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Fashion is a popular style or practice, especially in areas including clothing, footwear, accessories, makeup, body or furniture. This practice is distinctive and often a habitual trend in what a person chooses to dress in. However, fashion is more than just a designer's whim. It is a reflection of a given time, socially, politically, economically, and artistically. Changing styles emulate as much about the history and the period as any history book. Fashion reflects what people think, what they valued, and how they lived. This idea is reflected in many different ways such as clothing, culture, religions, etc.

Fashion impacts the way people live on a global scale. Clothing is not only about the brands, and the latest trends there is a deeper meaning to what people wear. There are traces of influences coming from different parts of the world. Western fashion have taken inspiration from several countries. For example textiles and ornate details from India have been referenced in Western pop culture.[1] Fashion is an international exchange between cultures. It is an integral part of society and expresses a sense of community amongst all walks of live.

Fashion is a way to express one's self. Clothes tell a story about who they are on. Many teenagers show their ideas and opinions on the way they look and dress. Usually, teenagers want to look unique and individual. Often to be a member of an exclusive group, they would have to be more unique. Fashion is superficial (on the surface), but as the outside of a person is the only bit that other people see, what they wear is meaningful. Fashion influences people to create their first opinion of you, which can influence the opinions and ideas of other people. But fashion, like all things, is mostly a cycle. It draws from the inspiration from cultures and lifestyles: Music, Art, Sports, Skating and much more.[2] Fashion makes it easy to categorize individuals into groups: Based on the clothes they wear, one can assume the sub-culture they are into. These individuals wear clothes for different reasons: Protection, Personal Tastes, Moods, Personal Expressions based on their influences whether it be music, work, religion.



Makeup

Beauty and Cosmetics

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The beauty industry has also been changed by social media and other forms of new media. Beauty is the way someone or something looks like. However the definition of beauty has a different and special meaning to each person. Everyone is beautiful in their way. The increased use of social media has altered our perception of beauty. In fact, 82% of women believe that social media drives the definition of beauty. Everyone wants to look on-trend and are sometimes forced to look a certain way, just to "fit in". Many will get plastic surgery so that they can look a certain way. This is not how we should look at beauty in our society. [3]

Similar to fashion, cosmetics is a way to express yourself. The use of cosmetics is a way to enhance your natural beauty. Some wear makeup to cover imperfections that they do not love yet, like acne, while some wear makeup because it is fun and something that they genuinely love to do. Makeup is supposed to be fun, not confining as social media can sometimes make it. The beauty and cosmetics industry is now revolved around social media. Many brands have numerous social sites for their company and are how they market to their consumers. This is also how they show off their products and their suggestions on how to wear and use them. Beauty comes from within and this is extremely important for everyone to remember.

Beauty Influencers

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As time goes on, each generation influences changes within the beauty industry. Facial style differs within years or decades - from thin to thick brows, rosy red cheeks to sun-kissed bronzer, and red bright lips and nude lips. [4] Beauty will always change throughout the years with different trends and unique features. In current modern-day, beauty has been more involved in people's lives more than ever before. Thanks to social media, beauty trends have become an icon for people to learn and be more interactive with beauty products.

With social media apps like Instagram and YouTube, individuals are able to showcase their creativity with their makeup. Both social media platforms offer people from all over the world to give makeup tutorials, review beauty products, and even add humor to it i.e.) "My boyfriend does my makeup challenge". Aside from their artistic talents, influencers are also involved in business with top makeup brands. Makeup brands like MAC, Nars, and Urban Decay deliver their products to influencers for them to promote on social media. Each promotion can help influencers earn up to a grand or a million depending on their followers count. Influencers also collaborate with makeup brands to create their unique beauty products and make money out of it. [5]

These beauty influencers, however, face many controversies. Some have been denounced for their actions, lies to make money, and their past behaviors. As a result most of the beauty influencers have made an apology post or video about their wrongdoings with bias viewers weighing in. As for their income, they were also looked down upon by joining in on a 'mob-like' business. Professional makeup artist Kevin James Bennett has said major makeup brands would pay up to $75,000 to beauty influencers if they gave negative reviews on competitor brands. [6] Many were upset that influencers were used as salespersons, however, beauty influencers have denied Bennett's claims as they never seen such business method.

Male Makeup Influencers

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James Charles:

James Charles is a 20-year-old male influencer with currently 16.6 million subscribers on YouTube. Before he got famous, he was styling hair, but once he developed an interest for makeup he started to practice on all his friends. He soon began to gain stardom on Instagram. In 2016, he became the first-ever male spokesperson for CoverGirl. [7] He then created a YouTube channel and started a "Sister Squad." This became his slogan, intro, and is most well known by his phrase, "Hey Sisters." [8] He used his channel to create a fanbase, which then led to a mini-franchise with his clothing branded as "Hey Sisters." He was also welcomed into a collaboration with Morphe Brush Cosmetics to create his very own personal eyeshadow palette. The image of him shows James Charles showcasing his eyeshadow palette. On Instagram, he created his challenge to create a similar look to the image and this soon took off and became a trend, which then became popular on Instagram and YouTube. James Charles stardom was fast-growing and he was even invited to the inclusive Met Gala. He is one of the most popular male influencers.

Some links to his videos:

Full Face Using the James Charles x Morphe Palette

10 Makeup Looks for 10 Million Subscribers

Makeup Style Swap with Jeffree Star

Manny MUA:

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Manny Gutierrez, better known as Manny MUA is a 28-year-old male makeup influencer. He is focused on posting reviews, blogs, and tutorials on his YouTube Channel and social media. He has established the following base of 4.8 million subscribers. He began his Youtube in 2014 and after 8 months skyrocketed to over 200,000 followers, which is a great establishment. Along with YouTube, Instagram has 4.6 million followers. [9] He often posts makeup tutorials, makeup reviews, and other videos collaborating with other YouTube stars.

