Every month, mass communication senior Lauren Brown reviews an assortment of shoes, handbags and jewelry personally selected for her by celebrity Kim Kardashian and a group of stylists.
And she’s not the only one.
Brown is just one of thousands who peruse the website ShoeDazzle.com.
ShoeDazzle offers high-fashion items to users for a fixed price of $39.95 per item. Users select a new pair of shoes, handbag or jewelry set each month, and it’s delivered to their door.
Site members can also earn points toward free items by making purchases and inviting their friends to use the service.
Brown created an account last December after seeing multiple advertisements for the website on Facebook.
The site has more than 550,000 fans on Facebook.
Brown said she took a survey that required her to pick her favorites from groups of shoes, handbags and designers.
Once a person finishes the survey, they’re given a description of their personal style and celebrities they’re similar to, Brown said.
She said her style was described as “sophisticated and classy.”
Brown said once she established her account, a page was created for her on the site called her “personal showroom.”
She said the showroom offers users an assortment of shoes, handbags and jewelry to choose from, and if users don’t like their options, they can request more.
“You don’t have to look at 100 pages of shoes to find what you like,” Brown said. “It’s done for you.”
  Blog: ShoeDazzle provides exciting yet expensive experience
 
Brown said the only problem she has had so far with using the website is its monthly cost.
“I’m poor,” she said. “I keep waiting for those money management skills to kick in, but they haven’t yet.”
The website allows users to create a showroom for free and doesn’t charge them until they place their first order. Once a user’s credit card has been charged, it will be charged monthly unless the user chooses to skip that month or cancels his or her account.
“If you have the money to spend, why would you not want a pair of shoes delivered to your door?” she said.
In a video on the site, stylist Anya Sarre described the process as “the Hollywood treatment.”
Sarre also said in the video that selections are accompanied by tips on what to pair with certain items to create specific looks.
“Because we’re your stylists, we want you to look your best,” Sarre said.
Oliver Galloway, mechanical engineering junior, said he doesn’t see any problem with women paying for the monthly service.
“If a girl wants to look good and that’s her means of doing it, I’m all for it,” he said.
Galloway said he’d be willing to subscribe to the service if it catered to men, as well.
“If they had new sneakers each month, I’d definitely do that,” he said. “And if it was selected for me, I’d feel like a superstar.”
But not everyone agrees.
Gabriel Franks, mathematics junior, said he would never use a service like the one ShoeDazzle offers.
“I’m of the opinion that any paid style assistance is foolish,” Franks said.
Jessica Kempainen, manager of Tattle Tales boutique on Highland Road, said she and the shop’s employees help customers find their personal style every day.
Kempainen said she thinks it’s better for customers to get help in the store instead of through a website.
“It’s definitely easier to see it in person,” she said. “Things are different on every person.”
 
—-
Contact Rachel Warren at [email protected]