(Photo Courtesy of JackThreads)If you're either fashion-forward or working toward being fashion-forward, you've likely run into one of two scenarios. One is that your local shopping centers have the most meager of offerings, and half the stuff there looks like knockoffs of a more high-quality brand. The other is that said meager offerings can cut deeply into a budget.
This is where the Internet comes in. Hundreds upon hundreds of stores are open, showing off a wide variety of stylish wares for the snappy dresser. Hardly a bad thing, until you realize that there are, in fact, hundreds upon hundreds of online stores to go through, each with their own niches. It's a bit daunting to wade through them all.
For me, there have always been three stops to make. Three places to shop for what you need — business, street, geek, street geek, Nighthawk and so on. While the shops have problems and not everything about them is ideal, the balance of that and what they have to offer evens things out, and will hopefully benefit the discerning fashionist/fashionista.
In no particular order, here are three of my top places to go online shopping:
JackThreads
Pros: Hosts a wide variety; sells art, books, vinyl and home items at varying discounts.
Cons: Long delivery times for certain items.
For the guys,JackThreads is one of the go-to places out there for style.It's akin to themen'ssection at Macy's without the overpriced shirts and loud Hawaiian threads for $100 and above.
JackThreads has some of the widestarray of clothes I've ever seen on a site (so far). Look around and take stock of what some of the guys around you are wearing. Chances are you'll see something similar on the site — that's how big this place is. What's even bigger are the discounts.
You'll find a few decent discounts by browsing the site in general, but the biggest drops are on the front page. Two for $30 raglans, blazers for $89 off $179 at the time of writing, along with an outlet section and two for $50 on dress shirts. Some of the brands may not be immediately recognizable, but the looks are still on point. Be careful as you browse through, though — not everything is on sale or discounted. A few good portions of the site sell items at full price, but they're easy to spot.
The biggest (yet wholly understandable) issue with the site is that some of the gear will take longer than usual to get to your doorstep. Some of the sales run as "pre-sales," meaning that the items won't ship until the sale ends. Small price to pay.
Plndr
Pros: Flashy and colorful threads for those that want to stand out.
Cons: Long delivery times for certain items.
Similar in design to JackThreads (but with a much louder presentation),Plndr keeps its toes out of the business wearand home shopping waters, instead dabbling solely instreetwear for men and women.Wearing hip-hop and skate love on its sleeve, the brands available onsite are probably more recognizable to the average college student, with shirts, tanks, jackets and more coming from Huf and ARSNL, to Fly Society and Crooks and Castles.
As it is a streetwear shop, the designs are always flashy and unabashed, perfect for those that don't mind dipping into various colors for one outfit. More conservative dressers should probably look elsewhere. As far as discounts go, it's highly likely you'll kick yourself for buying that $35 WESC tank in store when you see it as a mere $6 dollars on site. Plndr is pretty coupon code happy as well, with discounts ranging from the rare buy one, get one free, to half off almost anything.
The biggest con of Plndris about the same as JackThreads, however, in that the big sale items will take longer to deliver than usual. The FAQ mentions a two to three week shipping window, instead of the usual five to 10 days. Again, this is based on the agreement the site made with the brands in question — don't go banging down any doors about a long order, now.
TeeFury
Pros: New and different shirts each day from different fandoms, galleries to buy old tees.
Cons: Customers dealing with shaky service since site redesign
Let's make one thing clear — I think thegeeks and pop culture fanatics of the world hate it when we see the same generic graphic tees of our fandoms running for $20 to $25 each. This is where TeeFury comes in, a site designed for fans of pop culture with unique tees that will never be found in any store (that I know of).
A new tee or tees are introduced every day, and the references are all over. "Adventure Time," "Metroid," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Pokémon," "Doctor Who" ... the list goes on, even to a pair dedicated to "True Detective." The designs on the tees are done by various artists, so there's something different to look for everyday. The shirts are always priced $11 before time runs out, but they can be picked up later for a pricier $18. Posters of the art and even kids tees are also available to pick up.
Since a recent site redesign, however, you can't seem to pass through the comment section without hearing at least a few complaints about delayed tees or a lack response from customer service. This probably has something to do with said site redesign, as a prior issue I had was resolved seamlessly before the shakeup.
As I said, there are hundreds of sites that could get you a great deal on the clothes you want, but these three standout with variety and discounts that run into the deep end and don't come out for, well, varying lengths of time. They may take a little long with the delivery, but are worth it in the long run for some of the best styles around.
Reach the reporter at djulienr@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @legendpenguin
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