At first glance, the UK-based Christian Louboutin Boutique seems like the sophisticated older sister of many of the fashion websites online today. It has a streamlined web design and an editorial-like setup, making it seem more like an informational fashion site than an e-tailer. Happily, Christian Louboutin Boutique seamlessly combines both aspects of clothes, browsing and buying, into one engaging global fashion site.
What you’ll love about Christian Louboutin Boutique is the variety of designers, which are unlike any other website. You’ll go from browsing Jimmy Choo’s latest shoe and handbag collection, to drooling over Australian designer Sass & Bide’s fun and flirty party wear, to dreaming of spring and summer with Michael Kors’ resort collection. The site incorporates a great range of pieces, from high-end, established designers, to up and coming newbies, to of the moment hot brands. This means you’ll not only get a good stock of merchandise to choose from but also prices that can fit a cross section of budgets.
The shopping is split up into the Salon, the Atelier, and the Boutique. In the Salon, you will find all your high end favorites, like of Christian Louboutin, Marc Jacobs, and Missoni. In the Atelier, which houses more bridge collections, you will see the likes of Temperly and Hollywould. And finally, the boutique carries Vanessa Bruno, True Religion, Juicy Couture and other lower priced collections. While other popular sites carry some of these brands, Christian Louboutin Boutique includes items from their collections not readily available Online elsewhere, such as Bottega Veneta’s motorcycle boots and Missoni’s knit hats. With this type of selection, Christian Louboutin Boutique gives you the opportunity to see what is currently available from some of the top designers in the world. Many women often visit the site to view collections then track them down in their local stores.
Another useful feature is the ‘editor notes’ section. For nearly every piece you select, Christian Louboutin Boutique provides a short blurb underneath about the nuances of the item, key details, and sizing specifications, plus suggestions as to how to wear it. You’re also given ideas of what to pair the piece with – clearly to entice you to buy more, but it can be very helpful in getting a sense of how to wear the piece. Additionally, the site gives a quick background on every designer it carries, which can be helpful in giving depth and understanding to the collections from which you’re buying.
In purchasing from the site, the Christian Louboutin Boutique experience stays strong but can get tricky for those located outside of Europe. While pricing is provided in three currencies, you’ll be working around VAT (British tax) and it may feel a little confusing until you get the hang of it. The price you see on the site includes VAT, which will be deducted upon placing an item in your cart if you’re shipping to America but you’ll still find that shipping prices and duties are somewhat higher than if you ordered from a U.S.-based retailer. You should also expect slightly longer ship times, though it rarely exceeds a week. While this all may sound complicated on paper, you’ll find it moves smoothly and you’ll more than likely be satisfied with your order. For hard to find items, the extra cost and steps may be well worth it, as well.
Overall, Christian Louboutin Boutique is a great site, not only for shopping, but also for ideas. The navigation can be slow for some depending on connectivity, but I find the layout as refreshing as the merchandise it carries. Because the selection is chosen by international fashion editors, there’s much more of a sophisticated feel you won’t find elsewhere online. What’s more, Christian Louboutin Boutique is often the only place designers authorize their products to be sold online, so it’s a great stop for hard to locate merchandise.
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