As you may have gathered by now, I am, shall we say, not a novice in the field of online shopping.  I like going to the physical store as much as the next girl — there’s nothing like the experience of actually trying the clothes on and seeing them in person — but I’m a firm believer in the benefits of shopping online.  Physical stores give you the ambiance, but no physical store can rival the variety available on the internet, especially for mass-produced items like shoes or clothes.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen something on a woman passing by or in a store that I couldn’t find in my size in person but managed later to turn up on the web (tips on that later). As a part-time resident of the blogosphere, I might be a little biased, but in my opinion, online shopping is just as indispensable as the stores.

In support of that principle, this is the first part of a series highlighting some of the best and most useful sites available on the web. We’ll be hitting the sites category by category, starting today with online clothing boutiques.  (If you have any categories you’d especially like to see, feel free to drop us a line and let us know!)  Here are some of the best, and our take on their pros and cons.

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I’m sure I’m not the only woman interested in fashion who has worked in a conservative office environment.  Have any of you noticed the peculiar dearth of fashion guidance on the subject of what we can wear to to work? Certain websites and magazines who shall remain nameless (*cough*Lucky!*cough*) are continually proffering “office appropriate” outfits, but really?  Those outfits might be office appropriate if you’re 22 and work at a fashion magazine, but not so much if you work in an accounting office or at a Fortune 500 company.

That’s really a shame, because “conservative” does not have to mean boring.  Even those of us who know we shouldn’t be wearing 4″ peeptoe heels and bare shoulders in to the office have options. Now, if you’re an attorney and are going to court, you know perfectly well you need to wear a suit, and it probably needs to not have ruffles and certainly needs to not be pink.  I’m not talking about those kinds of situations.  Sometimes, yes, you need to be boring.  (Although for those situations, I recommend checking out Theory, J. Crew, or Banana Republic.  They offer suits with a cut much more modern than the average suit you’re likely to find in your local Macy’s or Filene’s.)  For the regular day in the office, on the other hand, the vast majority of us can get a little more interesting without crossing the line of appropriate business attire.  Yes, actual appropriate business attire, wearable by women over 25.

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Thirsting for the designers you love at frugal prices?  ShopBop to the rescue.

The online store is offering you a chance to save an additional 20 percent of sale items already marked down 70 percent.  So fill your virtual shopping cart with that Adam handkerchief halter that you’ve been eyeing, those Botkier zip-front boots and the high waisted Abaete Morgan pants.

All you have to do is enter 20OFF70 at checkout.

Happy shopping!

Adam, I love you.  Really, there’s no one quite like you for just-right fabulously slouchy sweaters and gorgeously tailored skirts.  But neither I nor my bank account can handle the ongoing torture of seeing the kinds of sales you keep posting on all my favorite items.  Have a heart.  It’s after Christmas, and I am still reeling from the madness.

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