Online fashion retailers like ASOS and Zappos have introduced video clips of their clothing and footwear. Typically the clips showcase a single item on a model and in motion. This is no gimmick — it is really helpful.

If you click through to “view catwalk” on the black dress from ASOS below, you will see the model walking on a ramp wearing the dress. The dress is shorter and more clingy than I would have expected based on the photograph alone. The video adds an enormous amount of information here and this is what makes it so fab.

Zappos offers video descriptions of their footwear and in some instances you see the styles in motion on real feet. I really like that feature too.

Of course the best test for any wardrobe item is fitting it on in your own dressing room at home. But I do appreciate the addition of video to the item descriptions and hope that more sites follow suit. Have you noticed these features on other sites and do you find them useful?