Some YouTube Videos include:

Testing New Viral Makeup

Budget-Friendly Makeup Tutorial

The Whisper Challenge with Jaclyn Hill

Along with making these videos, in 2017, he became one of spokesperson for Maybelline and in 2016, became the second male spokesman for Covergirl after James Charles. He has also had numerous collaborations, such as an eyeshadow palette with Makeup Geek, lip products with Ofra Cosmetics, highlighters with Jeffree Stars Cosmetics and an eyeshadow palette with Morphe Brushes. [10]


Patrick Starr:

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Patrick Simondac, better known as Patrick Starr is a 29-year-old male makeup influencer. He is a Filipino-American YouTube beauty expert, who works as a professional freelance makeup artist. His love for makeup grew out of his previous passion, Photography. He then was able to make a career out of his passions. Starr has managed to attract over 4.3 million YouTube subscribers and over 4.7 million Instagram followers. He also managed to win the award for Beauty at the 2017 Streamy Awards. [11] He is mostly based on YouTube, where he showcases his brilliant work on celebrities. He also previously made makeup tutorials, makeup reviews, and of course his famous collaborations with well-known celebrities. Patrick Starr also collaborated with Mac Cosmetics, where he debuted his makeup lines, M.A.C x Patrick Starr. He created palettes, lip products, and highlights to his liking, which then was sold to his followers. [12]


Some of his iconic YouTube videos:

Kris Jenner Makeup Tutorial on Kris Jenner

Shay Mitchell Fall Makeup Tutorial

Disney's Little Mermaid Makeup Tutorial on Madelaine Petsch


Jeffree Star:

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Jeffrey Lynn Steininger Jr., better known as Jeffree Star is a 34-year-old male makeup influencer. Jeffree Star is a jack of all trades and considered an entrepreneur, singer, songwriter, model, and makeup artist. He is the founder of Jeffree Star Cosmetics. [13] He founded this company in 2014, which is his main career. He managed to collaborate with Morphe Brush Cosmetics, where they sell his products on the website. He also has an album out, which dropped in 2009. He also appears in many music videos, shows, and awards. Currently, he is focused on Youtube, where he uploads room tours, look books, makeup hauls, makeup tutorials, and makeup reviews. He is involved in a lot of collaborations with other well known YouTube personalities. He attracted over 14 million subscribers on YouTube and 12.6 million followers on Instagram. [14] Jeffree Star has managed to stay well rounded and only seems to look for more opportunities.

His well known YouTube videos include:

Full Face Makeup Using Only E.L.F Cosmetics

Drive-Thru Does Our Makeup feat. Trisha Paytas

Full Face First Impressions in the Woods


Bretman Rock:

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Bretman Sacayanan, better known as Bretman rock is a 21-year-old male makeup influencer. [15] He was born in the Philippines and moved to Hawaii after his parents separated. He started his journey with YouTube on September 23,2012 and attracted over 6.78 million subscribers on YouTube with 360,332,668 views. He also has 11.3 million Instagram followers and 2.61 million. Twitter followers[16] One of the main reasons why everyone across his posts is because of his outstanding sassy personality, confidence, and rather quirky sense of humor. So far, he landed beauty collaboration with, ColourPop, Morphe, Nike, and hosting 2017 Miss Universe pageant. Appreciations to the modern world of beauty influencers, he been sighted more of his culture coming into the spotlight with launching affordable cosmetics. His makeup limited-collection ranging in price from $5 to $20 which includes eye-shadow palettes, lipsticks, lip pencils, and blush.



His Makeup tutorial YouTube videos include:

Makeup Plus Tutorial- Boujee

Full Face Pink Glam Tutorial

Darna Transformation

Mario Dedivanovic

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Renowned Makeup Artist Mario Dedivanovic is one of the most acclaimed, followed, and influential makeup artists in the world. Sought after for his artistry, passion, professionalism, and attention to detail, Mario helps draw out the most flawless version of an individual's natural beauty. From education to social media to innovation, Mario is a visionary and pioneer at the leading edge of the beauty industry. He has built a global following, having taught and popularized the best-known makeup techniques of the last decade and ignited viral trends that have inspired and forever altered the beauty landscape.

The youngest of four, he was born and raised in the Bronx by his parents, Albanian immigrants from Montenegro. After graduating high school, he traveled into Manhattan with his mother to find a job in retail and stumbled upon Sephora. Something lured him in, and he got a job as a fragrance consultant in the Flatiron District. By 2006, Mario began working with celebrity clientele, and in 2010 he launched The Masterclass, now a global phenomenon. This unprecedented education platform has welcomed over 25,000 students to sold-out events in cities across North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. Serving as a teacher, role model, and inspiration to makeup artists around the world. In each class, Mario generously shares the signature techniques he's mastered over a two-decade career creating looks for celebrities, magazines, and the red carpet.[17]


Some YouTube Videos include:

KKW x MARIO Tutorial with Mario Dedivanovic

How To: Contour with Mario Dedivanovic

Mario Dedivanovic's Hottest Makeup Trends For Fall

Instagram Makeup

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If you look all over Instagram, everyone has and is recreating the "Instagram Baddie" makeup look. This look includes full coverage foundation, contouring, defined and arched eyebrows, winged eyeliner, big lashes, plump lips, and tons of highlighter. No makeup look is complete without a blinding glow! The eyeshadow can be changed around based on the outfit and the occasion. This look is what we expect influencers to always wear and what society wants to look like. It has become the norm to always wear a full face of makeup, even when not necessary. When many of these influencers change up their makeup look or not even wear makeup they get hate comments because they do not fit the norm when in reality most women in society do not always wear a full face of makeup. Recently, no makeup, makeup looks are on-trend.

Power of Makeup

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NikkieTutorials posted a video on her YouTube channel called the Power of Makeup. This video changed the way that many view makeup and those who wear it. Nikkie posted this video because she felt like makeup shaming was becoming too much of a thing. 3 years later, makeup shaming is even worst and harsher than before. People always assume that makeup is worn to cover something that you do not love or just to change who you are to catfish everyone. This is incredibly incorrect and Nikkie wanted to get this point across, which she did. If you scroll through Instagram with the hashtag #powerofmakeup, you can see all the amazing recreations and interpretations of Nikkie's original video. She has also redone this video with Kim Kardashian. Many other YouTubers and influencers have put their spins on this video because of the positive message that it spreads. [18]

Makeup Try-on Apps

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Technology has become so advanced that you can now try-on a full face of makeup, without even putting it on your face. Sephora Virtual Artist and YouCam Makeup-Magic Selfie Cam are a few of the apps that you can download to try on some makeup. This is great if you are wearing makeup and do not want to take it off to try the ones you are looking at on. This is also really cool to maybe try a look that you have never worn before. For beginners, it is a great way to see how the makeup would look on your and the correct places to wear it. This increases expression and the things that you can do with makeup in general. It's fun!




Social Media

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The media plays a significant role when it comes to fashion. For instance, an important part of fashion is fashion journalism. Editorial critique, guidelines, and commentary can be found on television and in magazines, newspapers, fashion websites, Social networks, and fashion blogs. In recent years, fashion blogging and YouTube videos have become a major outlet for spreading trends and fashion tips, creating an online culture of sharing one's style on a website or Instagram account. Through these media outlets, readers and viewers all over the world can learn about fashion, making it very accessible. [19]

At the beginning of the 20th century, fashion magazines began to include photographs of various fashion designs and fashion became even more influential than in the past. In cities throughout the world, these magazines were greatly sought after and had a profound effect on public taste in clothing. However, over the past several years, fashion websites have developed that merge traditional editorial writing with user-generated content. Online magazines like iFashion Network and Runway Magazine, led by Nole Marin from America's Next Top Model, have begun to dominate the market with digital copies for computers, iPhones, and iPads. Example platforms include Apple and Android for such applications.

