Where To Buy Clothing Accessories
The perfect outfit needs perfect accessories to make it complete. The World Wide Web has many sites dedicated to selling clothing for men, women, and children of all shapes and sizes with various fashion needs. There are also a number of Web sites that sell accessories to accent your sartorial choices.
We searched for sites that sell hats, jewelry, shoes, and ties. Even though it's impossible to include every online accessory store, we included some well-known brand names and some lesser-known stores we really liked.
Hats
We found most sites dedicated solely to selling hats are those of independent retailers, not manufacturers. The following two sites offer secure online ordering.
The Hat Box is both a physical store in Austin, Texas, and a Web site offering more than 100 casual, designer, novelty, and outdoor hats for men and women No matter what your budget is, you can find a hat at The Hat Box. In the Ladies Designer category, for example, there were hats from the Helen Kaminski collection, most of which sell for more than $100 (U.S.). In the Novelty section, however, we found a $14 (U.S.) beanie, complete with propeller, and the kid-popular "Cat in the Hat" head topper for $30 (U.S.)..
If you're serious about ordering a hat, be sure to read the Info Page, which includes a helpful section on how to accurately measure your hat size.
Men, women, and children can choose from thousands of hats at this online store. The Hat List link displays the dozens of hats, caps, and hat accessories for sale in the retail stores of the same name. For online shopping, you'll want to check out the other categories, such as Men's, Women's, Caps and Berets, and Outdoor/Adventure.
To give you an idea of price, we scouted out the hats in the Men's section. One of the Panama hats sells for $49.50 (U.S.); the silk top hat will cost you $215 (U.S.)
Jewelry
You may think that buying something as personal as a wedding ring would be highly impersonal if done through the Web. Then again, you may find the selection and prices at some jewelry sites hard to beat.
The crown jewel of jewelry stores, at least in the Midwest, Borsheim's is a Berkshire Hathaway owned store in Omaha, Nebraska. When you first visit the site, you should read the letter from the store's famed owner, Warren Buffet, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. The letter explains the company's philosophy on jewelry sales. You will learn, for instance, that qualified customers can participate in a "shop-at-home" program that enables them to purchase jewelry that Borsheim's will ship to their home.
Only a portion of the store's inventory is online, so you are encouraged to call, send a fax, or send an E-mail message to Borsheim's for further assistance. The Jewelry, Watches & Pens, and Center Island categories, however, will give you a good idea of the fine-quality items available for online purchasing. For instance, the Center Island section features rare stones, one-of-a-kind creations, and estate pieces.
Fred Taylor claims to be the "largest supplier of fine jewelry at discount prices" on the Internet. And with an inventory of more than 10,000 items, it certainly is large. To see those items, click the View Catalog button on the home page. You'll see numerous links to categories of jewelry, plus Quick Gifts links that will help you find gift items for men, women, and children. But before you can make your selection, you'll need to register and log in to shop.
Perhaps the most famous jewelry retailer across the United States, Zales maintains a full-featured site and dubs itself the "Online Diamond Store." Its sales specials include 10% off regular prices (with a few exceptions) and free gift wrap for a limited time (normally a $3.75 charge). Two helpful features are the Store Locator and the Best Gift Search tools. With the latter, you select a jewelry category and event, such as a birthday, and then receive gift recommendations from the jewelers at the company. You can also select a price range to keep those recommendations in line with your budget.
In addition, you can browse through the company's catalogues, which you can find through the Advertising & TV link. Plus, you can click the Ordering Info link to read step-by-step instructions on how to order, how to return or exchange items, and how to determine an accurate ring size.
In addition to diamonds, Zales sells gold items, gemstones, cultured pearls, and watches, plus jewelry just for men.
Shoes
A number of brand-name shoe manufacturers do not offer shopping capabilities through their Web sites. Still, we've chosen to mention a few of these sites, in addition to full-service sites, so you can see what information is available there.
