Like it or not, e-commerce is quickly replacing brick-and-mortar shops, and this holiday season, even the long-hidden gems of the fashion industry can’t afford to eschew the virtual shopping game. Right and left, formerly hard-to-track-down labels and boutiques are finally wising up and opening cyber shops, and we love it! Here our five of our favorite new online shopping destinations.
FOR HER:
Farfetch.com
Perfect for: Global-minded indie shoppers in search of the Next Big Thing
Have you ever wished you could sweep the back alley boutiques of London, Paris, Copenhagen, Milan, and beyond? Now, thanks to the conceptual pioneers behind Farfetch.com, you can — right from the comfort of your own boudoir. Cult boutiques like London’s Feathers and Paris’s Maria Luisa are just two of the standout cyber shopping destinations. Aside from boasting a dynamic blend of the best of the European luxury labels — Ann Demeulemeester, Lanvin, Balenciaga, McQueen, all present and accounted for — Farfetch also retails hard-to-locate cult and regional lines like Bernhard Willhelm, April77, Emma Cook, Eley Kishimoto, La Petite S*****, and more.
Lindestore.com
Perfect For: Tracking down those collections that seem to only exist on the runway or in European editorials
Where can you actually purchase Rodarte, Wunderkind, Thomas Wylde, and other brilliant, yet largely intangible designers? At Bologna’s L’inde Des Palais, one of Europe’s leading fine retailers. In a welcome brainstorming coup, the owners recently launched Lindestore.com, and the e-commerce site has quickly caught on as an international luxury customer favorite. Personally, we just love visiting Rodarte’s section to vicariously experience the painfully remote enticement of their cobwebby cardigans and dresses. At $3,000, they give new irony to the term “shabby chic”.
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