Fashion has changed. For better or for worse remains to be seen but there is evidence abound that the industry has gone through a transformation because of social media and one that may last forever as we become more and more technology-dependent. [20]


Celebrities Influence in Fashion via Social Media

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Celebrities have always had a major influence on their fans and it is done mainly through social media. Celebrities set fashion trends whether it is something unique or simple; the moment celebrity's fashion is seen on stage live or online through social media, the fashion will be copied and followed. Celebrities can be seen on social media like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snap chat, etc. Young adults and teenagers are by far the easiest to influence and it is not their fault for trying to follow their role model. These young adults and teenagers are known as "Hypebeast". A "Hypebeast" by definition means a person who follows a trend to be cool or in style. Hype beasts are also looked up to by many people because of their similar styles and fashion choices. [21]


In 2016, a new sneaker trend has blown up internationally across the globe. Yes, it is Yeezys, the sneaker is made by Adidas and is inspired by American rapper Kanye West. Yeezys are the most hyped-up sneaker in fashion throughout 2016 and people have seen with a pair are considered to be fashionable and be of a certain status as it is extremely difficult to obtain a pair. Not only are fans following these trends, but other celebrities like Justin Bieber, Brooklyn Beckham, Karim Benzema, and many other worldwide stars are also following too. [22]

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Another trend that evolved from ripped jeans is now reaching towards ripped clothing such as shirts and sweaters. Ripped jeans have been around since the 90s but until recently, ripped sweaters and tops are surfacing in the fashion world. Celebrities such as Rihanna and Kanye West have worn this new look and others are noticing. Ripped clothing has become widely popular that even clothing stores are selling ripped clothing now to fit this old but new trend. Although ripped clothing has been a big controversy between the old and new generations. Old generations cannot believe that people are willing to pay for clothing that is ripped or not impeccably sewn. Meanwhile, the new generation is more than happy to throw their money at this new edgy like trend. [23]


Yeezys can be bought at a retail price of $200-$350 USD. [24]But generally supply is under demand and this causes the rise in price in reselling after people buy it at retail. Yeezys depending on its color pattern and availability influences the pricing. This is because the moment one style of color is released, it might not ever be released again causing it to be very limited. Shoes can end up selling in thousands of dollars. This is the phenomenon of how celebrities can influence fashion trends and its market pricing through social media. Nonetheless, the quality of Yeezys is of good quality. People may ask, "Is it worth it?". Well, that is for people to decide.


Instagram

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Since 2011, the popularity and usage of smart devices, in particular iPads and iPhones increased. This altered the way consumers were interacting and accessing with the fashion world. Users now had access to shop online, not online on their computer but other devices such as phones, tablets, and even smart TVs.

Instagram launched in 2010, the app since then has gained over 400 million users, over 40 billion images shared so far, averaging 3.5 billion likes per day.[25] These figures suggest that content posted is very exposed and Instagram is a good tool to reach a large number of people.

Instagram is now seen as one of the most powerful tools in shaping the way consumers perceive brands. Many fashion lovers state that Instagram, in particular, has been a game-changer for up to date, direct interaction between brands and consumers. They say that Instagram has been a popular method of exhibiting fashion as there is a little filter to the content posted. It is raw and straight from the brands themselves. A message is rarely un-manipulated on its way to the consumer from the brand; so social media has been a game-changer in the sense that the content posted is raw.

With over 400 million active users, access to fresh content from creative, like-minded people is virtually unlimited. Many fashion-forward Instagram accounts with large followings can turn their passion into a business, generating huge income. Fashion labels that understand these accounts' influence have harnessed their huge exposure and often pay high amounts for features of their clothing. Instagram has helped small businesses get their name and brand out there for the world to discover. Small boutiques can contact celebrities and social media celebrities and ask them to promote their brand. This approach usually offers celebrity free clothing or money. The way it works is, the boutique contacts a social media celebrity with millions of followers and send them their clothing. The celebrity then wears the outfit and uploads it on Instagram and "tags" the brand she's wearing, so that the millions of followers can see the brand and click on it to get taken to the Instagram of the brand. Another way the brand can use Instagram to their advantage is through the "hashtag" function. By uploading a picture of a red dress and using the hashtag #RedDress, users can look up #RedDress and get exposed to different brands that carry a red dress. Instagram is free, which helps small businesses advertise since they generally do not have a big budget for advertising. [[1]]

Instagram has also revolutionized the fashion industry, not in the way that clothes are bought but the way it is marketed and sold. Instagram is the perfect platform for companies to advertise their products to their targeted audience in which users will consistently see their content. Users can easily scroll down their newsfeed and find accounts from companies, or stylists pairing up ideal outfits together linking the exact item in the description of the post. Users can search for a hashtag and find outfits accordingly. For example, a user can write in the search bar, "spring outfits," and they could find numerous outfits that are ideal and affordable. Accounts made by famous stylists, celebrities, companies, even the average Joe could share ideas of what they think are ideal outfits, and generate income for companies. [26]

Instagram enables a greater connection between the company and the customer to occur. In which it allows the brand to directly communicate with their audience, and better narrows the audience to those who truly want products from them. Instagram gives the brand a chance to create its personality, showing the brand's culture and lifestyle. It also offers users to create a community in which users can post photos of themselves wearing the company's products along with a hashtag to create unity among all. This acts as a double purpose, one to create a strong communication tie between customer and company, another to sell the products to the user's followers. This expands the potential clients for the company, on a free, efficient platform. Instagram also removes the barrier between the process of making the product to the finished product. Now users can see sneak peeks of the fashion styles before it hits the marketplace. Lastly, Instagram added a new feature in which it has become a marketplace for users. This concept is called, "Carousel ads: a sponsored slideshow advertisement that appears on user's Instagram feed... while also incorporating a "Learn More" button, which served as a gateway to purchase." [27]

