Style Showcase

Hi, Mark,

First off, you might want to review other sites per that agreement you agreed to when you made this thread...

Secondly, the dates on your site are 2003-4 so it's not *just* launched, eh? Don't be a spammer.

Sorry...I'll review three other sites asap.

The site is new...live for only 3 weeks or so.

Nice job... it's not easy taking OSCommerce and making it look good! You've done well!

Because most of the middle columns are quite long, why don't you make more of the logo's on the right? have them the fullwidth of the colum and arranged vertically one on each row and it would make them easier to see.

Good Job!

Thanks, Mark,

it really does look snazzy. do all the folks who have featured you in print also link to you?

Everything works great, and it seems like all the options have been covered. The only thing that stands out to me is that your copy on the about page is just a big mass o' text. Breaking that up a little, using some headings, et cetera, would help with comprehension and ease of reading.

Aarrrgh! I just opened a ladies shopping site in front of everyone at work - from the brief glimpse I got before closing the window it looks very nice though!

I'll try and post a better review later.

Looks nice! One small problem with the front page - the main content area should align along the bottom. See where the "get free gifts" part is lower than the rest, and then on the other side the magazine logos are higher? That should be levelled off. Move the free gifts thing over to the right and it will level off better.

I sort of think that this is a little too much pink and green. Almost too girly-girl if you know what I mean. It wouldn't put me off from shopping though but I might feel better with something a little less baby pink. (and as a member of your target audience I think I'm qualified to say that )

Oh no! ... handbags! My favourite.... must.... resist.... Just kidding! Lots of ideas for my own projects here, I'll have to bookmark it. One problem I have when I'm shopping around is that the larger product views are way too small in some cases. If I'm going to buy something like this online I want to see a lot of detail. I'd also like to see the name of the designer with the product listing.

I'm going to do some test shopping here. I love the "shopping bag" concept (instead of "cart"). Great idea! WHOAH! Checking the shipping/return page to see if you're going to ship to me. Those international shipping rates are outrageous! $25 extra !?!? No way I would order from this site based on that alone. I order a little bracelet and you want me to pay $30+ for shipping ?!? Rediculous. You're missing out on a lot of business right there. Not to mention that you're not offering to ship to most of the world. Shipping rates should also be based on type of item or number of items purchased rather than cost. People generally have some understanding of how much it costs to ship stuff and they don't like it when sites try to overcharge. You also might want to say something about how orders will be packaged for shipping. People would probably be concered about that, especially with jewelry items.

I don't understand why I have to become a member to buy something here. That should be optional, and the benefits explained to the user. If you don't ship outside of North America, why does the sign-up form include a drop-down with all countries listed? So, I submit my test information only to find out that I must confirm my account before I can actually buy anything! So much for impulse buying! Oh, wait, I can keep going now. Next page hers shows me a shipping rate of $10. So which is it? Is the information on the shipping/returns page incorrect? I'm confused now. $10 is much more reasonable, I don't have a problem with that, especially if the product comes well packaged.

Oooh, can't pay by credit card ??? That's something people should know up front. This is another place you could lose a lot of buyers. Many people don't have a paypal acount, and don't want to bother sending a check. Again, so much for impulse buys. Get this hooked up with a credit card processor.

Overall this is a nice design. Great products too. Checkout process needs work though. Check your page titles (now I see Order ConfirmationStyleshowcase.com - all one word there). I also think the logo could use a little bit of work. The symbol is good but the font is a little dull.

I'll definitely be coming back here to get ideas! So many projects, so little time...

I disagree with that. On another site it may be the case, but in this case it makes perfect sense. Shopping carts are tacky and associated with cheap department stores and grocery stores. This is a classy womens' clothing and accessory shop. In the real world, I certainly wouldn't walk around a shop like that with a cart!** The use of "bag" here adds a touch of class and whimsy to the site.

If there were other confusing navigational items here I could see why this would be confusing, but since everything is so clearly layed out it's not a problem. The context clears up any confusion. The real problem lies behind that point when you try to place an actual order.

** Of course, I wouldn't walk around with a bag either, but bag is more appropriate than cart.

I think Nielsen's point is that the shopping cart has become a standard symbol for this function. Deviating from the standard could be risky. I suppose it's a little like the envelope symbol which is used for both mail and email. It doesn't have to be perfectly accurate in reality, just widely used.

