Personally I can’t online shop. I’m probably one of the few girls in the world who actually goes to a store each and every time I want to buy anything. There’s just something in the decision process for me that needs to include actually trying on clothes. Tobi boutique in San Francisco is trying to accommodate people like me, who really need to see just how a piece of clothing will look on before they buy with the launch of their new virtual dressing room. This isn’t the first kind of virtual dressing room—H&M has avatars, while Macys worked with My Virtual Model to create a likeness for shoppers. But this option uses the webcam to make it appear as if the shopper has tried on the clothing. Note that sizes don’t change, which is a huge, if not the most important, part of shopping. But the really fun part is you can basically go shopping with your friends, send pics back and forth, and soon the site will show off your screen and your friends, side by side.

What do you think? For all you non-confirmed online shoppers out there, does this make the process seem more appealing? [WWD]

Yesterday I took a field trip over to Colette, the famous Parisian concept boutique. This place might as well be the Eiffel Tower because it’s a prime tourist destination, and probably one of the most frequented stores by visitors to Paris. Since it’s such a touristy destination, I didn’t think it would be a problem to snap a few pics with my iPhone. The second I got my camera out of my pocket, however, I could feel the security guard eye me, and as I held it up, he was by my side before I could hit the shutter—“Pas de photos!” he warned. Sheesh!

Similarly, style blogger Susie Bubble discovered on her trip to Hong Kong that shops there are even more strict about snapping pics: “I didn’t realize the Rise Commercial Mall on Granville Circuit in Tsim Tsai Tsui would be so stringent so these were snapped only to be halted by a big fat no-photo sign.” So what’s the deal? Wouldn’t you think that pictures are for sharing, therefore, having some taken would only promote a store’s merchandise?

Are cutting credit cards up a new recession trend? The Atlantic thinks so:

“Cutting up credit cards is a classic solution to the temptations of easy credit, but as Americans have become more and more reliant on plastic, there’s been a resurgence of interest in swearing off credit entirely.”

The other day, I went into a very exclusive boutique. You know, the kind with the all-glass front, and the man at the door who has to unlock the door for you, and the shoes start at $1,500 a pop and the dresses run into the tens of thousands. I wasn’t going in there just to be a lookie-loo, either. I was interested in buying a ring that they had in stock. Unfortunately, I got treated like a potential shoplifter. Is that right?

A friend recently asked me this question and I was surprised to discover I had mixed feelings on the matter. On one hand, I would appreciate my boyfriend getting a female opinion, as men's taste in fashion -- even the under-the-clothes kind -- can be questionable. On the other hand, it would weird me out to have my guy asking for another woman's opinion on what's sexy. I mean, does he want her to try it on so he can see it in the flesh? Eww. (Double-eww if this is a sister.) Plus, it's not like all women have the same taste in lingerie. If that were true, Frederick's Of Hollywood would not be in business, because I think that crap is tacky. Hmm. What about you?

Check out Rachel Bilson. She’s looking seriously put-together in her majah heels, chic black pants, fab Phillip Lim bag and pretty blow-out. (And her friend is looking adorable, too!) Where’s the party or red carpet, you ask? There isn’t one—she’s headed out for a day of shopping ... looking so on top of her sartorial game. There isn’t a pair of tattered, L.A. cool jeans in sight! This reminds me of when I used to spend an entire Saturday shopping. Before hitting up, say, Barneys or Bergdorf’s to browse the racks, I’d spend a ridiculously absurd and laughable amount of time planning what I was going to wear. (Yep, all just to go shopping.) I had to look very put-together, but not like I was trying too hard. And while you may find this a colossal waste of time, I gotta point out that dressing up before shopping in fancy-pants stores really did get me better customer service from the sales floor staff (sad, but true!) and I just felt better about myself, even if I was just there to find a new pair of, say, gloves or something small. Do you ever do the same thing—seriously think long and hard about what to wear for a day of hitting the stores? Or can you just not be bothered?