Fully a third of the world’s Internet population is expected to be on the photo-sharing site by 2018. Image-oriented by their very nature, fashion and beauty companies are investing heavily in the platform as it gains in popularity: 98 percent of L2’s top fashion brands are on Instagram as of this month, and 95 percent of beauty brands are on the platform — up from 75 percent and 78 percent in October 2013. While Facebook still attracts the lion’s share of paid advertising (82 percent of marketers surveyed by Forrester say they currently pay for ads on the site), brands are increasingly flocking to Instagram. About 46 percent of brands say they do or plan to pay money to get on Instagram in the next 12 months — the highest rate of growth compared with other platforms. One other reason brands prefer Instagram to Facebook is that the bigger a brand gets on Facebook, the less its reach becomes. L2 found that for brands with more than 500,000 followers, reaching people is hard. Instagram doesn’t have that problem. There was no negative correlation between how many people follow a brand and how many people engage with it. [28]

Instagram is also taking a new initiative to get its users more engaged and allow them to post what they want to post. Instagram has launched a new campaign to remove likes from their app. This will allow content creators to post what they want to post rather than following the algorithm of likes. The testing of this new idea is taking place as of late 2019. According to Business Insider, the likes would only be present to the users but no one else will be able to see it.[29]

Facebook

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[30] Facebook is used by many companies to promote their services, products, and ideas. The Fashion Industry also has taken advantage of the social media platform Facebook to help attract millions of customers which contributes to their great sales.

Some of the top companies with the highest number of 'likes' include Converse, Victoria's Secret, Adidas, Nike, Zara and many more.[31] Fans of these companies usually like, comment and even go as far as sharing posts made on these company's walls and put it on their wall so their friends can see. This is a great way of marketing for the fashion companies because the play smart since here they use their fans as marketers which works out for both the fans and the company. Today everyone uses their phones instead of looking at magazines so social media is the best way to promote and get the word out and Facebook is one of the top media sites used by millions. Facebook has allowed not just simple information about the products which customers can easily find on the company's website, but also Facebook allows companies to engage with customers, give more information about the product through videos done by maybe the designer and this allows customers to learn more about the product which increases its chances of selling and lastly it also allows 2 way dialogue between customers and the company. [32]

Snapchat

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Ever since Snapchat "the app" added the "Discover" feature in January 2015, the app has promoted various fashion-related events. Through Live Stories, Snapchat compiles snaps from events around the world. Such events include the Annual Met Gala and various Fashion Weeks around the world. These stories can be viewed by anyone in the region within 24 hours of the snap's post. This is a great way for Snapchat to promote fashion events to users. Snapchat also offers filters that users can apply that are fashion related. An example would be when, the Victoria Secret Fashion Show was taken place a block away from Baruch College, users around the area were able to add the Filter that was sponsored by Victoria's Secret. Influencers even promote clothing and makeup companies on their stories. Influencers take Snaps of what they received in the mail from brands they promote and link websites into their Snaps.

Ever since the new Snapchat update in January 2018, many users have been furious. Snapchat has changed their apps' format completely. "Stories are now accessed by swiping right to see the new ‘Friends’ page. On the Discover page – accessed by swiping rightwards – you can see content produced by brands, publications or professional content creators." People have been deleting Snapchat because of this new update. Recently, Kylie Kardashian has also given her input on Snapchat's new update. Kylie Jenner tweeted "so does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore? Or is it just me... ugh this is so sad." Ever since this tweet, the parent company of Snapchat sank 6.1% on Thursday which wiped out $1.3 billion in market value. Although Kylie Jenner has re-downloaded Snapchat, clearly Snapchat users are still frustrated and outraged about this new Snapchat update. What Snapchat will do next is in the air.

Pinterest

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Pinterest is an app and online website used in part for outfit inspiration. Launched in 2010 by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra, and Evan Sharp, Pinterest has been home to many global creatives to allow them to share their ideas and designs with the mobile, internet community. Pinterest is an online interest organization site in which users can save ideas that they are inspired by different collections. Users can create boards which are there different topics of interests and within each board, one can create subsections in which they pin different ideas. For fashion specifically, users can follow other people's dress, outfit, or aesthetics boards, or just generic Pinterest "Topics" and create their boards to their liking. Other users can then view and share those collections too on their profiles and the cycle goes on for everyone. The entire concept of Pinterest is centered around collaborating and sharing. Therefore, if anything is in season or trending, it will appear on more people's boards and allow them to follow such trends. People can browse through images of nice looks, click on the image, and be taken directly to the website were more information available. The organizational aspect of Pinterest allows fashion fanatics to create a virtual wardrobe and closet in which they can store all the looks to refer to in future seasons. [33]

Rakuten

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Rakuten is formally known as Ebates. After the company was bought by Rakuten, a Japanese company, the site/app changed its name <. Rakuten is a webpage where users can sign up to get cashback for shopping online. E-commerce is rapidly increasing and this site is getting more recognition because users are rewarded a monetary value for referring other users to the site. It is free to be a member and the great thing about this site is it is connected to more than 2,000 stores[34]. To earn cashback, users must access their retail store through Rakuten's webpage for Rakuten to track your purchase and give you a small commission based on your purchase. Rakuten has made it easy to do this by allowing you to install a plugin into your browser so whenever you go on a shopping website, the Rakuten plugin will pop up and tell you how much percentage you will get back as well as remind you to activate the offer.[35] The website now offers promotion codes to add with qualifying purchases. The plugin will remind the user every time they are about to checkout to activate the cashback. The offers in the holiday season are usually larger than they are throughout the year. [36]

Unidays

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UNiDAYS is free to use and gives you access to the best college discount online and in-store with all leading brands and merchants. They provide you with a variety of discounts ranging from fashion, technology, and entertainment. Only college students aged 16 or over studying in the US are eligible and it works by browsing the perk you want to use on our website and simply clicking to redeem. Here are some more details...

1. We’re Free Access to all of our awesome discounts doesn’t cost you a dollar. It’s free to sign up, without the hassle of a membership card and it’s entirely for students!

2. We Provide Awesome Perks Our perks include Vimeo, Apple Education, ASOS, UNIF, and Rayban plus so many more!

3. Wherever You Go, We Go Not only do we provide you with the best discounts, but also we are super easy to use! We aim to give you access to our discounts wherever you are on whatever device suits you, whether it’s on our desktop site, on mobile or via the app. The free UNiDAYS App gives you instant access to student discounts at home and on the move. When shopping in-store, just flash your UNiDAYS iD at the till point to redeem your discount — No college student card required.

4. We Make Student Life Easier We help make your student life easier by saving you money and giving you all the tips and advice you need whilst studying. Our blog contains everything from style picks, to recipe suggestions to study tips. We’re on hand to help!

