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Most mornings this past summer I have woken up in Maine. A fashion black out. I have relied on sites such as Coolspotters.com and Starstyle.com to see what celebrities are wearing and where. Who rocked what and who f*cked up. Thankfully, technology enables me to travel the world and view celebrity style, while I drink my coffee in the comfort of my own bed, with my Shih Tzu and Chihuahua. Tabloid magazines give you a biased report on what they consider 'in' fashion. But both websites, Coolspotters.com and Starstyle.com, do just that- they sight and cite.

But during the summer of 2013, they have decided to include a "buy it" component to the items celerities sport. Great idea, right? Wrong! More often than not,  Coolspotters.com links you to eBay, a notorious scamming site with only a few hidden authentic gems; old, broken links (thanks for getting my hopes up!), incorrect links, wrong designers and misidentified pieces. Well, you get the jist of just how flawed the "buy it" button actually is.  Seems they need a little bit of fashion insight before they cite their sight.

One of my guilty pleasures is to see what Kristen Stewart is doing or whom, might I add. I always gravitate towards clicking on her name because it never moves from Coolspotters.com "Popular Now" top five celebrities, located at the bottom of their page. Scanning through the items she has worn, I came across this amazing 'ASOS Premium Floral Bomber Jacket' she wore in a Vogue UK photo shoot. To the left of the page you see the "Buy it!" button. My heart flutters. My jacket is one click away. And then my dreams are crushed. The jacket is out of stock. But the hopeful button remains (five months later) taunting me everytime I see it. Coolspotters.com is in need of a hashtag: #epicfail


I rely on my shopping date with Kim Kardashian (now that she is out from post baby hiding) in LA while simultaneously riding ATVs with Rihanna in South Africa- still in the comfort of my own bed. Catching up each morning with various celebrities and fashionistas is almost as addictive as the coffee I drink, and each gets me motivated for my day. What can I say, fashion is my drug.


Startstyle.com is a bit more chaotic to navigate. However, they do a much better job at directing you to the correct website with the correct item the starlet is wearing. Their major flaw is when a fan gets a little too star crazy and posts a minimum of five pages dedicated to one celebrity (without naming their duds). Highly irritating if you are indifferent to the celebrity. Many of the pics are from years ago and the clothing is next to impossible to obtain and not to mention dated. Keep your shrines to yourself and do not under any circumstance post dated photos. Nobody cares, unless there is a possibility of obtaining the item. Past season items are not at department stores, possibly an outlet. But that is where I come in. The one stop shop to locate those items people think are impossible to locate.

When Coolspotters.com allowed the "buy it" button to lead you to sites selling fake items, it is propagating and condoning the selling of replicas and further disappointing the people who loved the original site just the way it was and for what it was. A place with the most up to date celebrity fashion.

It is website's such as Coolspotters.com and Starstyle.com that let you see the world and meet celebrities for free. You can see the trends and meet the celebrities all before you finish your morning cup of coffee. But beware of the "Buy it!" button. Neither site is an authenticator for merchandise, only a site to cite. So browse with your eyes, and not your fingers.

Written by ARYN MAC — October 18, 2013

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