What Does Your Website Say About Your Brand: Online Retailers Worth Visiting

In the past week I've made some posts on online stores for fashion brands. Below are a list of sites of brands I think are worth having a look at:

Patrik Ervell

Uniqlo (Thanks to Stan Lee for this one)

TOM FORD

Michael Bastian NYC

The thing about the sites above, for me, is that in some sense they seem to just "to work" and they "feel right". A brand's website is sometimes the first point of contact someone has with that fashion label. It's important, then, that it reflects what you're about. This doesn't mean you need an amazing flash-heavy website - it just means it needs to give the consumer the right kind of feeling.

For example, Uniqlo are a fun brand and their flash-driven website when you start clicking and checking out the jeans shows this off really well. Patrik Ervell feels a little bit hipster, but I think it works 'cause Patrik Ervell are a hipster-ish brand (same goes for Oliver Spencer from the UK, as well as ALBAM, both worth checking out). Their websites are purposefully minimalist, but that doesn't mean they don't have content. They have content that's relevant to the kind of person who they feel would visit their site, but is inclusive enough not to alienate someone new to the site.

Michael Bastian's site is also pretty simple. But as is the case with TOM FORD's, the colours are an extension of the brand. For Bastian, the colour palettes are what you see in print, while for FORD it's an extension of how the clothes, accessories and fragrances are visually merchandised.

Dishonourable mention to Thom Browne:

The site is plain. On the one hand, one could argue that this might actually work given that the designer favours a late 1950s aesthetic, and he aims to embrace the uniformity of this period in his collections. I don't think it does -- the designer charges upwards of $4000 US for a suit - one with shrunken proportions and a decidedly Pee Wee Herman look about it -- and so, the website should have something to add value, either for the person paying that much for the garment, or for someone considering it. The existence of runway videos isn't enough, in my opinion.

Now, obviously, a person visiting the site doesn't spend ages thinking about this -- but when it comes down to the important stuff about how long they spend on it, what they make of it, and most importantly, how it makes them FEEL, this stuff is important.

Also, if you haven't already, check out my post on the functionality of online stores for Sportsgirl and General pants and a brief bit about the upcoming Country Road/Trenery launch.

If you liked/disliked any of the sites, let me know why by commenting!