Shopping Review: Zappos

Originally published in the Elegant Plus Newsletter on January 18, 2006

Billed as the “Web’s Most Popular Shoe Store”, we decided to review Zappos.com and see what all the fuss was about.
Until recently I’d been very reluctant to purchase shoes on-line, precisely because my foot
can be hard to fit, and there is nothing worse than a chaffing, ill fitting shoe. I like to be able to
try them on, walk around a bit in the store and decide if the toe is indeed wide enough, the arch
high enough, and heel snug but not pinched. Basically I want to know the answer to the
question “are they comfortable?” before I hand my credit card over. While I will rarely sacrifice
style for comfort, I will NEVER sacrifice comfort for style - not with shoes. The blisters are too
painful.
The search for a pair of ICON shoes - an artsy, hard to find, but exceedingly comfortable brand of shoe helped me to make the leap from die-hard off-line shoe shopper to on-line shoe shopper. (I found them, and love them!)
This review is based on five or more secret shopping experiences

The Good:

A huge selection. Almost any brand and style that you can think of from athletic shoes to designer shoes, from plain and practical to highly embellished stilettos. And….. sizes, sizes, sizes.
Have a small, extra, extra wide foot? They have them. Have a large, extra narrow foot?
They have shoes that will fit you too- and probably not just a few pairs, either. They even
have a section of “Vegetarian” shoes, for shoppers who prefer to be animal friendly in their
footwear purchases. It’s a shoe shopper’s dream come true.
Added features include extensive search capabilities and the ability to request an e-mail
when a sold out shoe comes back in stock in your size. Customers can leave reviews on particular shoe styles which are extra-helpful in making shoe fit decisions.

Shipping is often very quick and most arrive in four to five days from the time of order.
Zappos has a feature that tells the customer how long a particular shoe should take to ship,
available prior to placing the item in the cart. Once in the cart, the shopping cart view will tell
you how many more pairs in that size and style are available if it is at risk of selling out.
With one of my orders, I asked that Zappos ship to a different address than is the billing address. I received a courteous customer service phone call the next morning, confirming that I had indeed ordered the shoes and that the credit card was mine.
On another occasion after a shipping mistake which was noted on the return form, a customer service agent phoned to make a personal apology for the error. Both incidents indicate, a high level of commitment to the customer.

The Bad:
Disappointingly, unlike some of their direct on-line competitors, Zappos does not offer
shipping to Canada. We know our Canadian sisters are even more starved for fashionable
clothing and accessories in hard to find sizes than Americans are.

While there are numerous ways to search for shoes at Zappos (brand, style, size) I actually found the selection to be almost too overwhelming. If I saw something I might like, I found I had to collect it in my shopping cart just to keep track of it and await final decision. If not, it was almost impossible to find it again, unless I happened to remember the brand
name. There is a “My Favorites” feature, but it only works if you have an account or are
signed in. It would be better if it worked without an account.

Finally, it’s been shown in several studies that many consumers do not like on-line stores that
require a mandatory registration and account creation. Unfortunately Zappos is a store that
does require this procedure, rather than making it optional.

The Bottom Line:
If you love shoes, have a hard to find size, enjoy designer shoes, or are looking for a particular
brand or style shoe, we recommend Zappos.com.
Afterall, with an easy 365 day return policy on unworn shoes and free shipping there is almost no risk.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Hello Gorgeous!  Learning to Love Your Curves
Debut: Ringing in the New You
by Lisa Klobucar, Regular Contributing Author at Elegant Plus Magazine

Happy New Year and welcome to, “Hello Gorgeous!”- Learning to Love your Curves Self Esteem column.

I know the first thing you are thinking, “yeah, yeah, a good self-esteem is a must have.” All I have to say is, “DAMN SKIPPY” it is. Your self-esteem is just as important as what you put on each day. Your self-esteem is not only what you think about yourself, but what you BELIEVE about yourself!

Trust me, whether you realize it or not, your face does tell a thousand tales and you may not always be aware or conscious of the stories you are telling. Oh sure, if your feet hurt, that shows on your face, or if you have a headache that is very obvious. But what if your soul is aching? What if your heart just can’t handle another rejection or blow. That shows on your face as well.

