5 Amazon Fashion Finds That Are Actually Worth It
What was life before Amazon?
Nostalgic memories of camping out in a Barnes & Noble aisle come to mind. Stops at multiple stores just to cross eye cream, batteries, and cat litter off a singular shopping list may have happened. Dare we say it: Two-day shipping was never free...let alone available.
Still, with so much convenience Amazon affords us these days, there's still one shopping category that remains questionable for tastemakers and trendsetters: fashion. The online mega-marketplace offers an endless stream of shirts, shoes, and seasonal selects — many of which are practical; others seemingly random. Your favorite brands may not be available there, but there are treasures in the trove — you just have to wade through some extensive waters to find them. Or, just let us ferry you.
What are people actually looking for when it comes to their wardrobe choices? More importantly, which of these finds provide a great value? Please turn your attention to Droplist, a tool that alerts Honey members of price drops on selected items. Looking at six months (December 2018 to May 2019) of Droplist items, including the top 1,200 product saves, we not only found what style selects were the most popular — but also what may be worth waiting for a potential price reduction.
Perhaps a Rolex may be out of the question, but there are a ton of watches on Amazon that may fall within your budget. The demand is also quite high: one in four style saves is a men's watch. Of that category, selected brands consist of cult-favorite Casio, department store-friendly Citizen, and slightly pricier Bulova. In the top 100 fashion items saved to Droplist, 28 were watches. Of those, 13 were from Japanese brand Seiko, which is known to be one of the most reliable timepieces you can find at that affordable price point. Whether you're buying for yourself or someone else, you're getting great value for a starter mechanical watch.
Another popular fashion category consists of travel accessories, making up one-fifth of top Droplist style saves. An obvious jet-setting essential? Luggage, which is on the list. But what's more interesting is how prepared travelers are...at least compared to us. Weighing a suitcase before a flight is pretty common. But with a portable hanging scale? The experienced globetrotter does that. And, apparently, the Etekcity Digital Hanging Luggage Scale is quite handy for this.
When traveling, security should always be a concern. While travel wallets litter the saves list, a majority of these accessories, like the Travelambo Womens Wallet, feature Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) blocking technology (you know, so hackers can't wirelessly steal your credit card info). Other useful items include beauty product organizers, travel-size umbrellas, and this very cool luggage compression set.
When one usually shops fashion items, one is often looking for shoes, shirts, or shorts...you know, the typical stuff. Thanks to the vast nature of the online marketplace, the depths of the style category include such interesting (and, honestly, random) products like Lock Laces, or elastic, no-tie shoe laces. Admittedly, we haven't tried this invention personally, but it's probably very helpful when working out or hiking the great outdoors...or maybe just for busy parents who have given up on tying their children's shoes for the hundredth time.
Another random find? No-buckle stretch belts. There's nothing more annoying that a belt that's cutting off flow to your food baby.
Stocking up on warm wardrobe staples may be the least of your worries — especially if it's 80 degrees outside — but it's top of mind for shoppers in the colder seasons (remember that winter vortex?). In fact, 33 percent of the top 1,200 Droplist saves consisted of outerwear items. And, let's be honest: Finding a cozy, fashion-forward topper can be one of the most difficult essentials to shop. When it comes to down jackets, for instance, most options on the market can make you look like the love child of the Michelin Man and Missy Elliott in the "The Rain [Supa Dupa Fly]" music video. Not to mention, heavier pieces, like jackets and coats, often come at a heftier cost.
Enter: Orolay Women's Thickened Down Jacket, the most popular among Droplist style-related items. Made in the U.S., the coat is fabricated with 90 percent white duck down and 10 perfect feather, as well as a weather-resistent shell. OK, now that the practical stuff is out of the way, let's talk about what really matters: the style. The zipper-enclosed pockets don't just make it useful; its metal detail breaks up the bulk fabric, providing an edgy, modern look. Juxtaposed with the quilting lines, the jacket is made more effortlessly chic. The longer length of the hem provides more coverage but also doesn't look like a bubble cocoon like other full-body options. Coming in five colors and at $140, this find is worth waiting six more months to wear.
You could spend $100 on a pair of Lululemon yoga pants. You could pay full price at your nearest Adidas stores on a pair of classic training pants. Or, you can take full advantage of the more affordable offerings provided by Amazon, which include big brand names, like Adidas, New Balance, and Nike, and lesser known companies like ODODOS, which supplies a pair of yoga pants often saved to Droplist. Even though athleisure only makes up 5 percent of style saves, high-end sports and athletic wear has become a huge trend in recent years, creating a massive market. So, even if you have your heart set on an Ivy Park ensemble from Topshop, at least you can find affordable no-slip Pilates socks on Amazon to balance out the cost.