How to Shop for Well-Made Clothes Online

Online shopping has come a very long way since it first became a thing in the early '90s. You may recall that the major players back then were pretty much just eBay and Amazon (which was a book retailer at the time). Fast-forward to today and practically every fashion business has an online component, save for a few holdouts (the most noteworthy being Chanel). 

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the world, the shift from traditional brick-and-mortar retail to e-commerce has been one of the fashion industry's biggest talking points. If you grew up going to malls every weekend, you probably never thought you'd see the day when a department store as storied as Barneys New York would cease to exist, but here we are.

Whether or not you were comfortable with shopping online for clothes before 2020, the pandemic has pretty much forced it upon you, at least for the time being. According to a new survey of U.S. shoppers done by Top Data, 73.5% of those surveyed reported that they're shopping online more now than they did prior to the pandemic, and 88% said they'll continue to shop online more even after a cure or vaccine is discovered.

As a digital fashion editor, I'm very comfortable with online shopping, but I didn't get that way overnight, and I've had my fair share of hits and misses. It's very easy to just order something that looks cute on the model, but there's so much more to consider. To name a few, you have fabric, sizing measurements, return policies, and sustainability measures the brand in question is taking. Shopping for well-made clothes without the luxury of being able to touch them and try them on IRL can be sneakily overwhelming, so I reached out to a few experts to help me explain how to become as skilled at online shopping as they are. 

Read on for the best tips that founders of Sustainable Brooklyn Dominique Drakeford and Whitney McGuire, digital content creator Tacha John, and textile expert Deborah E. Young have to offer, and shop stylish, well-made pieces.

Whitney McGuire and Dominique Drakeford founded Sustainable Brooklyn for a much-needed reason: "to bridge gaps between the sustainability movement and targeted communities through various modalities, including education and events." Their mission to promote sustainability is about more than just fashion, but as we know, the environment isn't going to improve without drastic changes in the fashion industry. 

Whitney and Dominique's Top 3 Online-Shopping Tips

1. "Connect with your circle of influence to see if friends or family have purchased from the brand in the past. That way you can ask a direct customer very specific questions and even do a video call to see how it fits on them."

2. "Read the specs of the garment. Pay close attention to type of material and other details explaining how the garment was made and understanding the craftmanship."

3. "Between the website and social media, look at as many photos as possible on different body types. It's a lot more helpful if a garment has multiple photos with different angles and details."

Tacha John (aka Tacha J) has a digital platform that encompasses fashion, beauty, wellness, and lifestyle. When I reached out to her for input on this piece, she told me that she started the year sharing her commitment to shopping more high-quality, long-lasting pieces, so I'd clearly gone to the right place. 

Tacha's Top 3 Online-Shopping Tips

1. "Read the reviews! These usually have tons of useful insight on how the item fits, its quality, and other notes that might come in handy when considering a purchase. Sometimes you'll even find customer photos so you can see how an item fits on the average person, which can help avoid being misled."

2. "Don't be afraid to splurge. While it isn't always true that affordable clothing isn't high-quality or well-made, when shopping for a clothing item that you plan to have for a long time, giving yourself a slightly bigger budget can mean that you're able to invest in something that will stand the test of time. It'll also save you time and money in the long run from needing to replace the same item over and over because the cheaper alternative is only good for a few months."

3. "Check the fabric! Since you're online shopping and not able to feel an item before making the decision to purchase, knowing what a piece of clothing is made from is super important! This will give you insight into things like stretch and helps to avoid the trap of buying a sweater that looks cozy only to receive it and find that it's actually super scratchy."

Having written two fabric-swatch reference guides, served as a textile consultant and expert witness, and worked as a textile educator at institutions including FIDM for 25 years, Deborah E. Young has a knowledge of clothing fabrics that's as vast as it gets. In addition to her shopping tips, she also shared her expertise on the highest-quality clothing fabrics, which we turned into a handy guide.

Deborah's Top 3 Online-Shopping Tips

1. "Read between the lines. Note what they are not telling you! If fiber content is missing, assume synthetic. If fiber is vague, such as microfiber (which is not fiber—it is an adjective indicating very tiny fibers), assume synthetic. There are no natural microfibers."

2. "Look for easy returns. These companies want your business enough to put up with the expensive process of returns, restocking, damages, shipping costs. This practice is so prevalent that we expect easy returns (led by the online giant, Amazon), but it is not a universal practice."

3. "Cheap garments aren't cheap. Look for timeless pieces to save the planet, avoiding fast fashion and overfull landfills."

Deborah E. Young's Clothing Fabric One-Sheet

Shop Well-Made, Sustainable Pieces

Next up, three vintage-clothing experts give their best tips for shopping secondhand online.

Opening Images: @madeleinebuggekarlsen; Anna Routh Barzin