Buying Fashion Accessories Online

Follow the Trends and Purchase Your Fashion Accessories ONLINE

Do you get excited when you’ve purchased on line? I do!  The expectation of receiving the delivery of things purchased online has grown to be a new and thrilling phenomenon. Waking up on the morning your fashion accessories, which you purchased through an e-commerce store, are due to arrive is very thrilling and you no doubt will be checking your front door every five minutes or so  to see whether your package has arrived!

E-commerce is not only remarkably convenient, but the products obtainable online are typically less expensive than their retail counterparts. The e-commerce market for handbags, footwear and other fashionaccessories is enormous! And by that, I mean tens of billions of dollars of fashion accessories sales are processed every year.

Statistically handbags,  shoes and fashion accessories constitute a large portion of the e-commerce pie. In 2012, revenue generated from the online footwear industry alone was around $8 billion which was an increase of about 16% from 2011. The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS)  report that textile, clothing, handbag and footwear store sales grew by 17.8 percent in September 2013, and represented 10.1 percent of total sales made online. And this huge growth is expected to continue for many years.

To put it all into perspective, compare these e-commerce figures to the annual revenue for brick-and-mortar footwear stores in the United States in 2012. The total sales for these stores combined was $24.9 billion which was actually  down from $26.6 billion 4 years ago, in 2008.

Popular brands such as Nike have had to rely on e-commerce sales for growth of their businesses.  Nike’sannual report for North America shows that revenue growth for  2013 were stimulated by 3 things  - organic growth in comparable store sales, the addition of new stores and the rapid growth in online sales. Sales direct to the consumer made up about 25% of their sales and this % is expected to increase.

 

What all of these statistics demonstrate is that e-commerce is on the rise, and people are looking more and more to purchase online. The retail market is fiercely competitive at the best of times, and this is especially true for the online handbags footwear and fashion accessory sector.

People are looking for e-retailers they can trust. Be careful with purchasing big-name products online. Check out the authenticity of popular brand items, such as Rolex, Armani, Gucci, Prada or Adidas because they are often reproduced by scammers. The last thing you want is to buy a fake brand item thinking you have got a real McCoy.  You can buy handbags and fashion accessories in safety at my e-retail stores.

Social Media Has Transformed The Cycle Of Fashion Trends

Social media sites, in particular, illustrative sites such as Pinterest and Instagram have had a marked effect on the way fashion trends are set. 

Social media is a powerful tool which has revolutionized the cycle of fashion trends including fashion accessories  and handbags. Fashion trends are now set and approved by groups on social media who decide what they like and don’t like by expressing their wants and needs on specific social media sites. New fashion trends appear all day, every day. Luxury brands have to respond to this demand by manufacturing collections designed on the presentation of fashion trends found on  social media sites.


The consequence of this is that fashion trends traditional seasonal characteristic has vanished and has been replaced by a constant stream of innovative styles which can quickly go viral. However the fashion trends which go viral can vanish almost as quickly as they developed. Social media dictates the fashion trends of the day. But in contrast to the traditional seasonal cycle of fashion which lasted for some time, today’s trend can be here today and gone tomorrow.

In 1937, James Laver, the English author, critic, curator and fashion historian drew up a fundamental timeline of how fashion trends transform. According to Laver’s Law, when a trend is current, it is ‘smart.’ One year before this it is ‘daring.’   20 years later, it becomes ‘ridiculous.’ And 50 years was how long it took for fashion trends to begin to sneak back into style again.

Laver’s Law was relevant in the days when designers dictated fashion trends. Each season forecasters released books with predictions of the up and coming fashion trends. They predicted styles, colours and fabrics which would dictate the fashion trends into the future.  Manufacturers would then take up the challenge and bring these futuristic fashion trends to life.  This was a slow process which some times took several years for the model to reach the market. So it is no surprise that the turnover of new styles, colours and fabrics was reserved to a steady, seasonal pace.

