1. Some are extensions of posh department stores, with selections somewhat diminished compared to the real-world counterparts as some companies do not allow their products to be sold online, Barneys, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Browns are the ones I routinely visit. What the website versions lack in service and testability, they make up in sheer convenience. A woman can mull over her costly purchase with greater deliberation in front a computer screen than with a nosy SA breathing down your neck. Punch in credit-card number, and that Prada bag is delivered straight to your door. Really dangerous, I think. : )
   
   STANDOUTS You are guaranteed to find at least something you love at all of the above, at some mindbogglingly absurd cost.


2. Other stores feature discount goods long past their season. Bluefly is well-established, but truly nothing beats Yoox for a stupendous breadth of diversity and the deepest discounts (I got a Stella McCartney jacket for $159, cheaper than full-priced Banana Republic, down from $1135... this is typical). As with all other discount stores, one must wade through tons of crap before discovering something worthy of purchase. It is rare to find something "extraordinary", but you can find well-made designer basics with more ease.
   
   STANDOUTS Yoox, of course, after much sifting.


3. Mass-market stores like J. Crew, Anthropologie, American Apparel (there are many others, these are just the ones I tend to browse) offer reliability. There are a few inventive pieces here and there, I do not mean that they are boring. What I mean is that they have a standard aesthetic and fit, which most of us are familiar with from real-world stores, and though the visual representations may mislead you in terms of quality, one can shop with a fair prediction of how the product wears, which is really the greatest detraction to online shopping.
   
   STANDOUTS A.P.C. (not really mass-market, I suppose) for that indefinable French anonymity that somehow makes American fashion look cheap, and J.Crew for well-made basics in the more expensive fabrics (knits, trousers). For tees, American Apparel suffices for me.


4. The true epitome among etailers is the "boutique", which offers a range of designers, perhaps in a particular category, such as the giant Zappos with shoes, or more typically, wider in scope but meticulously edited, such as the infamous Net-a-Porter (which, in my humble opinion, is past its heyday; My Theresa is far fresher, while Shopbop is pure shite). These are perhaps the most various of all, as they take on the individuality of their owners; they lack the firepower of the big names, but they offer small, select, and often lesser-known and more innovative designers, and though a particular boutique may not cater to your taste, when styles align, it's pretty magical.
   
   STANDOUTS (pictorial examples, below)
   Brooklyn-based Bird exhibits typical New-York openmindedness and push for innovation with none of the affectation (what they offer on the site, I am afraid, is only the tip of the iceberg, but you can find the Brooklyn-collective at Refinery 29). Nobody does a quirky, ostentatious sort of luxe better than Vivre. Zoë of Princeton, NJ has the most sharply edited collection of shoes I've seen (interesting, impeccable, but wearable beyond a season). For deeply cool men's clothing, Aloha Rag of Honolulu is unbeatable. Nancy Meyer of Seattle is bar none the queen among lingerie stores. For days of browsing astounding, one-of-a-kind jewelry (some very cheap, some very expensive), you'll be knocked off your feet by Ruby Lane (the store that inspired this post).

Labels: closet confidential, j crew, la perla, martin margiela, mikimoto, nouveau 1910, sigerson morrison