Why I Shop Online

I work at a magazine devoted to fashion and beauty, specifically shopping for these things. The editors at Lucky are experts at helping readers decide which bag to buy, which shoes to skip. Sounds light and fun -- and it is, don't get me wrong -- but it can also get pretty deep. We recently opened a hotline for readers to call in and ask anything of our editors. The most common questions were by far about body image, shape and fit. The callers felt like they were too short, too big, too chesty, had weird knees, you name it. No one was happy.

For better (or too often, worse), shopping offers an interesting lens into our self-confidence. Being alone in a dressing room -- when we come face to face with who we are, literally and otherwise -- can make us feel great/crappy/sexy/mad/fill-in-the-adjective. It definitely sucks when you put on something in your supposed size that has all the comfort and elegance of sausage casing. And the moment that immediately follows sucks almost as much, as you yank, tug and hopefully-not-tear the sausage casing off.

How many times have you been shopping with a friend and Psssst!ed her into the dressing room to avoid parading out into a store full of curious strangers? A new study takes dressing room psychology even further: A good-looking salesclerk might actually dissuade you from buying the cute dress she's wearing. Says EurekAlert, an online science news service, "When a consumer with low body esteem tries on an article of clothing and sees an attractive person wearing the same thing, he or she is less likely to want the item." Huh. Just when we thought the dressing room was our enemy, now it turns out our subconscious is also locked in mortal combat with the pretty salesgirl.

I've had moments at a certain Marni store when the dress I was trying on didn't look a thing like it did on the tiny salesgirl with the adorable side braid. It's a little deflating to remind myself -- once again -- that since I turned forty, I look a little too Pomeranian in anything with more than one bow. And back to the rack the dress goes...

That's the great thing about online shopping. It's not just the instant gratification. Or the lack of an unforgiving overhead halogen beating down on me. It's that there's no 12-year-old Swedish salesgirl named Eva twirling around outside my door.

This little factoid also blows my mind: Forty percent of all women shop online, according she-economy.com. Ding, ding, ding! That's me! Yes, online shopping is easier than going to the mall and parking, but with Eva and her ilk in mind, I have to wonder: Is part of the appeal the lack of dressing room drama not to mention hot salespeople? A shopping avatar (like the one Luckymag.com is about to launch) doesn't have cellulite or undereye circles. Then there's a site like Fashism.com, which offers some of the dressing room suspense online (users upload pictures of themselves and let other women vote on whether it looks good or not). But that is for women far braver than I.

Meanwhile I'll keep shopping. Online. Privately. And a million cyber miles from Eva.