5. We’re All Over Social! Our social team is here to provide you with the content you want to see. From celebrity style, to fashion picks and sneak peeks, we are worth a follow! We love to get you involved in our latest competitions and giveaways to win awesome prizes, so check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. ‌

6. Rewards For You We love to give something back to you guys and share the UNiDAYS love. UNiDAYS Rewards allows you to earn credit when you refer your friends. The more buddies you get to sign up = the more dollar you get to spend! [37]

YouTube

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Media has also expanded to the point of online uploads of videos. There are so many categories and types of content YouTube can upload. Now, there are even content for fashion. Many YouTube videos are uploaded a couple of weeks ahead of time that teach you how to style certain types of clothes for the upcoming season. Some YouTubers make their own clothing line and make videos to help customers style their clothes. For example, Jenn Im is a famous YouTuber who uploads contents about makeup, books, products that she liked, exercise and now she has her clothing line. After launching her store called Eggie Shop, she made a couple of videos called lookbooks to help viewers dress. She is now releasing her own jewelry line in collaboration with 8 Other Reasons, an online jewelry company.

Aside from Youtubers like Jenn Im, fashion companies are also creating their own Youtube accounts and uploading videos that feature their marketing campaigns for upcoming seasons, lookbooks using their company clothes, and insiders and tips for styling clothes. For example, ASOS has been an active Youtube channel who collaborates with artists and stylists to create a series of episodes about fashion, makeup, and skincare. They have over 90,100 subscribers, and have shown growth over the last few years.

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YouTube helped to broaden the world of fashion and has significantly impacted the fashion industry in many ways. Through collaborations, individuals are able to explore the industry and brands are able to showcase their pieces onto media platforms that could not be done through runways. Fashion week has looked towards the world of New Media to expand their presence. Usually the audience at fashion shows are those who work in the industry or celebrities. Now there are YouTubers or individuals who have a heavy social media presence. These individuals are invited to shows to post on their platforms and even wear the clothes given to them by the brand which would reach their audiences. For example bestdressed, a YouTuber will over 3 million subscribers, dedicated a video to her experience at fashion week in New York City. She would document the show itself, and her wearing the clothes of the brand she collaborated with, this past year she collaborated with the luxury brand Marc Jacobs.

Blogging

“Blogs are usually maintained by an individual or business with regular entries of commentary, description of events, or other material such as graphics or video. ‘Blog’ can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog” (Bodnar, K. 2011). Fashion blogging has become popular since 2011, blogs often cover the industry as a whole, personal style, reviews of clothing items and collections. [38]

Fashion bloggers have a very high status of legitimacy and those with large followings have power in the fashion world.

Blogger's success comes from being individual, relatable, achievable and having some elite status for legitimacy. The status of bloggers has shifted from being amateur to trendsetters and are often gaining invites to the top fashion houses shows during fashion week. Bloggers gain their credentials by listening to their true opinion and uploading content that relevant to the reader. Blogs have also helped the fashion industry because just like Instagram, the reader gets exposed to small brands and boutiques that they were not aware of before. Small brands take the same approach as with Instagram, where they send articles of clothing to the Blogger to review and in a sense promote. Fashion Blogs also help users keep up to date with fashion because the blogger writes about upcoming events, and instead of researching events individually users can get all the information off of one page. When it comes to shopping on a budget, users can get advice from the blogger to find something within their price range. Often what bloggers do, upload a picture of an expensive item and give alternate options that users can buy, for the most part, cheaper versions of the article of clothing. Fashion blogs are taken seriously and rated every year.[[2]] Some guides help future bloggers help make their blogs famous [[3]]

DANIELLE BERNSTEIN

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Danielle Bernstein is the founder and star of the fashion blog weworewhat which has over 2 million followers. She is a native New Yorker who went to FIT and has since launched her own line of swim and overall lines as well as an affordable clothing line with Macy’s. Bernstein started her blog as a sophomore in college and was one of the first influencers to push blogging and Instagram into a full-time job. [39] Her blog was initially a street style blog that provided a source of daily outfit inspiration. After a few months she started blogging her own outfits and her blog became like a personal style diary. She describes her style as minimal and clean while remaining on trend. Although her blog focuses on fashion, she also promotes a health lifestyle with brands that she personally trusts and uses. In an interview with Forbes, she said her overall line started because she always wore them but did not have a pair that she loved every part of. She saw that as a space in the market that she could fill. Bernstein then created her line with five styles which has since expanded to fifteen styles. [40]

MARGARET ZHANG

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Margaret Zhang began her blog in 2009 and has since become a photographer, stylist, writer, creative director, and consultant with brands such as Gucci, Dior, and Uniqlo. Her blog started when she was 16 and networked within her university to attend fashion week in New York. Her blog started when she did ballet and costume designers would only put her in “oriental stuff” because she was Asian. Frustrated, she started her own costume designs and then her blog started to save photos for her inspiration and some posts of what she wore. As her popularity grew brands started flying her out to model for them and she soon signed with IMG models. [41]

Mobile Applications and Fashion

Several mobile applications are making a significant impact on fashion and purchasing some of the most recent fashionable items. Mobile applications allow people to purchase goods without having to physically go to the store to purchase the good. Several stores now have apps created for users to be able to shop online comfortably. Another great feature of apps and fashion is that there are apps created for users to sell their unwanted items and buy other used items. This app helps people get rid of their unwanted items while still making some money. There are dozens of applications available for this purpose, the top seven are Twice, Thredup, Poshmark, Threadflip, Tradesy, Copious, and Bonus. [[4]]

The Hunt

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This application revolves around user contribution to give the users of the application a different perspective on goods and services sold by fashion companies. Users search for what they are looking for, and the contributors have linked the keyword with the product. So if someone is looking for Jordans, the application will provide several different types of Jordans and a link to where you could purchase the item. Many celebrities are using the application to increase its presence in the market. This application is also a good way to receive feedback from users who are interested in fashion as well. Many people are actively searching for a second opinion when they go shopping and have to resort to taking pictures on their phones and sending pictures to their friends through personal text messages or apps like Instagram and Snapchat. With this application, you can get independent and impartial responses from other viewers. This is a great app for people to get ideas of what to wear for important events such as Graduation or a wedding. It is especially useful when you like an item you found on the web or on a random person on the street it can tell you where the person received purchased their item from. [42]

Birchbox

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Birchbox was first launched in September 2010 and initially catered only to women. In April 2012 Birchbox launched a division that catered to men as well. The idea behind Birchbox is to make it more convenient for customers to purchase beauty products with the vast selection out there. This company utilizes samples from various beauty companies and ships them to customers, not in a random manner but through a personalized touch. Customers are required to fill out a questionnaire before they begin their experience with Birchbox where they identify their preference for example, for matte or shimmer and if they have oily or dry skin. From then on, the professionals of Birchbox would customize your box based on the preferences you selected on the app. This is a great way of integrating technology to keep customers satisfied. This makes customers feel valued and like a v.i.p of Birchbox. Each box also comes with a paper with a list of the products included in the box and a description of each of the products. If customers are satisfied with the product they also have the option of purchasing the full box on the website. You also gain points as you subscribe through Birchbox which can help you redeem full-size products essentially for free. This eliminates the challenge of looking for the product online. [43]

