Appsolutely Amazing

If you are anything like me, then your smartphone is basically your third hand. Not only is my phone also my alarm, camera, and iPod, but it also functions as my number one source of distraction: fashion apps.

Fashion brands are catching on to the social media craze and using tools such as smartphone applications to engage customers in a way that wasn't possible in the past. In addition to apps that cater to online flash sales, technology has made it possible to keep up with the latest trends, see what the celebrities are wearing and build personalized virtual closets. Mobile apps are changing the way that the fashion industry works in more ways than one.

The San Francisco clothing company Gap Inc. was one of the first brands to take advantage of social media to reach consumers. The Gap StyleMixer is a social shopping app for smartphones that allows people to mix and match Gap clothes with other items and to share the looks via social networking sites. In addition, the application also offers exclusive coupons and special offers.

While the Gap application was at one point innovative and new, it's definitely not on my list of favorite fashion apps. Here I've compiled a list of my most frequently accessed (and college-friendly-free) fashion applications for the iPhone:








Style.com



This app feeds the latest trends by connecting you to blogs, runway coverage, reviews and more. It's ideal during fashion week!

WhoWhatWear




This collection of celebrity-inspired styles in blog and collage form.






Lucky at Your Service


I'm sure most of you are familiar with Lucky Magazine. This phone app brings you the same clothes, accessories and beauty products as well as helps you track down where to buy them.






If you don't mind paying for an app, I would also recommend Stylebook ($3.99) which is similar to the Gap StyleMixer (free), and a great tool for organizing your wardrobe. Also, don't forget about the RueLaLa and Guilt Group applications for flash deals!

Fashionably Following

Last spring I was blessed with the opportunity to attend Fashion Week in Milan, Italy. My friends and I put on our most beautiful outfits, attended launch parties, snuck in to private galleries and watched the fashion shows outside of the Piazza del Duomo.

This year, my fashion week experience was not quite so glamorous. While models in New York City were strutting their stuff down the runway, I was sitting in the HUB at Penn State glued to my iPhone like it was my most prized possession. What was I doing? Why, I was on Twitter, of course!

Following fashion accounts on Twitter is the easiest and fastest way to keep up with what is going on in the fashion world. Twitter accounts not only cue you in to the latest trends, but also often inform followers about flash sales or where to purchase a specific piece. A 2009 article on fashionablymarketing.me stated that Twitter is drastically changing the way that fashion brands interact with their customers. According to Tony Hsieh from Zappos, Twitter is a long-term branding tool that encompasses everything from customer service to brand awareness. Twitter has even mixed with fashion “offline”. Twitter is also a lot cheaper and more easily accessible than fashion magazines.

If you’re not on the Twitter bandwagon, it’s time to jump on. Here’s my top ten fashion Twitter accounts that I recommend you follow:

∙ Refinery29 (@refinery29)
“Discovering the newest and best in style, shopping, and emerging trends from the runways to the streets.”

∙ Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine)
“The official twitter page of Vogue Magazine.”

∙ Times Fashion (@TimesFashion)
“The Times does fashion.”

∙ Catwalk Queen (@catwalkqueen)
“Global fashion & style blog- devoted to bringing you all the best fashion news, runway reports, celebrity style and shopping advice for the last 10 years!”

∙ InStyle (@InStyle)
“All the fashion, beauty and celebrity buzz you need to know.”

∙ Inside FMM (@InsideFMM)
“Digital perspective on #fashion, #marketing + media. Retail, home design, luxery, beauty industry B2B news source for social media, mobile + digital innovation.”

∙ Modelinia (@modelinia)
“Where supermodels share their fashion, beauty and lifestyle secrets.”

∙ Coutorture (@Coutorture)
“Coutorture is now in fashionologie.”

∙ The Cut (@cutblog)
“New York Magazine’s fashion blog.”

∙ Fashionista.com (@Fashionista_com)
“All the fashion news you need to know…and fast.”

Let's Talk Sales

I'm broke. Like, extremely, college-student, ramen-eating broke. Not only am I broke, but I go to Penn State, where the closest mall looks like the inside of a rural Pennsylvania Goodwill store. This obviously does not mix well with my shopping addiction. So, instead of wasting my money on an average looking top for $50 at one of the three boutique stores downtown, I have learned quench my thirst for new clothes via sales sites on the web.


Many people are familiar with the designer sale website Gilt Group that was founded in 2007. This shopping website allows members to join for free and enjoy pretty substantial discounts on designer clothing, accessories and even home goods. With flash deals available for a limited time and new pieces offered daily, Gilt is similar to flash deal websites such as Groupon and Living Social, except for fashion.

A screenshot of today's sales on Gilt.

While the designer sales are amazing, the items on Gilt are still very pricey for a college student. I found myself browsing the website and wanting to buy everything, but never having enough money to realistically do so more than once a year. This is what led me to my latest discovery and obsession, Rue La La.

Rue La La is also a flash deal website that offers exclusive, members-only 48-hour sales. What I like better about Rue La La is that the sales are extremely affordable. I just bought an American Apparel bodysuit on sale for $20, and my roommate bought a full body cleanse for half price. I also have downloaded the iPhone app for it, making it easy to get to the sales early and conveniently before they sell out.

Steve Davis, president of Rue La La, said in one recent article ,“The beauty of the flash business is that we’re perfect for that time-starved consumer. You can shop our site for five minutes every day. It’s a very specific, curated assortment, and we help to pick the right things for you.”

However, saving experts are warning against spending too much time on flash-deal websites. The ticking seconds and sense of urgency to make a purchase can lead to buying items you don't need simply for the sake of them being on sale. I try to avoid this by making a list of items that I actually need, such as rain boots or a bathing suit. If I see a sale that is appropriate to my needs, then I consider buying it. If I see a random item that I am dying to buy that's not on my "needs list", I usually take some time to consider it. If I'm still drooling over the item 15 hours later, and it's not sold out, then I consider treating myself.

Shop wisely my friends!


P.S. - If anyone is looking for valentine's day gift ideas, I purchased a 20-page hardcover customized photo book for my boyfriend for only $10 on Living Social (originally a $40 value).

Polyvore: Your Virtual Closet

The fashion website Polyvore takes a different approach to making collages of style sets. About 6.6 million people from all over the world are visiting Polyvore each month to explore the virtual closets containing everything from cosmetics to shoes. Fashion writer Alexandria Jacobs said it best: "Polyvore is like playing paper dolls with pictures of real clothes." The user can chose from the items from the large collection on the website or they can download the Clipper tool to select images found on the web to save onto Polyvore. You can drag and drop the items, resize, rotate and even add decorative text to make a collage of items that is unique to your style and taste. The sets can be uploaded to various social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, shared via email, and most commonly, posted onto fashion, lifestyle and personal blogs.

A set I put together on Polyvore.

An article on fashionmarketing.me describes Polyvore as "an online marketer's dream when it comes to building blogger and brand relationships." The professional looking spreads use real brands and retailers and gives people information about the latest trends faster than other outlets such as magazines. Personal Polyvore accounts can be used as a stylist's portfolio, and often times it is and important tool used by professional style consultants to put together looks for clients. However, it's simplicity makes it easy for anyone to use. My roommate uses it to put together looks that she shares in a blog for her fashion marketing class.

It's simple. It's fun. It's addicting. I only wish that my closet contained my last Polyvore set.