No, I do not have some magic pill that will make everything all better, no one does. However, I can offer some wonderful suggestions that will not only have you feeling better, but believing that you are worth every breath you take and then some.

So it’s a new year. First things first, my resolution is…NO MORE RESOLUTIONS. That’s right just toss that list that you made last night away. My motto is, “New Year-New Attitude”.

To get that healthy self loving glow you need to start by looking in the mirror each day. However, instead of criticizing or belittling what you see, praise yourself. Go ahead, smile, I promise it won’t hurt or break the mirror. Looking at yourself in a mirror and liking what you see isn’t being conceited. It’s when you tell others to look at you and give you compliments, now that’s being conceited. Look at your eyes how they shine. Look at your skin, look at yourself and know that you like what you see.

Here are some tips to start you on your way to self-loving who you are:

1. Invest in a hand-held mirror or a full length mirror. Look in that mirror everyday and give yourself a compliment and start your day on a positive note.

2. If you own a cell-phone program a compliment to yourself so that each time you turn your phone on you feel good. My message on my phone really does say, “Hello Gorgeous” when I turn my phone on.

3. Touch yourself (no, not like that), caress your body, give yourself a hug, feel your skin, become comfortable not only in but with your skin.

4. Above all else, SMILE. Your lovely face is what we see first.

Popularity: 5% [?]

At the Movies
Musings from the Editor’s Chair, ElegantPlus.com 

The holidays are a time when I typically work less and do things like over-indulge in movie watching. This past holiday was no different. So as I come out of the holiday haze here are some size related thoughts on things I’ve seen on both the small and big screen.

It all started when I finally watched The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which I’ve had out from Netflix since October. Delightful teen fare that follows four friends while they spend a summer apart - the bonds of friendship and plot held together by a pair of jeans that magically fits all four of their very different figures. They pass from girl to girl over the course of the summer and while each wears the jeans we see their story. America Ferrera of Real Women Have Curves fame plays the role of Carmen, the most curvaceously, full figured of the teens with great aplomb. I was expecting the usual teen froth, which might have accounted for it gathering dust on top of the DVD player for so long, but I was pleasantly surprised. Sisterhood is quite intelligent with well drawn characters and drama while sending the message of friendship, solidarity and acceptance of who we are. If you haven’t seen it yet, I do recommend renting it.

Another highly recommended, and less well known, holiday Netflix foray was the HBO mini-series Empire Falls. A rambling slice of Americana set in a decaying Maine mill town this star studded ensemble cast included Paul Newman, Helen Hunt, Ed Harris and a host of others. The issues that the characters stuggled with were small town and universal at the same time. Among the sub-plots was Helen Hunt’s character who was a diet and exercise obssessed, formerly “fat”, neurotic woman. She was positively unbearable and insecure until she finally was more at peace with herself, her body and had gained some of the weight back. Meanwhile, the object of several characters’ romantic affections was a voluptuous, self-confident waitress played with kindness and deft humor that poked fun at the other characters by Theresa Russell. While neither was the main story line this positive messaging regarding size was both real and welcome from the Hollywood set.

On the big screen I, along with hordes of others, simply had to see The Chronicles of Narnia. You may be wondering where size comes into this favorite childhood fable. Hilarious, plus size British comedienne Dawn French voices the character of Mrs. Beaver. The American audience may know her best for her role as the singing Fat Lady in the Painting in the Harry Potter movie The Prisoner of Azkeban. While it’s always preferable to see full figured actresses actually on screen, the delightfully chubby and kind Mrs. Beaver is definitely a positive and well loved character from the Narnia stories.

Finally, if you haven’t heard, the amazing, confident and voluptuous Queen Latifah was just given a star on the Hollywood walk of fame this week. I find her best role, to date, to be Mama in Chicago. But she has another movie coming out January 13 called Last Holiday in which she lives it up in high humorous style and from the looks of things gets to wear some GORGEOUS, figure flattering fashion. She’s scheduled for an hour long interview on Bravo’s Inside the Actor’s Studio this Sunday (January 8, 2006) at 8/7 pm. Should be great - I don’t intend to miss it!

What does all this have to do with plus size fashion? Nothing really, except Hollywood and fashion do seem to be inextricably linked in our attitudes about body and image. That and maybe the stylist for Queen Latifah has an un-erring eye for fabulous plus size designer fashion.

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