Fashion trends had a traditional bi-annual cycle which sustained a fairly long and predictable life cycle.  But I often wondered about how these bi-annual cycles set by the luxury brands based in places like London, Paris and New York affected the fashion trends in places like Australia and NZ who have opposite seasons to Europe, the UK and the USA. The winter season in Australia is the summer everywhere else and vice versa.  How does the cycle work in countries where there is opposing seasons?

However in today’s environment, things are very different. Fashion trends are no longer dictated by the top luxury brands but by the consumer on social media. This together with the capacity of these top brands to mass produce products very speedily and cheaply means that manufacturers can get new fashion trends to on the shelves very quickly. Brands can respond to fashion trends recognized on social media very efficiently and have product ready for sale at the same time as the style is still hot to trot.  Brands and retailers have to be responsive in order to keep up with the demands on social media. They need to have a constant feed of product drops which meet the fashion trends dictated by the consumer on social media.

The understanding of fashion trends cycling and the whole nature of forecasting is now very changed. Designers now need to use inspiration and innovation to create fashion trends and unleash them on social media, then track them to see how they develop. Social media will dictate the fashion trends of today, but they do not predict the fashion trends of the future.

With the aid of social media, fashion trends are born and die a great deal faster than ever before. This more unstable, fragile market sees brands, celebrities, magazines, bloggers and end consumers on social media all try to gain influence over what is ‘in’ or ‘out’ of style.

But what are fashion trends? In the past they were mostly unaffordable styles created by luxury brands which appealed to the rich, the famous and the beautiful. Did fashion trends of former times really provide for the normal person with an everyday purse and common figure?  Personally I would say they did not. Fashion trends were something you read about in glossy magazines, saw celebrities wearing and which you dreamt about. But realistically you could not afford them and probably could not fit into them either.  Have you ever seen a size 18 in a Versace shop?

I often go with a very wealthy but extremely thin woman to view the latest releases at luxury brand shops such as Versace. The shop attendants are very focused on my friend and have a range of small sizes to fit her petite frame. However, I have a much more developed figure and in all my trips to these stores over many years I have never found clothing which would fit or suit me. These fashion trends are just not designed for me.

I believe that fashion trends set by the consumer have more chance of reaching the average consumer like me who wants to look stylish and trendy on a tight budget. Some brands such as Zara and H&M are focusing on the lower end consumer with a fuller figure and that is heartening.  The styles are also forever varying. Zara for example releases over 10,000 new designs annually.

It is vital for brands to work on their brand identity first and use fashion trends as q tool to create their designs. They should uncover the fashion trends that will add value to their brand, have staying power, and that can be leveraged in a specific market and consumer demographics. Brands must  work less on forecasting and more on responsiveness to the fashion trends set on social media.
Some of the traditional luxury brands and larger retailers like Marks and Spencers are still focused on the conventional cycle of seasonal runway shows and do not have the speed to respond to the changes demanded by social media fashion trends. But regardless of whether a retailer is working within the bounds of the traditional calendar, or is responsive to the whims of social media, brands must be kept alive and looking fresh all year round. 

Various fashion trends, in particular the really trendy ones, turn out to be short-lived. Others keep on evolving as they are more about lifestyle choices and style. Retailers are moving away from being trend-focused to being more lifestyle-focused and brand-focused. Fashion trends available on social media have the outcome of assisting people to choose what would look good on them and what and where they should be purchasing. With the advent of social media the consumer has become very knowledgeable and much more informed about the fashion trends which will go well with their personal style. Social media has definitely transformed the cycle of fashion trends.

Fashion Trends in Guangzhou China

When I visited Guangzhou recently I was surprised to find how westernized and casual the fashion trends were. 

The locals who frequented the market place in the centre of Guangzhou were casually dressed in dresses, trousers, hot pants, shorts and simple blouses and tee shirts. The people in Guangzhou could have been air lifted from China Town in Sydney Australia where I come from.

