in a very specific, manufactured voice five days a week.

to accuse fashion bloggers of being "too fashion obsessed" is like accusing them of doing their job well.

posted by guest

Jun 07, 2009 12:11PM

The websites I've seen; I don't think they're really about shopping, more showing off outfits to other women who care. I look at them to get ideas on what to wear, and plan to start uploading pics eventually cuz the guys where i work wouldn't notice if i showed up in a paper bag. My sartorial skills are lost on them. I need reinforcement, dammit!

posted by purly

Jun 08, 2009 10:33PM

I frequent tPF and tFS to get ideas for outfits. You can post polls and ask opinions on things like "which shoes go with this dress?" etc. Also, if there's a problem with a product, these girls know and I can get an idea ahead of time whether I want to deal with the product's problems. I've also made IRL friends out of some of the people I've met on tPF.