You can't buy these popular, casual shoes online, but the Birkenstock site does provide lots of information about its line of shoes. You will find colour photos, a description that indicates available show styles, colours, and textures, and an estimated price for each type of shoe. To purchase a pair, click the Where To Buy & Repair link, a tool that lets you search for retailers by state. You can also register for a free catalog by filling out a questionnaire, which will in turn register you for a monthly draw for a free pair of Birkenstocks. Finally, if you own or plan to buy Birkenstocks, be sure to read the Foot & Shoe Care section, which tells you how to take care of your purchase, as well as of your feet.
Footwear categories in the Men's and Women's Catalogues at this site include Dress, Dress Casual, Boating, and Performance & Walking. The Shoe Sizer and Shoe Search tools will help you find the exact style and fit of shoe for your needs.
Dexter does not offer online shopping at its site. But if you click the Where To Buy link, you'll find department stores and individual retailers that sell these shoes, plus a locator tool to help you find the nearest Dexter Factory Store. It also suggests that online shoppers by Harry's Shoes, an Internet and brick-and-mortar store in New York City.
This Maine-based shoemaker offers contemporary, classic, street, and golf footwear for men and women. To browse its selection, click the Begin Shopping link to see the various shoe departments, such as Bargain Basement Boots and Specials of the Week. All Eastland Shoes are available for online purchasing through this site.
This full-service site sells dress, casual, and golf shoes for men. Under Dress Shoes, we found dozens of options. Each item is pictured and comes with a description, choice of colour (if available), and price. Between the Casual and Dress Shoes, we found footwear ranging from $49.95 to $235.00 U.S.
Florsheim also offers a number of helpful features and tools, including a chance to buy gift certificates, find a nearby store, and receive fashion advice about selecting the right shoe in the casual office environment. The Ask A Podiatrist section lets you send questions via E-mail to doctors who are members of the American Podiatric Medical Association.
When you visit the Hush Puppies home page, be sure to read the brief history of how this brand of shoes came about. Then, at the bottom, click the Let's Go Shopping link to begin your search for a pair of comfortable shoes that should bring relief to your "barking dogs." Browse the Selections in either the Men's or Women's categories. The Women's section includes Classics, Workwear, Casuals, Walking, Comfortable Dress, and Slippers, with more than 60 total styles. The Men's section also has a nice selection of footwear, minus the Casuals and Walking styles. There are fewer categories of men's shoes than women's shoes at the Hush Puppies site, but the Men's Workwear section alone offers 24 styles.
We didn't want to overlook the most popular of all shoes athletic footwear. The Product Finder on the home page for Nike lets you search for items by exact name or by entering a combination of such things as sport activity, product category, and your age. As you can guess, these celebrity-endorsed shoes aren't cheap; one Air Jordan style for preschoolers sells for $50.00 U.S. While you're here, however, you may also want to check out the many other athletic apparel items Nike sells. You can order securely online or call a toll-free number to order or receive customer assistance round-the-clock.
Ties
We didn't find any sites for tie manufacturers, but there are plenty of online tie retailers. Here are three good ones, all of which offer secure online ordering.
These 100%-silk Italian ties come in regular length (55.75 inches) for $38 U.S., extra long (63 inches) for $42 U.S., and bow style for $28 U.S. The Tie Of The Month special will save you $6 U.S. off the price of the treasured regular-length tie. Tie styles range from serious to almost silly, and you'll find matching belts and cufflinks in the Accessories section for those not-so-conservative styles.
Gentlemen's Essentials All these business-suitable ties are 100% silk and are in such categories as Friday Casuals ($26.50 U.S.), Printed Fabric $26.50 U.S.), Woolen Fabric ($32.50 U.S.), and Clearance Centre ($12.50 U.S.). Even though its prices are low to begin with, Gentleman's Essentials offers a 10% discount on all purchases of more than $75 U.S.
With 2 million ties in stock, The Tie Guys aren't bashful about proclaiming themselves the largest online tie store. You can purchase novelty neckwear, such as those featuring "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" themes, professional sports ties, Rush Limbaugh's No Boundaries collection, and even Pierre Cardin ties.
Department Stores
If you're the type of person who Likes to shop for everything in one place, you'll be glad to know that many online department stores include Accessories sections at their sites. In fact, most of the stores mentioned in the "Clothing" Main Links section of this Web site do. So, don't forget to check those retailers for more accessory options, including such items as purses, scarves, and belts.