Talking to Michael about Karen Kane’s upcoming online store last Friday got me thinking about what I look for in an online shopping destination. Although my online shopping is quite limited compared with some people I know (I bat for Team Store), I do have some strong opinions on the topic. Here are my favourites and I’d love to hear about yours in the comments below.

Zappos.com is hands down my favourite online shopping destination. The assortment of both their footwear and clothing is right up my alley (which includes goodies for Greg). Their footwear reviews are meaningful. The site is fast, easy to navigate, and the product images are clear and fairly accurate. Also, their customer service cannot be beat. Shipping is free, and the return process is extremely uncomplicated.

My next favourite is Nordstrom.com for similar reasons. They take the best photos of their products on bodies (not mannequins), which is important to me. Their online assortment is a little different to what you see in brick and mortar stores, so I’m always browsing through the site. There is often more size availability online. One thing they have over Zappos is that you can return online purchases to any one of their physical stores without a fuss.

Coming in third is Amazon.com. It’s amazing how many of my favourite footwear, handbag and clothing brands I can purchase here. Amazon is not my first choice online shopping destination, but if I’ve seen something elsewhere that I love and the colour and sizes are sold out, I usually check Amazon next.

Scarpasa.com, an online footwear store specializing in flat and low heeled footwear, also has my keen online interest because their items are quite unique. I reviewed Scarpasa several months ago and my experience was stellar.

Finally, I like Asos.com and Yoox.com because they sell Euro brands that I adore but battle to find in the US. I absolutely LOVE how Asos shows their items on models in motion. That way you get a great sense of how the garment drapes and fits. Neither of these stores has the best customer service and shipping costs a pretty penny, but I’m willing to pay the price once in a while just because the product makes my heart sing.

Of course, there are many other good online shopping destinations, but Zappos and Nordstrom set the bar so high that they suffer by comparison. I don’t find the product images on Endless.com and Piperlime.com to be all that clear (although this has improved over time). Zappos also has them beat in ease of navigation, shipping time and smoothness of the return process. Since I am not a  bargain hunter by nature, sites like 6pm.com, Smartbargains.com and eBay are less enticing to me. I used to like shopping on Bluefly.com, but the magic wore off after too many (expensive) items didn’t work when I received them at home. Sites like Gilt.com, theoutnet.com and netaporter.com are great eye candy and I generally like their offerings, but 99.99% of the time they don’t have my size in the items that tickle my fancy.

Team Online rules the shopping roost here on YLF, so lets hear it. Which are your favourite online shopping destinations and why? In the US and Canada you can purchase virtually anything online, but for the purposes of this poll, we’ll stick to favourite online shopping destinations for your wardrobe.

You are a 360 degree walking work of art. People see your outfit from all angles, so doesn’t this mean that you should look at it from all angles before leaving the house?

Well, I have to admit that I don’t do this. I check the front and the side, but I don’t have a 3 way mirror or the patience to hold up a handheld mirror to see the rear of my outfit too. I guess I’m just not overly concerned about what it looks like from behind. I trust that I can imagine the rear view based on what I’m seeing in the front and the sides. And before I make a purchase I am careful to check the rear view in the store’s three way mirror.

If I am a little concerned I ask Greg to take a look. Sometimes I take a quick look using the store’s three way mirror when I’m out shopping with clients.

I’m curious. Are you in the habit of checking your outfit from all angles before you go out in public? Do you use the three way mirror in retail stores?

You know how it goes. You purchase a new wardrobe item and want to wear it all the time because it makes your style feel refreshed and fab. Well, it’s like that with the coral skinnies that you saw me wear last week, so I packed my new favourite for our recent business trip to Los Angeles.

I wore this outfit to visit Karen Kane Headquarters in LA. It was a day long business meeting, visiting various sections of their clothing manufacturing operation, including the design rooms and the factory floor, so it was essential to wear something comfortable. Smart casual attire was 100% appropriate for the setting.

We stayed by the beach in Santa Monica the night before visiting Karen Kane, which is where these pictures were taken. I wanted to look professional and polished, yet playful and trendy. So I matched a non-iron white button down shirt with my charcoal grey pinstripe Theory suit jacket, and wore that over coral skinny jeans. I left the shirt un-tucked and folded back the lining of the blazer for a more relaxed and interesting look.  I finished off the outfit with layered champagne pearls, gold satchel, gold watch and 8-hour low heeled pumps.

The top half of this outfit projected a professional vibe, but the trendy and playful colours of the bottom half communicated something different. Perhaps these deliberate style messages were lost on everyone but me. That’s okay. The most important thing is that the outfit made me feel confident, comfortable and energized, paving the way for a fabulous and productive day.

I spent most of our time in the factory wearing an even more comfortable version of this outfit, namely with my blazer off,  collar popped, sleeves scrunched, and phone and notebook in hand. The blazer and jeans were perfect coverage for air conditioned areas, and with the blazer off, I was adequately ventilated in the fresh air.

The sun in Los Angeles is extremely bright, much brighter than Seattle, and I don’t know what I would have done without my sunglasses. I spent a lot of time in LA swapping out my specs for my sunglasses, something I am not used to doing back home!

That was just the outfit. You’ll hear all about Karen Kane’s very large and impressive head office and manufacturing plant in a series of posts we’ll do over the next few weeks, so stay tuned. We are excited to share an industry insider’s point of view for such a successful label.

Straw totes are always on-trend during warm weather seasons. They come in many shapes, sizes and colours. Some are more elaborate than others (think of dressy straw totes designed by Burberry, Kate Spade, Tory Burch and Michael Kors).

Today, I’m talking about the simplest and most casual of straw totes in a natural straw colour. These bags truly dress down an outfit and scream Summer vacation. I LOVE simple straw totes like the ones pictured below and vote yay, yay, yay.

I have a straw tote much like the one from ASOS, only larger and with longer leather straps. I bought it in Paris 9 years ago for grocery shopping. Most people in France carry their groceries in straw totes and I was hooked. It’s just divine when leafy vegetables and a baguette peek out from the top of a straw tote.

I still use the tote to carry groceries, or refreshments that we take to other people’s houses. I also use it for picnics, when we go to the beach, and when we travel by car. It is too big to function as a normal handbag, but I do enjoy using it as a second bag. I also adore the look of smaller straw totes worn with casual Summer outfits. There’s something very romantic, classic and happy about a simple straw tote.

Over to you. What’s your verdict?