Poshmark

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Poshmark offers a new and unique way to sell and buy the latest clothing, jewelry, and accessories. Whether you're looking to sell your old wedding dress you no longer have use for, or a brand new purse you're just not feeling, Poshmark is the perfect place to do it. This mobile application is free to download on IOS devices as well as Android devices. Poshmark was created by Manish Chandra and it is based in California. Users are simply able to just take a picture of what they want to sell, upload it, write a description, then list their price. Buyers can type in keywords relating to what type of items they are looking for in Poshmark's search box, or just scroll through random categories to find something they like. Buyers are also able to shop with confidence and peace of mind since the app offers "posh protect" to users so they are guaranteed a safe purchase. There are many cases where sellers on Poshmark can make anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 annually, so it's a great way to make extra income. [44] [45]

Nasty Gal

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Nasty Gal is an American retailer that specializes in fashion for young women that began as an eBay account. The company has more than 550,000 customers in over 60 countries. Founded by Sophia Amoruso in 2006, Nasty Gal was named “Fastest Growing Retailer” in 2012 by INC Magazine. Amoruso started her business by purchasing and reselling vintage clothing from second-hand retailers. After the success of her eBay account, Amoruso launched her website to sell clothing and eventually switched to selling her label. Nasty Gal is based in Los Angeles. In 2017, the company was purchased by the BooHoo Group out of Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. [46]

ThredUp

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ThredUp is known to be the leading online re-commerce sit amongst its competitors. ThredUp curated an entire platform that is dedicated to reducing the carbon footprint fast fashion has. They emphasize the reduction of purchasing fast fashion items and to look towards secondhand items. This in fact true that secondhand shopping does help reduce the effect on the environment tremendously. When looking at their own resale report they are predicting that “secondhand market set to hit $64B in the next 5 years”.[47]

According to their own company’s numbers they have maintained a 20% growth. ThredUp is an exemplar in how successful they are in the resale industry. Their position will withstand since technologies are constantly changing and only turning towards the digital age. The re-commerce industry has been revolutionized especially during the times of COVID-19.


Stitch Fix

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Stitch Fix is an online personal styling service in the United States. It uses recommendation algorithms and data science to personalize clothing items based on size, budget and style. Stitch Fix was founded in 2011 by Katrina Lake and former J. Crew buyer Erin Morrison Flynn. [48] Stitch Fix is a personal styling service that sends individually picked clothing and accessories items for a one-time styling fee. Customers fill out a survey online about their style preferences. A stylist at the company picks five items to send to the customer. Stylists pick items based on a customer's survey answers and any access the customer gives them to their social media outlets. The customer schedules a sate to receive their items, which is referred to as a "Fix". Once the shipment is received, the customer has three days to choose to keep the item. If the customer decides to keep all five items, the customer receives 25% off total cost of the items. Customers choose the shipping frequency, such as every two weeks, once a month, or every two months.[49][50]

Depop

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Depop is a re-commerce application that is accessible on a global scale. Depop now had over 21+ million users who buy and sell secondhand items. "Depop was founded by co-founder of PIG magazine and RETROSUPERFUTURE sunglasses, Simon Beckerman. After realizing that Depop needed a selling function, Simon re-envisioned the app as a global marketplace — a mobile space where you can see what your friends and the people you’re inspired by are liking, buying, and selling." [51]

Depop has become a huge platform for thrift shopping with millions of users worldwide. The layout of the app makes it easy for customers to communicate with sellers, and vice versa. It makes the experience of shopping at a thrift store easier without leaving the house. This platform has become the trendiest app to shop for secondhand items. It draws in younger audiences with the layout being aesthetically pleasing, and it being drawing to the young eye.

The RealReal

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The RealReal is an American retailer that specializes in reselling authentic luxury goods for men, women, and home. With an expert behind every item, the company works to ensure everything they sell is 100% real. As a sustainable company, The RealReal gives new life to pieces by brands from Chanel to Cartier and hundreds more. Extend the lifecycle of luxury items. Join the consignment movement. The company has millions of customers and tens of thousands of consumers. They do have physical store locations all across the United States. This is where individuals have that thrifting experience that people have taken such a liking to but with more luxurious items. The demographic that is targeted is more for high end buyers and those who can afford to have more luxury items but still get it at a discounted rate since it is still second hand. In store on the other hand, there are technologies that make the experience for the buyer more at ease. There are iPads in store to get the buyer’s information and have them sign up to get their accounts set up and have items reserved for them. This goes to show how much technology has had an impact on a traditional way of living.

The RealReal was founded in 2011, and the company shipped its first orders in June of that same year. As of June 2017, The RealReal had raised $173 million in venture capital funding. The company’s focus on sustainability led to it is becoming the first luxury member of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s CE100 USA. By December 2017, The RealReal employed 950 people and was estimated to be on track to have around $500 million in annual revenue.[52]

Polyvore

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Polyvore is an application that launched in August 2012 and 2015 was bought by Yahoo. It is a site not only for people to share fashion insight by on house decor as well. You can use the application to find inspiration for outfits since it caters to a variety of stores, not only one store. On the application, if you see an item you like there is also a hyperlink with the image which redirects you to the website the product is sold. You can also see the price on the website if that is a factor you are considering when shopping. The website showcases items that are currently trending and changes based on the seasons. You can also filter through the site based on brands, price, color, etc. You can also purchase anything beauty relat@ed on the site as well as shoes. The store also offers a department for men as well. This reduces the amount of time a person would need to shop for an occasion since it offers a large range of products from various websites that carry different brands.[53].

