I mean, apart from people who are housebound or otherwise unable to actually go out to a store and buy what they need. And I suppose we should also exclude those who live out in the country miles away from anywhere. But if you live in a large city and can get out, is there any reason you would want to order your clothes in rather than, say, going out to the mall, or wherever, so you can actually see the clothes before you buy, and try them on?
Well if I know exactly what I want, sometimes it’s easier to just order it online. I need specially sized bras (for example), and the particular style and model number isn’t always stocked at the local store so instead of driving or calling around to find them it’s just easier to log onto a web site and order them. The other oline or mail order stores I use are ones that provide free (or really cheap) shipping and send pre-paid return stickers in case you need to send something back.
Yes, I do it to excess, in fact.
Mostly, it’s out of sheer laziness and mere convenience.
Sometimes I wish it were more difficult to shop online…
I live in a city with easy access to malls, etc. But I hate them. I’d much rather look at a catalog, pick something and have it delivered. I don’t do a whole lot of it, though. Mostly I order from Land’s End, especially the sale stuff.
I hate shopping. Hate it, hate it, hate it. AND I am a woman, so perhaps there’s something wrong with that second X chromosome or something.
I hate malls, and being stuck out of natural daylight in a warren of crap that I am 99% uninterested in. I hate the chirpy sales clerks and the snotty ones, both of whom won’t let me look at stuff or try it on without interrupting me at least five times. I hate how the lighting makes me look sallow and tired, even on days when I left thinking I looked great. I hate that I manage to leave my keys behind every freakin’ time. The list goes on.
Online shopping is a real boon for me. I can look at the things I am interested in without having to wade through lots of unrelated items. I can see pictures of how it hangs on the body without trying it on. I don’t have to carry any bags, and I get to anticipate opening a package at my house.
The biggest advantage is that I know instantly whether my size is available without flipping through 30 hangers and inevitably knocking at least one off the hanger and onto the floor (or having to ask a chirpy/snotty sales clerk). I wear sizes that it seems every woman in America wears, and they all get to the store before I do. Size 10 Long pants. Size 8 dress. Size 8.5 shoes. Medium shirts. Those sizes are amost never available when I shop at stores.
What I generally do is buy, say, one shirt or one pair of jeans at the actual store, having tried them on to make sure they work. Then I order more online. Once you figure out how a store or brand sizes things, you just need one example to work from and then you can buy online with confidence.
I have serious issues with the whole “can’t touch” part of mail order clothes shopping. I’ve bought some stuff that I didn’t like the feel of at all, and I had to send it right back.
If you live in a large city and can get out, is there any reason you would want to spend time at a mall when there is so much else to do with your time?
I’ve ordered all kinds of clothes from all kinds of catalogs/online stores. There have been some stinkers but I’ve been very happy in general. In addition to the previous reasons of hating malls, hating to sift through mall crap, and being a little on the hard to fit side, I like catalog shopping because when I try on the clothes, I can do so with any of the other clothes, shoes, etc. that I would want to wear them with. It’s nice to try on three suits at once with all of my own shoes and shirts available. And I can be all done in the same amount of time it would have taken just to get to the mall and find a spot.
For those of you interested in doing more shopping online you can check out My Virtual Model, where you can input your specs and it will generate a model of you that is integrated with some online clothiers. You can actually try different outfits on your model before you buy, to get an idea of what it will look like on you. Pretty nifty, I think.
Once you know how certain brands fit, you can buy even used clothing (in those labels) with confidence. I’ve bought some things off ebay that I couldn’t have found or couldn’t have afforded otherwise. And I’ve sold clothing to people who are doing the same.
I used to be horribly addicted to on-line clothes shopping - finally realized I was spending way too much and had no room left in my closet.
I still buy occasionally, though - Old Navy, Boston Proper, etc. It is SO much more convenient than visiting Mall Hell.
You can really get some incredible deals on Ebay on brand new brand name stuff sometimes. I have bought shoes and jeans from there for more than half off and have never been disappointed.
(sorry this sounds like a lame commercial)
I have ordered by catalog for sheer convenience. I was disappointed that I had to return a dress 3x before getting the correct size. (Seems they ran larger then what I was used to) But when I finally got the right size dress I was satisfied.
I hate going to the mall!
Never ordered off of e-bay.
I was going to post a reply, but Beadalin said everything I was going to say first.
I’ve ordered a couple of shirts and coats from catalog, but I would never buy a pair of pants or shorts without trying them on. Even within the same brand, they fit very differently from style to style. Just the other day, I picked up a pair of shorts that looked absolutely adorable on the hanger, and absolutely hideous on me.
[TGS moment]SO GOOD? NO GOOD![/TGSm]
And shoes? Unless I want to buy the exact same style and size that I already have, forget about it. It’s nigh impossible to find a pair in the store that fit my feet. I can’t imagine buying them online or by catalog.
I wear a lot of import/ethnic clothing (rayon tunics and dresses from Indonesia, for example). I wear plus sizes, and I don’t care for the tailored, business-style clothes that most large-size shops around here carry. Plus, it’s an hour’s drive to the nearest decent-size cities, and while I don’t mind shopping, I prefer just looking at the pretty pictures and picking up the phone. The clothes I prefer have looser sizing anyway, so I can usually guess pretty well.
I do prefer to try on shoes, jeans, more tailored pants, and bathing suits, for what I hope are obvious reasons.
Absolutely. From Lands End. Nobody in this town carries odd sizes and Lands End will make trousers to fit for no extra charge. My inseam, for example, is about 29-1/4. A size 30 drags the ground or bunches up around the shoe. Also, my waist size is an odd number, rather than an even number and you just can’t find them off the shelf. Also, try to find short-sleeved dress shirts that are actually sized, rather than S-M-L.
Some stores don’t carry (some of) their stock in the stores. The Gap, for instance, has jeans that I like, but the combination of length/waistsize I want is available only through their web site. Going to the store and trying them on is an option that doesn’t exist.
I do it all the time. I’m considered “big” AND “tall” so finding my sizes at all are a pain in a regular store–except Wal-Mart, of course–so it’s online for non Wal-Mart stuff.
Only for sizes and brands that I know will fit. I’m a rather odd shape so fit is an issue for me. Plus, I really hate returning items through mail. It’s a big hassle.
When I was pregnant, I did a lot of online shopping, primarily because the only maternity store in the malls (Motherhood or Mimi, owned by the same company) is terrifically expensive and has the most restrictive return policy ever.
One thing I loved about shopping Gap.com is that you can return stuff in their regular stores, even the stuff that their stores don’t carry! (Most of the brick-and-mortar Gaps don’t stock maternity).