Topics for discussion- Online shopping

These days, it seems like everything is going digital. From news articles and recipes to yoga tutorials, you can
find almost everything on the internet.

Many people find this way of life more convenient, because they can complete their daily chores from the comfort
of their own home. I think that’s why some people like to shop for their clothes online. With the click of a button,
you can order anything you want, and have it delivered directly to your front door. For someone with a busy
lifestyle, this seems ideal.

Firstly, online shopping can be far less stressful than hitting the high street shops. There are no huge crowds of
people or tediously long queues. With online shopping, it’s just you and your computer. It’s like you have the
whole shop to yourself! Secondly, online stores don’t have opening and closing times. This is perfect for anyone
with a busy schedule – like office workers who work long hours, or teenagers with several hobbies to squeeze
into the weekend. If you want to, you can even place an online shopping order at three o’clock in the morning!

In the bustling modern world, there are clearly many advantages to online shopping. However, in my experience,
there are also several cons … With online shopping, you can’t try before you buy, and that’s a definite
disadvantage for me. Often, when my new clothes arrive, I find they don’t fit very well. It’s always annoying when
a dress is a little too big, or when sleeves are awkwardly short … Sometimes, the clothes are not what I was
expecting. A piece of clothing might look great in photos online, but quite different in real life. A blue jumper might
turn out to be green, whilst other times the material of a blouse will feel cheap and scratchy.

In these scenarios, you want to return the item, but here lies the biggest problem with online shopping. You have
to pay for your order’s delivery, and for an item to be returned to the warehouse! These charges are often very
expensive, which suddenly makes online shopping seem a little less convenient…That’s why I don’t choose to
shop online very frequently. For now, I will continue to find the time for a trip to a real shop, where I know exactly
what I’m buying!

Would you wear real fur?

15
RosemaryM
Tuesday, 25 November, 2014 - 22:10

The production of garments using real fur has always been a controversial issue. Recently, real fur has returned
to the catwalks and collections of many fashion houses.
Animal fur - also known as a 'pelt' - can be used to create a variety of garments and accessories: hats, stoles,
coats and even dresses, to name a few. Common sources of fur include, but are not limited to, foxes, rabbits,
chinchillas and raccoons. Some are considered to be more luxurious than others and there are many different
colours available.

There are many people, myself included, who believe that killing animals for their fur is unethical. Animals kept in
'fur farms' are killed purely for their fur: the meat goes to waste. To kill an animal for its fur seems unjustifiable:
animals have rights, and they should be respected. To produce just one garment, a lot of animals have to die:
one full-length fur coat is made from the pelts of sixty rabbits. Many people also have concerns about animal
welfare - is it fair to keep animals in small, dirty cages? 

For some groups of people wearing real fur is a cultural tradition which represents their heritage and way of life.
For others living in very cold climates, such as Siberia, wearing furs is a matter of survival: without them, they
simply wouldn't be able to survive in such harsh environments. Traditions aside, there are many people in the
Western world who still see fur as a symbol of wealth. It is a luxury - and one that, ultimately, they could live
without.

British fashion designer Stella McCartney refuses to use any animal products (e.g. fur or leather) in her
collections. Many high-street stores, including Topshop and Zara, have also banned the sale of products
featuring real fur. Instead, they use fake fur; this is a synthetic material which is made to look and feel like real
fur. It is a lot cheaper, but will still keep the wearer warm. 

Hundreds of fashion houses around the world use real fur in their collections, including Yves Saint Laurent and
Alexander McQueen. Celebrities such as Rihanna and Rita Ora have been seen wearing real fur. With the ever
increasing influence of social media and celebrities on our lives, will this mean the fur industry continues to grow?

Second-hand fashion in Britain

9
EllieC
Tuesday, 18 November, 2014 - 09:05

Buying clothes second-hand comes with lots of benefits, but also some downsides. However, among the student
population of Britain, it is one of the most popular ways of staying stylish. This is partly due to the huge discounts
that can be had, but also because vintage and retro clothes can provide a more ‘genuine’ version of current
trends that are inspired by the past. What’s more, buying clothes second-hand is an environmentally friendly,
sustainable way of staying fashionable.
In Britain, there are lots of ways of getting hold of second-hand fashion, with the result being first-class style.
Charity shops
These are shops which are run by a certain charity (Oxfam has over 700 shops, Cancer Research has 567).
People donate clothes (among other things) to the shop, which are then sold at low prices, and the proceeds go
to the charity. 
Positives: Very cheap clothing (for example, a top would normally cost between £2-£6), and you can shop with a
clean conscience, knowing that your money will be going to charity! 
Negatives: You can spend a long time sifting through hoards of clothes that you have no interest in, and come
away with nothing, but then again, that’s arguably the same for shopping in any kind of shop.