Fashion Nova

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Fashion Nova is a brand that was popularized through Instagram posts. It is an online company that promotes trendy, yet affordable fashion items. It is often compared to Forever21. Celebrities and influencers would be paid by the fashion company to promote their clothes and were sent free items. According to its CEO, Richard Saghian, the company grew by 600 percent in 2017 alone. Saghian has distinguished Fashion Nova from other brands in e-commerce by speaking directly to an urban demographic that is not always prioritized by brands and retailers. The brand has quickly become one of the most Googled fashion brands next to luxury retailers. [54]

ASOS.com

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ASOS plc is a British online fashion and cosmetic retailer. The company was founded in 2000 in London, primarily aimed at young adults. The website sells over 850 brands as well as its range of clothing and accessories, and ships to over 200 countries from fulfillment centers in the UK, US, and Europe. [55]

ASOS was founded by Nick Robertson on June 3, 2000. The online fashion site was originally built on showing young shoppers how to emulate the designer looks of celebrity magazine favorites, such as Victoria Beckham, Lindsay Lohan, and Jennifer Lopez for a fraction of the cost. In 2004, ASOS introduced its label for women's clothing. In the final quarter of 2010, ASOS launched three international online shops in France, Germany, and the US. In September 2011, ASOS launched three more sites in Australia, Italy, and Spain. Today, ASOS has morphed into something more aspirational. ASOS gains 70% of sales from their label. But the site also sells over 850 brands, including luxury labels such as Balenciaga and YSL. [56]

In 2009, ASOS had a ratio of one Twitter follower to eight Facebook fans to 100 active email subscribers. Nearly 10% of sales were directly from email marketing. In 2017, ASOS launched a campaign intended to take full advantage of the "Instagram Stories" feature, encouraging users to upload videos of purchased ASOS products. Over 3 million people interacted with the video in the UK. ASOS uses the hashtag, #AsSeenOnMe, and any photo who uses this hashtag gets added onto the ASOS online database. Social media marketing has become so big today that ASOS invests a large portion of the company's resources on its mobile app. As of March 2018, ASOS has over 10 million downloads. On the app, users can upload an image of a clothing item they like and the app will show a range of matching or similar items from the company inventory. This feature attracts many customers to shop on the mobile app for its convenience and fashionable taste towards young women. Approximately 58% of purchases occur through the mobile app. [57]

Jazzelle Zanaughtti

In 2018, ASOS launched a new campaign called "My Style is Never Done" with leading model Jazzelle Zanaughtti to invite customers to explore every facet of their style and identity as the Autumn/Winter season begins. The campaign is focused on the idea of limitless self-expression and that everyone's "style is never done." A four-week social push across the UK, US, France, Italy, Netherlands, and Sweden saw placements on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Snapchat. [[Media:[5]]

SHEIN

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SHEIN is an international B2C fast fashion e-commerce platform. The company mainly focuses on women's wear, but it also offers men's apparel, children's clothes, accessories, shoes, bags, and other fashion items. SHEIN mainly targets Europe, America, Australia, and the Middle East along with other consumer markets. The brand was founded in October 2008, and since then it has upheld the philosophy that "everyone can enjoy the beauty of fashion." Its business covers more than 220 countries and regions around the world. SHEIN now ships to over 220 countries and regions worldwide. With websites supporting the United States, Spain, France, Russia, Germany, Italy, Australia, and the Middle East, SHEIN ships from one of its many globally positioned warehouses. [58]

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Zaful

Zaful is an online-based clothing brand that launched in 2007 in China and is owned by Hong Kong Bi'an Information Technology. Zaful focuses on both female and male clothing that are stylish yet affordable. Since November 2016, the online platform for Zaful has been a success and their engagement through social media has been excellent. Zaful has been able to effectively implement digital marketing into their business strategy and thus experience increased levels of sales, add value to their services and expand communication levels. [59] [60]

Benefits Mobile Fashion Apps

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In the past, mobile apps used to be an affair of Bank of America, Walmart, Google, Amazon, and other big-name brands. This is not the case these days. Any business whether small, medium-sized or large, can follow the mobile trend and reap the many benefits that come with it. Today’s world is digital, and the market is very dynamic. If you want to build customer loyalty and get ahead of the competition, you need to acquire a mobile app for your retail business and use it to market your business. Mobile apps can benefit retail businesses in many other ways. First, they provide a provision of value to the customers, with a retail mobile app, you can develop a loyalty program whereby, for example, the customers can collect their rewards through a mobile app. This will entice many customers to download your app and install it on their mobile phones. There are various services online you can use to develop mobile-based loyalty programs for customers. Second, build brand awareness, a mobile app for your retail business can significantly contribute to increasing brand awareness. The mobile app is like a billboard sign, and thus, you will be able to do all that you need with it. You may choose to make it informative, shocking, functional or stylish. However, you need to create a mobile app with features that customers will like. For this to happen, the app should be beautifully designed and well branded. Third, improve customer engagement, whatever the retail business, customers need a way in which they can reach you. For this reason, it important to ensure that your dedicated mobile app has a help desk or messaging feature to enhance communication with the customers. The reviews that the customers leave on the Google Play Store, App Store, and other app downloading sites also provide an important platform to engage with them. Fourth, stand out from the competition, mobile apps for retail businesses and other small enterprises are rare, and you can take advantage of this to move ahead of the competition. If you become the first in your retail industry to offer a mobile app to the customers, and you will easily win most of them into your services and products. Lastly, build customer loyalty, there are so many adverts out there, to the extent that the target customers may get confused. Email marketing, Facebook ads, website banners, websites, coupons, flyers, newspaper ads, flashing signs, billboards, and roadside banners among many others. Although some people may say these adverts are aimed at maximizing the reach to the customers, at times it may not have the required or expected impact on the customers. An app will entirely save your business in this case, but it can help bring you close to your customers in various ways because the app is always at the customer’s fingertips. [61]

Screenshop App

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As social media and mobile applications have become outlets to shopping in the fashion world, new apps are being created to make it easier and accessible to shop the looks we see. An example of this is a new app called Screenshop which launched in early November 2017. This app is developed by Craze, Inc. This app allows a user to take a screenshot on your mobile device of any outfit, bags, shoes, or accessories that you are interested in purchasing and the photo will upload to the app and show where that fashion item (or a similar one) can be purchased. It gives the name of the store or website along with the price. The user can easily click on the option that pops up and purchase it through the app. Screenshots can be taken from anywhere including social media apps, websites, or a photo a friend shared with you. The software detects the fashion items in the image and provides a simple and easy way to purchase it. [62]

Grailed

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Grailed is an application that seeks to allow people to buy and sell clothing from different market places. Grailed was founded by Arun Gupta and Jake Metzger in 2014. Compared to other applications, Grailed's target audience points towards the streetwear market place that holds rare or highly valued articles of clothing. However, the platform still has a market place for core clothing and typical high-end fashion items, ultimately allowing people to find a variety of clothing and also find a variety of sellers for their new or used clothing. The application itself allows users to shop for clothing, as it has the main feed page that showcases any top deals and also allows you to filter searches by style or category. You also have your personalized page that has all the items that you're selling listed as well as your purchases. You're able to contact sellers and buyers directly through the application as there is also an inbox section. Lastly, there is a page for you to easily sell clothing at an efficient pace by simply uploading photos of the items, choosing a specific market place, giving the name of the item, and then specifying the price and shipping costs. Every transaction is conducted through the Grailed website or app with PayPal to make sales and purchases efficient and protected. [63].