Chinese citizens from out side of Guangzhou city are of the opinion that this city is lacking in historical and cultural depth and that the fashion trends are somewhat lacking as well. This view is held despite Guangzhou’s  rich cultural  inheritance of over 2000 years which has recently being unearthed in the old tomb of the Nanyue King of the western Han Dynasty, and other ancient sites, such as the Chen Temple.

 Geographically Guangzhou is isolated from the rest of China by mountainous peaks and is located not too far from the westernized Hong Kong.  Its early contact to the outside western world has resulted in its unique way of life leading to a more westernized lifestyle, fashion trends, liberal ideas, distinctive cuisine, commerce, trade and tremendous wealth.

The temperature when I visited in July was in the mid to high 30’s (^OC), very humid, and there were sudden heavy tropical showers in the afternoon.  The climate was hot and sticky and the local people dressed for comfort more than for fashion trends. The best months to holiday in Guangzhou are October and November or April and May. The typhoon season is summer which is from June to September Guangzhou and this is when this sub-tropical climate’s humidity levels are at their highest.

The favourite fashion trends with the young women and girls appeared to be shorts or hot pants and light tops to keep them cool. Older women wore loose fitting trousers and tops, or simple dresses. Men wore shorts and tee shirts.  It was quite rare to see men in suits in the streets. The only ones I saw were in the hotels and were probably business men visiting Guangzhou.

Children like children everywhere wore simple clothes to keep them cool, and enjoy tasty treats.

What puzzled me most about the fashion trends I saw was that most of the fabrics worn by the locals were man-made synthetic materials. Also the majority of the clothes I saw for sale at the markets were made in synthetic fabrics. I personally find these synthetic fabrics hot and sweaty to wear because they do not breathe. I was unable to wear any of my own clothes made of synthetic fabric in Guangzhou and I really cannot understand how a whole city of people living in such a hot sticky climate managed to keep cool in all those synthetic materials. 

The shoes also seemed to be made out of synthetic materials which sweat and do not stretch when your feet become hot and swollen. The men seemed to wear sneakers and the women synthetic sandals. High platform shoes seemed to be the favourite fashion trends with the girls and young women. 

English is only spoken by a small percentage of people in Guangzhou so it is a good idea to carry your hotel's business card with you when you go out. Have the names of your destinations clearly written down in Chinese by the hotel staff so that you can   ask for directions if necessary. Also have a few phrases written down for shopping, such as how much does this cost? Or where is the toilet? However a lot of educated younger people do have some basic English language and most staff at hotels, bars and restaurants do speak satisfactory English, so the best thing to do  if you are  lost is to call into a hotel to ask directions.

I experienced three levels of shopping in Guangzhou. The upmarket brands such as New Balance, Nike and Versace where I found the prices to be about the same as in Sydney; the bargain stores which offer cheap Chinese made products; and the counterfeit stores which sell fake imitations of leading fashion trends and brands.

 
Tourists typically come to Guangzhou to shop and eat. Guangzhou is renowned for its   huge markets specializing in nearly any sort product made in China, such as Chinese tea, herbs, garments, watches, electronics and toys. Guangzhou is known for being up with the fashion trends and offering cheaper versions of products and brands available on the international markets. Guangzhou is a shoppers' paradise with loads of good quality products at affordable prices. You will be surprised to discover how low the real cost is for most products made in China. If you are looking for up to date fashion trends, the Baima Clothes Market, World Trade Mall and Teemall are the best places to shop.

But buyer beware!  There appears to be two price rules – one rule for the locals and another rule for the tourists. The prices on the majority of items are not clearly labelled and if you ask about the price the calculator is produced to calculate a “special” price. However I found that the price is higher than those found in Sydney and who is to know if the product is real or faux.

If you are approached by a hawker on the streets, beware because they will probably take you to a counterfeit store. Sometimes you may be really happy with your purchase and the price you pay, but don’t forget it is not under guarantee and there is warranty provided if something goes wrong with it.