FashBlog.com

I'm a clotheshorse. Not in the designer fashions sense-- sure, I'd love to own some Vera Wang or some Gucci dresses, but they're a little out of my price range. I just mean that I am fascinated by fashion. I love clothes and, until a few years ago, I'd indulge myself in at least one new outfit each week.

Then, four years ago, my daughter was born. I soon discovered that there's only one thing more fun than buying a new outfit for myself each week-- it's buying a new outfit for my daughter each week. Dressing a little girl is fun. Two years later I found out that dressing a little boy can be just as much fun (all those cute little polo shirts and whatnot). The trouble is, I looked in my closet recently and I suddenly realized that I hadn't bought anything for myself since the year 2000. I had been schlepping through life in tee shirts and jeans for the past four years.

It's a lot easier to shop when you don't have kids. Over the years I had managed to sustain my children's wardrobes by shopping online. It's easy to shop online for kid's clothes-- kids generally wear the same size no mater what store you buy from. When in doubt, you buy bigger. With kids, you don't mind buying something that's a little big because you know eventually the kid will grow into it.

But for myself, I wasn't so sure. Buying clothes for myself was a painstaking process-- albeit one that I had used to enjoy when the only person I had to worry about was myself. These days, the thought of dragging my two young children to the mall while I try on clothes sounds unbearable. Sure, I could hire a sitter or do it on the weekends when my husband is home, but I'd still feel guilty-- as if I were on a time limit. When you have kids, the days are no longer endless-- you always have to be home by a certain time for something.

So I thought to myself-- why not try shopping online for a few clothing items for myself? It seemed a little intimidating at first. I liked to try things on. I had never even bought so much as a pair of jeans before without trying them on first (and even then it was after trying on about fifty pairs). And then there was the matter of quality. Could you really tell online if something was made well? I wasn't sure about it, but I decided to give it a whirl.

I spent an evening perusing the websites of all of my favorite stores. It was amazing how organized everything was-- no rifling through racks to find my size-- I just had to click to add items to my shopping cart. Because I was worried that I might have to return something if it didn't fit or if I didn't like how it looked once I received it, I was sure to read the return policy for all of the sites that I planned to order from. And that was it.

A few days alter, the packages starting rolling in. I'm pretty true to my size, so most things fit just fine. I didn't like the feel of the material on one item I ordered, so I decided to return that. The return was a piece of cake-- I just brought it back to their retail store at the mall and they credited my credit card. The return took all of five minutes-- much less time than it would have taken me to shop for all of this stuff at the mall.

So that was it, I was sold. I feel really good about shopping for clothing online. It's a quick, easy way to get the items I need without spending a lot of time at the mall or hopping from store to store with my kids in tow.

If you've never shopped for clothing online, here are some online shopping tips:

-- Check the size charts. Most sites have size charts available so you can accurately determine what size will fit you. The size chart may be based on your weight, height or other measurements.

-- Don't pay too much for shipping. Look for sites that offer one price shipping rate-- some will ship for as low as $5.00 for your entire order. I do not think it is worth it to pay an exorbitant amount for shipping and I avoid sites that don't offer reasonable rates.

-- Search for coupon codes. Do an online search for coupon or discount codes for your favorite stores. You are often able to find deals for ten or fifteen percent off of your order-- or for free shipping if you spend a certain amount.

-- Return unwanted items to the retail store. Most online stores will provide a return shipping label for you, but you will have to pay the return postage out of your own pocket. Whenever possible, return unwanted items to the retail store to avoid any return shipping charges. Keep in mind that if the return is due to no fault of your own (if they shipped you the wrong color, size or if the garment is damaged) the retailer will pay for the return shipping costs and may even send a courier to your house to pick up your return.

-- Remember that the online store may have more or less items than the retail store. I was surprised to find that some of my favorite retail stores don't have great online stores-- that is, the selection is actually better at the store (I would have thought that the online store would be able to warehouse a better selection, but after a call to the customer service department I was informed that the opposite is actually true). Sometimes Items never even make it to the online store, so if you see something in a store, don't assume it will be available online. It's better to purchase it when you see it and avoid being disappointed later.