I'd also say that the fact that a shopping cart system (including the unrealistic "checkout") exists in the context of a bag product isn't sufficient justification to meddle with a standard icon. It would be rather like using the silhouette of mountains on a speed-bump road sign simply because there's a good view of a mountain range from that point in the road.

That is, if one were to adopt any contextually related container in place of the cart, one might end up with all sorts of absurd things like "shopping suitcase", "shopping pot", "shopping net", "shopping cargo hold", etc etc.

IMO, there are always cases where it is appropriate to deviate from a standard. This is one of them. And the use of "bag" is reasonable and understandable. The examples you gave (suitcase, pot, net etc.) are not. It's like putting a logo on the right side. Yes, logos are normally in the top-left corner. That is where users expect to see it. But in some cases there is nothing wrong with putting it in the top-right. It may make sense, it may be the appropriate choice. However, it would never be appropraite to put the logo in the lower-right or lower-left corner. That wouldn't make sense.

I also think that it is important to do these things in moderation. The "bag" is the only non-standard aspect of this interface. If all sorts of things were non-standard it would be confusing. In this case, there is only one non-standard element and its context makes its use obvious.

Thanks, everyone, for your excellent comments. You have lots of great suggestions which I'll get working on. It's funny how many things you can miss when looking at a you own site!

Regarding the leveling off of images at the bottom of both columns - the problem is that the product images that appear in the "what's new" box vary in height, which throws off the alignment when certain images come up (randomly each time the page is loaded). I guess I could set the height of all images the same, but then certain images with a tall and thin aspect ratio (e.g. earrings) would look too small. Any suggestions on the best way to handle this?

Megan - the "girly girl" colors were suggested by my girlfriend and we'll probably stay with this basic color scheme for spring and summer, then switch it to a darker color scheme during fall and winter.

The international shipping, purchase without being a member and credit card issues will be sorted out shortly. Shipping will be cheaper, especially to Canada

To the ladies: could you please comment on the product selection and pricing, especially in comparison to other fashion sites that you've seen or may use yourselves? We currently have about 600 products in total. I'm targeting a figure of 1,000 before we start promoting the site. I think there's enough handbags and jewelry and we'll focus on getting more fashion and accessories onto the site. Do you agree? We'll also be offering coupons in magazines (e.g. 20% off).

Thanks again!

Ok, you can count out "shopping cargo hold" , but I don't see why the others are inappropriate. Perhaps if you saw them in proper context you'd decide otherwise? They sound absurd now, but by relativist reasoning, such transgressions won't be absurd given the right circumstances. That's sort of my point... being selective with deeply ingrained universal symbols -- absolutes -- isn't a good idea.

Logos in the top-left is a flimsy standard. Take a fair sample of web pages and you'll find that it varies enough not to be considered "standard" at any length. Besides, the shopping cart concept is about a discrete symbolic phenomenon, which people treat differently to wider design conventions like layouts.

Ultimately, though, as I said, the worst this'll do is be mildly annoying to a portion (majority?) of the audience. Even in Nielsen's case study, he provides multiple reasons for the subject's failure. So playing with carts and bags is trivial if it doesn't mount up, like you say, Megan.

Abhi - normally I would agree with you. This is a sepecial case, that's all. I believe that in design there are always exceptions to the rules. So lets stop arguing.

Mark - I can't get into the site now but when I was there I did think the pricing was rather high. The selection and quality looked good though. I was trying to get a more detailed look at the products but to me it looked like a lot of that stuff I could make myself, especially with the bags and beaded jewelry. However, I like to make things myself if I can find the time. I also don't mind using lower quality materials if I can get the same look. A lot of people aren't cheap and crafty like me and would be happy to pay the price, especially if you point out the unique features of the products. When I look at fashion magazines I can never believe the prices people will pay for stuff, but quite obviously they will and this is the market you'll be targeting.

About the colours, that's a good idea. Go with something more sophisticated for the winter, and tap into whatever colours are showing up in current fashion.

First of all, your design is wonderful with only a one suggestion. I think the pink and green work very well. You have cooled down the feminimity of the pink with the green, but your shades work together. The only problem I saw (other than the problems that have been discussed earlier) is that the text at the bottom shouldn't be pink. You can't read it. Just use your green instead.
I wish you success! Please don't ever show this site again. I am a purse fanatic and I just went into DTs! Ha!

I think you have made a e commerce site lokk good