Japanese vs United States Style Influences

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Japanese Fashion isn't just weird and obnoxiously colorful like many people perceive it as. Japan's fashion is more than just weird and colorful, it has taken influences from the States and curated it to fit the Japanese Style. Post-WWII, the Japanese were extremely inspired by American fashion, but it wasn't until the 1960s where things started to pick up. Japanese companies started making their versions of American Fashion. In Japan, this style is called "Ametora" and has gotten heavy influences from America. Through the use of new media, Japanese fashion and American fashion was able to influence each other. New media allows for new partnerships and collaborations between Japanese and American brands. There have been multiple occasions where the two countries have influenced one another's fashion trends and how they have crossed paths with one another. For example, in recent years, Japan's streetwear and sneakers industry have grown exponentially. Many streetwear brands in the United States, now have specialty shops all across Japan and releasing limited edition/exclusive streetwear products that draw international attention. Another example would be Rei Kawakubo, a Japanese fashion designer who has collaborated with brands such as LV and H&M and designed a line of products for them. These are just some examples of how Japanese and American Fashion has influenced one another and creating an impact on the fashion industry.

One influential Japanese fashion designer who has a huge influence on the United States is Nigo.[64] He created the brand named BAPE (A Bathing Ape). The brand was founded in 1993 in Japan. It originally only had stores in Japan but then later expanded into the United States. There's about 19 Bape stores currently around the world. This brand has a huge impact on America's streetwear culture and Japan's streetwear. His full name is Tomoaki Nagao and he was DJ and record producer before creating his infamous clothing line. Nigo has collaborated with many different brands and artists globally. He has done with Adidas, Swarvoski, New Era, Mastermind Japan, and so many more. He has become a fashion icon to many and has his brand as labeled top 5 streetwear brands amongst a lot of people.[65]

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[66]. [67].


Fashion E-Commerce

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Electronic commerce in fashion is increasingly growing as more and more people are buying things online and their mobile smartphones. E-commerce gives consumers a wider range of selection of items and an easier way to shop for fashion shoppers. It only takes a computer and a user for an e-commerce transaction to happen. For small businesses, e-commerce transaction is made possible by the Content Management System (CMS) or e-commerce platforms that manage that website and checkout process. E-commerce means there is no in-store or physical store where the actual transaction of buying and selling clothes happening. Some of the benefits of e-commerce platforms are lower development and maintenance and better functionality. You don't even have to hire a cashier for e-commerce. All you need is tech people who are knowledgable enough to start a website to sell your clothes/accessories online. BigCommerce, Magneto, WooCommerce and Shopify [68] are some of the top e-commerce platforms used today for the majority of the fashion e-commerce business. This business varies from small or owning your own fashion e-commerce business ran by just one person and too big fashion companies popular in the fashion industry today like Macy's, Nordstrom (Rack), Forever21 and more. These big companies in the fashion industry have expanded their business by entering the E-commerce industry and gaining a new audience, the internet users.

For the last three and a half years we have been deeply involved in the apparel eCommerce space. We have seen it change dramatically in many ways however we have also seen some things stagnate. One of the most positive changes over the last five years has been apparel retailers and brands putting an increased focus on their online user experience. Companies like Nike, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and many others are setting a new standard for how shoppers buy clothes online. The apparel eCommerce market is expected to reach $54.2B this year [69] in the US alone and is quickly becoming the top eCommerce market second only to consumer electronics. That being said, apparel is growing faster online and is expected to grow at a rate of 17.2% through 2017.[70]

StockX

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StockX is an online marketplace and clothing reseller where people can sell or buy items from. It was founded in 2015-2016 by Dan Gilbert, Josh Luber, Greg Schwartz, and Chris Kaufman. This online marketplace has changed the way for how people shop for sneakers or clothing. StockX lets people search for any items they want and see how much the price is for the product they want. StockX features a "stock market" look to it. It displays the prices and purchase histories through a graph; like how a stock chart would look like. Additionally, StockX serves as a middleman for their customers. For instance, if someone were want to sell something through StockX, people would either place their price or sell at the price where the current bid is for the item. After that, if they sell their item they need to ship it to the StockX facility to where StockX employees do a verification check of your item to see if it's legit or not. After the verification process is complete, then they will ship it out to the person who purchased the item. However, if the item does not pass the verification process, the buyer will be refunded and the item will be sent back to the seller. StockX charges a verification fee and transaction fee for people who sell through their platform. They charge a 3% processing fee and 9.5% transaction fee for their new users. [71]

My Experience with Fashion E-Commerce

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Fashion E-Commerce has gained immense popularity. People are buying clothes from online stores and even places such as Amazon and eBay. I have bought clothes from online stores such as American Eagle and Amazon. I have noticed some differences between the two experiences.

Deals: When I bought clothes from online stores such as American Eagle, there are usually "deals" that are plastered all over their homepage. Compared to Amazon, you will only see deals when you click on the specific clothing item from a specific seller.

Variety: On American Eagle's website, they only showcase and sell clothes that are from their specific brand. Compared to Amazon who has a lot more selection and various sellers even if it is the same clothes.

Pricing and Quality: American Eagle has clothes averaging around $20- $80 and the quality varies. Compared to Amazon's clothing which usually is on the lower price range side and some clothing may be of better quality than those in name brand clothing companies.

Reviews: American Eagle has some reviews on various clothing pieces but usually there are none. Compared to Amazon (depending on which item and seller you click on) has many reviews, far more than those on the American Eagle website.

There are different experiences and results while shopping on different clothing sites. But overall, fashion E-commerce is gaining some traction when it comes to the fashion economy.

Hypebeast.com

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Hypebeast.com is a website that delivers daily news in the fashion, art, music, design, and lifestyle industry. Regarding fashion, the editors are focused on street-wear and high-end fashion establishments. The site offers an online store selling street-wear and high fashion clothing across many different brands. Hypebeast.com is up to date with many anticipated sneakers/clothing releases as well. The editors’ goal is to make a positive contribution to one of the culture’s most important creative mediums. Hypebeast is the leading online destination for men's contemporary fashion and streetwear. Fashion ranges from streetwear to high-end and from established to well-known. There is also an online store that visitors can find the opportunity to shop and purchase their favorite brand. They sell everything from contemporary and high fashion clothing. You can purchase these clothes after getting inspiration from their articles and news about what is currently trending and what is currently in style. The news section is also an important destination for those who are interested in the fashion community as well as those who are interested in art, music, lifestyle, and design. Hypebeast has created a giant community of those with similar interest and has pushed fashion to different dimensions. [72] [73]


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