Today’s issue of the U.K.‘s Guardian features a fashion Q&A section, highlighting the following scenario:

Q: Is it ever acceptable to inform a shop assistant that the item of clothing they are trying to sell you is “trashy”?
A: It depends on what country you’re in, Natasha. If you’re in America, of course, they’re all about blunt honesty. If you’re in Paris, the sales assistant will look at you as if you’re crazy as she certainly wasn’t talking to you, let alone helping you. If you are in Italy, they will be delighted, as “trashy” is a compliment of the highest order there. And if you live in the UK, the shop assistant will have a heart attack in shock that you didn’t just smile and nod in embarrassment at the attention and then feel obliged to buy the damn thing out of awkward politeness. National stereotypes: as Homer Simpson says, they’re funny because they’re true.

So what exactly is this “blunt honesty” that goes on in American stores? Does this mean it’s your duty as a shopper to say when clothes are trashy? Or that if you tell a sales clerk that the clothes she sells are trashy, that you can expect a ripe slap in the face? Perhaps this all depends on the store you’re in. Let us examine the possibilities ... [Guardian.co.uk]

I don’t know what’s happened to me. I used to love shopping. Next to having sex, drinking, and eating great food with friends, shopping used to rank pretty high on my list of activities that make me happy.

And no, I was never one of those girls who “bought to fill the void” or anything like that. As a fashion lover, the biggest draw of hitting the boutiques was a satisfaction of being able to change my style with something simple. I never dumped huge amounts of money on clothes, but I definitely had patterns. Maybe one nice designer purchase every three to four months; one to three smaller things per month like tops, accessories, and sometimes shoes from places like Urban or Forever 21. I rarely bought out of necessity.

Now that’s not the case ...

Growing up in Ohio, I didn’t encounter many, er, any sample sales. In fact, I had no clue what one was until I went to college in the big city of Chicago, and all the girls who grew up in L.A., Connecticut, and New York would be all, “I’m going to Wicker Park for so-and-so-designer’s sample sale.” By then I had started subscribing to Daily Candy and had a little bit of a clue, but I didn’t go to one myself until I moved to New York after school. It was terrifying. All these normally expensive clothes and accessories for less! And you had to try everything on in front of other shoppers or on top of your clothes! And you couldn’t return or exchange anything! I didn’t buy anything at the first few I went to, but I kept tagging along with friends because I didn’t want to “miss out” on some amazing, one-of-a-kind steal. And then I broke my sample sale seal.

I know designers and showrooms hold sample sales because they need to get rid of inventory, and causing a frenzy can make people purchase things they wouldn’t under normal circumstances. I know that sometimes my adrenaline gets the best of me and I make a truly questionable spur-of-the-moment purchase. But, I’m OK with being tricked into pulling out my credit card, because if it weren’t for sample sales, I might never buy anything, ever.

Apparently, the buyers at New Zealand boutique Superette think the clothes they sell are so bitchin’ they’d still look cute on a dead girl. Congrats on turning the statement “I wouldn’t be caught dead in that!” on its head, but we think your ad is a bit tacky (and creepy), guys. Let’s take a look at the implications of this particular ad, shall we?

The retail industry is getting pretty desperate these days—how many more special events and functions will we see that scream “Oooo! Please, please come shop in our store!” According to the Wall Street Journal, the latest tactic in trying to woo the recessionary customer is to assuage shoppers’ guilt.

In some cases, this goes straight to the point instead of tip-toeing around the you shouldn’t be spending atmosphere. Take, perhaps, the best example out there, Gilt Groupe, a sample sale website (and admitted Frisky obsession) whose name is a play on the word “guilt.” The site’s co-founder, Alexis Maybank, explains that now retailers like her are placing emphasis on battling this new culture of consumer guilt: “It used to be about keeping up with the Joneses, and now it’s about outsaving the Joneses ... We need to encourage people to get excited about fashion.” Gilt’s short-timed sales have set off a wave of similar online initiatives, which rev up shoppers and distract them from negative feelings.

At The Frisky, we’re always on the hunt to find awesome products to tell you about (and to buy for ourselves, on occasion). But the internet is huge! It can be overwhelming to visit site after site after site in search of the perfect pair of boots. We’ll often search for clothes on ShopStyle, but they have partnerships with a particular handful of stores, which, at times, can be on the pricier side.

So, we’re excited to try out the newly relaunched shopping search engine TheFind.com. Type in whatever you’re looking for, and this little engine that could will check with more than 500,000 sources to give you tons of options—and links to discount codes for each store, if they’re available. No more randomly searching those sketchy-looking coupon sites! Plus, you can limit your search to local sellers and “green” options. And TheFind isn’t just for clothes. The site can help you search for everything from home goods to electronics.

“Fashion trends speak volumes about the human condition and wordlessly point us towards the zeitgeist,” writes South Africa Times columnist Jacquie Myburgh. Huh? They do?

Ms. Myburgh, like many a fashion journalist, didn’t originally seek a career in the style world, acknowledging the frivolous-sounding nature of such work. She explains: “Telling your parents you want to go into fashion is right down there with acting and air hostessing on their list of favorites.” But, over the years, she’s come to understand its importance in society, when, especially in an economic downturn, our instincts are to shun conspicuous spending and get back to less “superficial” activities.

However, maybe we should start taking the fashion industry more seriously.

It goes without saying—the one item in your closet that’s older than the latest “High School Musical” star? Probably your favorite pair of jeans. A new survey from the Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex, England finds that Brits hang on to their jeans longer than any other piece of clothing, and that nearly two million people have pairs they bought as much as 40 years ago.

Hole-y jeans!

Any fashionista worth her wardrobe knows that she can buy trendy stuff from Forever 21, but who really has the patience to wade through all the crap and mess that plagues the actual store? We don’t, that’s for sure. So we’ll just surf the website to find all the trendy and classic (bet you didn’t think Forever 21 had “classic” in them) items to add to our autumn wardrobe. I’m really loving the Crochet Trim Sweater Cardigan because I can’t afford real Chanel, but don’t want to wear a complete knockoff. Check out 17 garments and accessories we’re loving for their design and price, after the jump.

Thinking I was being smart with my money, I recently took three pairs of black high heels to my local shoe repair man to get them gussied up. All of them were in pretty sad condition—the heels worn down to the metal screw, soles thin, and scuffs all around. (FYI, these shoes weren’t anything super fancy, just good and basic Banana Republic and Nine West.)

I have a closet stuffed with clothes. Yet I have I-have-nothing-to-wear syndrome coupled with the sad realization that I wear only 25 percent of my wardrobe. However, that doesn’t seem to stop me from adding a half-dozen things every few months that usually end up with the other 75 percent of my collection. Apparently, I’m not the only one who wastes money on fashion! The Daily Mail reports that an astonishing 45 percent of swimwear purchased each year by U.K. women goes unworn, wasting the equivalent of about $470 million. It’s clear why swimsuits make for money wasters (stupid ladymag bikini body programs that you vowed to do, but didn’t). What else is going unused in your closet? The answers, after the jump.

Cheap is clearly the new chic! Revolve clothing, the hip online store, has joined the growing number of e-tailers with sites that sell discounted designer duds. They’ve launched Rewind, an invitation-only site, which allows members to cherry pick from a laundry list of labels, including Cheap Monday, Diesel, Paige Premium Denim and James Perse. From denim to shoes and handbags, Rewind offers a large variety of merchandise for girls and guys.  If that doesn’t impress you, their shopping policy should! They have a super relaxed return policy and offer a $5 flat shipping fee no matter where you are in the U.S. Of course, they have good reason to pull out all the stops: Gilt Group and Net-a-porter have both launched discount sites, Gilt Fuse (next week!) and Outnet respectively. The transformation from fashionista to recessionista keeps getting easier.  [Racked]

Celebs get to borrow whatever designer goods they want, whenever they want. We’ll still have to pay for the privilege, but at least the fashion gods have thrown us a bone with this amazing online boutique: Wear Today, Gone Tomorrow. This brand new e-commerce site works just like Bag, Borrow or Steal, but instead of handbags and accessories, WTGT allows you to borrow high-end designer clothes. They’ve got a laundry list of chic designers available, like Zac Posen, Herve Leger, Kate Moss and Anna Sui. As a member—and it’s free to join—you can rent pieces for a week or a month for up to 90% off the retail price. And there’s oh so much more…