Clothes: stevenalan.com

As I've said before, buying clothes online is an incredibly tricky ordeal. You should try on most clothes or shoes before you buy them. Could you imagine buying a jacket online without trying it on? I'd basically have no idea whether it fit or not.

But some clothes are okay to buy online: socks, underwear, etc. T-shirts are basically perfect because they don't have to fit well. In fact, wearing a t-shirt that fits too well is incredibly dorky. Anyway I'd like to add shorts to the list of clothes you can buy online with one caveat: you have to not be super picky about the length (especially if it's too short).

I bought a pair of "Trovata Romani Twill Shorts in Blue" some time ago for about $90. Now they're down to $58, I guess because we're about a quarter-way through summer. Anyway, the length wasn't quite perfect (I wanted something a bit longer) but still, you need only really know your waist size and you've pretty much got the shorts going since the length isn't that important. And the length is the bit that always messes me up on trousers anyway. With trousers, if they're too short you're completely screwed; you can't make them longer. With shorts, if they're too short, well, then you just have shorter shorts, not the end of the world. If they're too long, just hem them.

Anyway I wouldn't go online and buy shorts I had never seen in person before because shopping online is just too big a gamble for clothes. And always remember: don't buy shirts, shoes or trouser online!