Month: March 2007

H&M’s web site

After posting my last blog I went looking for more dresses or shirts and stopped by
H&M’s website.I knew that Madonna had a line out and I wanted to see it.But this blog won’t be about her *clothes because I couldn’t see them!
I have all the latest flash plugins but I couldn’t (at first)see into the Madonna collection part of the site.
I tried again.
Ok,now we’ve gotten in…
It looks really cool once the page loads: an image of a girl stands next to a mannequin with an outfit on in a room that looks like a walk-in closet. You’re supposed to be able to click next and the girl will turn to the mannequin and hit it and spin it in a bitchy way. The mannequin spins and then has a new outfit on.I’ve never seen this kind of super advanced flash before and would’ve been impressed.If it works.Which it doesn’t.
It got stuck on outfit number 3 out of 27.
The back of the closet shows the accessories part of the collection on shelves and clicking on one of the purses makes a next link pop up.When you click next the girl reappears and spins…nothing! The mannequin fails to appear.
This turned out to be some delay in the flash program and wasn’t actually supposed to be the purse I was clicking on to make the link show-it was supposed to be the mannequin but it hadn’t loaded.Whatever.
It’s awesome.
I say awesome because it was neat to see the girl hit air. As an online shopping user experience it wasn’t so awesome because I think the whole purpose of online shopping is to at least let the visitor see what you’re selling not impress the shit out of you with flash. Am I right?
This page also doesn’t seem to offer a non-flash option.Which is a huge no-no.
Hell, I’m going back to see.
Nope, no non-flash option offered.
But I did find out that moving the cursor over the outfit will make a next link appear.However this happened after I became a little angry and just started clicking over random areas of the page!
Clicking it doesn’t do anything,though.
You’ve got to then click/hover over the girl and after a while she will do her spin thing again.
Another flaw:once the mannequin spins and has a new outfit,there’s supposed to be text that describes the clothes and the price.Only it stops working.So you’re left wondering what the clothes costs.
I really don’t know how to classify this site.
It fails user interaction almost 100% but it is really a cool site.When it works.I’m sorry I keep harping on that factor.
Ok, so you have to find out how things work on the site?
That isn’t cool. I guess H&M is counting on the fact that you’ll just keep clicking around until you get the info you want from their site.
This isn’t really that fair.One ought to be able to get to all the information easily from a website,especially an ecommerce site or else go play a computer game if a challange is what one is seeking.
And all this frustrating of the visitor doesn’t end with the Madonna collection.It’s reserved for the entire site.
The pages take a very long time to load,well over the 7 second rule,more like 20 0r 30.
Then when trying to navigate to a different section you are again forced to wait all over again.I’m guessing that repeat returns to the site may speed things up but that, as we all know, doesn’t count for much in the UI area.

*The clothes:The Madonna collection includes a freakin turban. I know she’s approaching dowager age but she still looks amazing.What up with the turban? Save the turbans for when you need them:when you’re 80 and have no hair left on your old head.
The clothes are,um,prissy, uptight and look really uncomfortable.Lots of tight looking arm holes and severe lines.

Pretty

My friend Landon is from Youngstown,Ohio.So is Nanette Lepore.They know each other,too.I guess Youngstown is a small town.
Anyway I’m scheming because I love this dress but it costs $300 and seems to be unavailable at the moment.How cool to be able get it and at a discount?
Not that I’d ever wrangle a friend or pay so much for a dress.But it is really pretty.

More about Forever 21

I was lucky that my roommate,D wanted to go out shopping today.
It was a really pretty day.Not too cold until later on in the afternoon when it got suddenly chilly.
We walked the half hour trek to Fulton Mall and I got to go to Forever 21 again.
It’s really amazing how well kept up this branch is.
Everything is hung up and hardly anything is on the floor or hanging off the hangers by a breath.
I’m really into those little sundresses or babydoll dresses that can be worn over jeans or pants.I plan to have this be my summer uniform because I’m trying to dress more like a girl these days.I wore exclusively jeans and a small size man’s graphic tee last summer and I’m over that look for this year.
I like those boobtube(ruched?) tops with an empire waist and a fullish(but not hoe-down full)body in tunic or babydoll style.
I think they’re flattering as hell on me since I have big boobs and wide shoulders and a big butt.
Sometimes my butt doesn’t bother me.Other days I can change 10 times because I think it’s huge and my clothes aren’t helping.
So I want something I can throw on quickly but still look cute in.
I have about four of these kinds of tops/dresses but they are all black.I like wearing black but it gets tired and isn’t very summery or girlie.The problem is that I don’t feel right if it isn’t a dark color.I feel all twitchy and uncomfortable and usually won’t wear it again.I guess it’s a problem I have.But in the long run it’s just better if I buy the subdued color because I may actually wear it and get my money’s worth out of it.Where if I force myself to buy cheery prints or bright colors it’ll hang unworn in my closet until I give it away.
Sure enough the blueish colored blouse I bought today has to go back because it ain’t me.Although from the bodice up it looked really good the bottom half looked like crap.I’d never wear it.
The bad thing about all of this is that I spent too much money.And the blue blouse can only be returned for store credit or exchange-no refunds.

Forever 21

The Forever 21 store branch on 14th and Union Square is probably one of the worst clothing stores in the world.The selection is awful,ugly and the displays are horribly maintained.
I have no idea why the one store with the same name on Fulton Mall in Brooklyn is a dream while the other one is a nightmare.Aren’t they the same store-owned by the same people with the same merchandise?
Ok, so the one on Union Sq. is destroyed because it gets more foot traffic,I know.
But that doesn’t explain why I can never find anything worth buying.
Whereas in the Fulton mall branch I’ve found lots of cool things every time I go.
That picture is of someone’s messy room. I put it here to show you what the Union sq. store looked like last Thursday evening.