Virtual Shopping

Click on thumbnail to view larger image.

Let me preface this by stating that I believe in shopping therapy. A new gadget for one's computer, a time-saving kitchen tool, a silly gift to mail an overseas friend, an item of clothing that makes you look years younger and pounds slimmer... whatever! It can take the edge off a bad week.

However, somehow shopping for swimwear seems to have the oposite effect! Nothing theraputic about it. Nothing fits, everything looks terrible under fluorescent lighting, and the horrifying part is you have to come out of the change room to really get a good look... Add to this that if you are a western woman living in Asia and happen to be larger than size 2, you might as well give up now! They probably don't have your size!

Some people I know here in Taiwan shop online, but aside from Amazon.com and Victoria Secrets (I like these ones because you can save money by not ordering, but saving everything in a wish list instead.), I have never really tried as I get frustrated by companies (like Nike) who let you complete the ordering process before telling you that they don't ship to addresses outside the US... nor do they accept foreign credit cards.

Well, this week I discovered virtual shopping. I went to the virtual Dressing Room and tried on several swimsuits before contacting Everything But Water and placing my order. Painless! There are only a few clothing shops doing this, but there should be more! One of my friends says this model looks a bit like me... and hers looks lots like her. I wonder if this will catch on... and what other activities we will be able to do next?