Vintage/Retro shops
Technically, ‘vintage’ refers to clothing that comes from the 1940s-60s, and ‘retro’ means from the 1960s-80s,
however most vintage or retro shops sell clothes from many different eras. They are different from charity shops
in that the clothes will generally be more expensive than a charity shop, sometimes only a little more, sometimes
a great deal more, and the money goes to the shop owners, rather than a charity.
Positives: Prices are still generally cheaper than in high-street shops (though this is not the case if the shop sells
vintage designer clothing). Also, vintage shops are stocked full of quirky, original versions of trends that are
currently in fashion, so you can follow trends but still look different. As well as that, they also stock second-hand
clothing that is not currently on trend, so you don’t have to dress like everyone else!
Negatives: Can be very expensive! Also, not all towns have vintage shops, whereas there are charity shops
everywhere.

Car boot sales

These are my favourite method of getting hold of second-hand clothes, because there is a whole ritual that
comes with car boot sales: they normally take place on a Saturday or Sunday morning in a large car park
somewhere, and you have to get there early (normally from 7 a.m.) to get the best bargains. I get a weird kind of
excitement from setting my alarm clock for 6 a.m. the night before a car boot sale, and when I come away from
them at 10 a.m. with armfuls of goodies, I still have the whole day ahead of me! Also, they sell much more than
just clothes (e.g. furniture, household goods, books) – the first time I went to a car boot sale, I returned with an
antique trunk that I’ve taken to university with me.
Positives: Prices are probably the cheapest out of the three (e.g. a top for 50p), as the sellers want to get rid of
what they’re selling, so are open to a bit of haggling. Also, the fact that they’re outdoors is quite good fun (unless
it’s raining …)
Negatives: The location means that there is no opportunity to try on clothes before you buy them, which has
meant that I’ve purchased items that I’ve never used since.

Are we addicted to our smartphones?

54
KatiedeS
Wednesday, 16 December, 2015 - 08:31
As part of the 'Facebook generation', we have grown up in a world where access to the internet is constantly at
our fingertips and we're able to connect with people at the touch of a button. Nowadays, it's become increasingly
common to offer guests the wifi password along with a cup of tea when they come round to visit. We have
become addicted to our smartphones.

Of course, smartphones are undeniably useful and have revolutionised our lives in so many ways. Thanks to
thousands of apps available to download, we're now able to do almost anything when we're out and about.
However, it seems a shame that these addictive pieces of technology are slowly beginning to take over our lives.
It's so easy to become dependant on our phones, whether it's to find your way around with the map application or
even just check the time. As a result we're becoming more anti-social, choosing to consult the internet rather than
talk face-to-face with other human beings.

Even when we're socialising, it seems most of us struggle without our phones at arm's reach. Phones were
invented to keep us more connected, and indeed they have done just that. We can now get in contact by an
endless list of social media outlets, yet this means we're starting to lack genuine contact with each other. People
are connecting more and more across screens rather than in person, even when it comes to relationships -
dating apps and websites are more popular than ever before. Recently, an artist released a series of images
depicting people in social situations and edited out their smartphones and tablets. The result was a collection of
powerful images that have, perhaps ironically, gone viral. They force people to wake up to the fact that we are no
longer interacting properly with each other.

I'm not to say I'm any better (as I write this my phone is sitting across from me at my desk). However, I'm trying to
use it less and less when I'm out and about. When I first arrived in France I didn't have any internet on my phone
and it was actually quite liberating. Rather than constantly checking my phone for messages or searching for
directions, I was forced to talk to people and find my way around independently. Next time you're out with your
friends, put your phone away and see how long you can last without it.

Is social media really as social as it seems?

4
EmilyW
Wednesday, 8 October, 2014 - 14:36
How many times have you checked your phone today? Your Facebook? Your Twitter?

Social media has become a huge part of everyday life, and many people criticise the effect it has, especially on
young people. Teenagers and young adults use technology in almost all of our daily activities: from tweeting a
friend, to uploading pictures on Instagram, to checking our Facebook notifications. Some people see this
constant usage as evidence of addiction to social media, but others defend it as a normal part of modern life and
communication.

The biggest criticism is that using social media online makes us LESS social in real life. We can become
obsessed with checking if we have new notifications or messages – up to hundreds of times a day. This can lead
us to ignore people around us, and there's nothing more annoying than trying to talk to a friend who is texting
someone else! Often, people confuse social media with reality. Having lots of Facebook friends doesn't mean
having a connection with those people in real life, and we forget that somebody's 'image' online doesn't always
reflect real life. Lots of people only post the good things, so we believe their lives are perfect, and we spend a lot
of time trying to achieve unrealistic standards.

But I believe that although these concerns are sometimes valid, social media has opened up many new
possibilities, especially to young people. It allows me to stay in touch with friends around the world, see their
pictures and hear about their adventures, and I can find my old classmates too. I can follow my favourite bands
and actors along with news websites. Social media is also a great way to promote causes like the ALS ice bucket
challenge, which raised an enormous amount of money for charity. Facebook has even been used to organise
protests from Syria to Hong Kong. Social media has a lot more uses than just posting 'selfies'!

In my opinion, social media being a big part of your life is not necessarily a bad thing. Although using technology
to the point of reliance is unhealthy, and being addicted to your smartphone means you can miss out on real life,
using it in the right way, to connect with friends and stay informed about world events, is a huge advantage of
modern times.