I am, admittedly, a compulsive internet shopper. To qualify, that is not to say that I spend excessive amounts of money online; instead, I spend countless hours clicking clicking clicking away on e-shops poring through inventories creating shopping carts full of goodies all over the internet, most of which I will never purchase. I find it as useful a tool as magazines in finding out what's going on - in fact, if I wasn't so busy clicking around I would have never discovered Rose Anne de Pampelonne, Ligia Dias, Cecile Boccara and several other European designers whose work is not readily accessed in this country.
At this point, I have just shy of 500 sites bookmarked and organized into various categories (smaller boutiques, reference, meaning outlets and designer sites, shoes, jewelry). Some I click every day, others I check weekly, monthly.
Listed are several of my favorites:
A perfect website for do-it-yourself discount shopping. A search engine built to find whatever you are searching for (from "black wideleg pants" to "Prada handbag" to more specific like "Mike & Chris Zachary hoodie") items are listed with price allowing you to find the lowest mark-up or the best sale price.
My favorite blog: Kingdom of Style
For daily clicking I recommend www.lagarconne.com, www.shopbop.com, www.farfetch.com, www.net-a-porter.com, www.youheshe.com and www.colette.fr. Their inventories are updated regularly, often every day, and often include hard-to-find designers. (Colette, for instance, recently started carrying a beautiful belt company, Borba Margo, not previously available online)
Above are three of my favorite websites for finding perfectly-edited offerings of fashion-forward, well-priced pieces. Each promote a specific point of view that is cutting edge (often) without being over the top. Shoes, in particular, are on-trend and not as epic in price as found in department stores.
Finally, Etsy is an online artists market. It is always an amazing place to find self-represented designers (especially jewelry designers) whose work deserves attention but are often hand-creating one-of-a-kind pieces not easily translated to the standards of retail. Most accept paypal.
Some of my favorites are:
