The MQCF guide to internet shopping

Are you sick of walking past someone in the central courtyard wearing the exact same top as you because you shop at Mac Centre? With the strong Aussie dollar and the unending choices online, you have no excuse for looking like a Mac Centre lemming! Say goodbye to dodging the extremely overpriced skin care promoters, the flock of salespeople who attack you as soon as you enter their store, and those awkward moments of running into your lecturer in Big Dub! Online shopping is no longer a mild itch of a trend, it's a full-blown case of hives! Just make sure you don't get too affected. This can be addicting stuff! You can shop online at any convenient time and yet somehow it ends up the activity of choice when you're up late putting off your Psych essay. Be warned and enjoy our guide!

The Best Online Fashion Stores


Hipster
Urban Outfitters The cheapest shipping rate is a steep $30 but you can't go past UO for just the right pieces in just the right colours for men, women and your apartment.
American Apparel Fashionable basics for guys and girls. All Australian orders of $100 or more ship free. Orders under $100 ship at flat-rate of $8.
Nasty Gal Shipping is reasonable at $15 for international orders. They stock new and vintage clothing, funky accessories and the luscious heels of Jeffrey Campbell.


Retro
Modcloth A wide range of retro and vintage clothes at reasonable prices.
Anthropologie Quality crafted dresses and skirts made from beautiful fabrics, and cardigans and purses with charming details.
Shabby Apple A return to what dresses were always meant to be- a one piece outfit. No need to add anything... no tank tops, no cardigans, nothing.


Boho
Planet Blue divine accessories and clothing to achieve the ultimate hippie looks for festivals.
Free People Free People identifies 5 different customer types: "Meadow" the bohemian customer, "Candy" the girly customer, "Ginger" the body-con customer, "Lou" the tomboy customer, and "Sandy" the beach customer. Hmmm... sounds like the Spice Girls. Which one are you?


Online shopping staples
ASOS Free shipping!!!!!!! Worshipped by fashionistas for value, choice and their useful catwalk videos. It will have an Aussie online store in a mere couple of weeks.
Revolve ASOS's American counterpart. International orders over $100 receive free shipping. Orders for less than $100 are charged a flat $10 shipping fee.

Ebay- At first ebay can seem intimidating or stressful with all the bidding and offering. But if you get started with Buy It Now items you'll realise just how easy it is and trust us, once you progress to offers and bids, you will experience just how fun and suspensey (should be a word) it is! And don't think that ebay is just for second hand goods. 78% of items are brand new!

Etsy This site is full of glorious home-made and vintage clothing, accessories, jewellery, arts and crafts courtesy of creative hipsters who abide there. You need to know specifically what you're looking for or else you will be scrolling through the vast array of products for hours. Our favourites are the wide range of inspirational prints (eg.Etsy shop Dazeychic's print shown above) and the amazing creator of handcrafted leather goods, Valhalla Brooklyn (shown below).





Top Shop UK based fashion with free worldwide deliveries on orders over £75.00.
Amazon This website the best for books. You can get a feel for whether you will enjoy the book or not by using the Take A Look Inside feature and reading a few pages. It is also really convenient as you can download books straight to your Kindle application and for a fraction of the retail price.
Strawberry Net Perfume and cosmetics up to 50% off with free shipping.
Victoria's Secret The only way to get Victoria's Secret products in Australia besides the airport store which doesn't even sell bras (kind of ridiculous).

Celebrity fashion
The Trend Boutique
Singer 22
Shop Moderne
Black Label Boutique
The above websites stock the exact items and brands celebrities are wearing.

Surfy
Surf Stitch Large Australian surf shop with free deliveries on orders over $10.

Some other stores worth checking out

www.shopbop.com
www.forever21.com

www.delias.com
www.couturecandy.com

www.needsupplyco.com

www.pixiemarket.com

www.missselfridge.com

www.solestruck.com

What are your favourite online stores? Let us know!