5 Stylish Sites I Swear By That Aren't (Just) Fashion Blogs

You heard me. I may have my plethora of favorite fashion blogs (last time I counted, there were literally about 35 that I frequent and I'm always looking for new ones!) but there are a few stylish websites I've stumbled upon in the past few months that either aren't fashion blogs or aren't JUST fashion blogs. Read: Fashables calls themselves a fashion blog, but they are so much more! I will let each site do (most) of it's own talking. Lord knows I do enough of my own rambling on here!

1. Fashables, a Street-Style Blog

Fashables is a favorite of mine because, as creator Ryan Shell puts it, it is a "men's and women's fashion blog run by 'normal’ish' people," featuring normal people, taken with normal, natural photographs in normal, natural settings by Shell as he wonders around New York City. Fashables sends out a delightful email three times a week  highlighting Shell's escapades and sharing fashion finds, deals and reviews the site's other contributors have discovered that week. My Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning email immediately throws me into a good mood. Viewing the creativity of folks on the street and how they react to being photographed is incredibly personal and uplifting. This is what makes Fashables highly different from other street-style sites. Oh, and my favorite summer style - to be highlighted in more detail next week - was featured there in May. But I'm not biased.

2. Fidoo, the Fashion Finder

Like a fashion-focused, locally-focused, super embellished Google. I don't know how I ever lived before this website. Here is their mission statement: "to provide a premiere online synergetic platform for merging Consumers with their favorite Brands, Stores, and Designers with a parallel emphasis on those same Brands, Stores, and Designers to have a centralized information hub to all of their online resources." Nuff said. 

3. Klury, Like Designer Online Thrifting, But Way Classier

Well, basically. Launched just this year, founders and father-and-daughter team Mandy and Bob Russell wanted to make designer fashion accessible to all, so they created a site where folks can sell their VERY gently-used high-end items that are then inspected and authenticated. Upon positive inspection, sellers will receive a check and buyers on the site will find a gently-used designer dud for a hot deal. Browsers can search by designer, type of item or through guest picks and unlike Ebay or other online used-clothing shops can be fully guaranteed that each purchase is in tip-top condition. (Side note: these are AZ folks, and I love it!)

4. SwapStyle, Which is Exactly How it Sounds

You probably already know of SwapStyle since it's been on the scene for 9 years now, but now that we're 21st-century pre-teens with college debt, swapping great style for other great style for the cost of taking a walk has more relevancy than ever. It's even free to sign up! Upload a photo of those rejected Steve Madden's, find a swapper selling the ones you really wanted, communicate and swap! You have to get a little personal, but what's wrong with being a little personal? If it gets me these hairy Louboutin boots I drooled over 5 minutes ago, I'll tell you that one time, I wrote Matthew Broderick a love letter (true story).

5. Fashions.org, THE CALENDAR

I can't figure out if my go-to calendar for fashion weeks ALL OVER THE WORLD is a little ghetto or just has some bad html skeletons in its virtual closet. Either way, I've been following Fashion.org's calendar since 2010 to find out the latest and greatest fashion events with the idea that I'd attend. There are no details, but there is an extensive monthly list with links, including weeks like Cape Town Fashion Week in South Africa and Omaha Fashion Week in Nebraska. If anything, it's an educational and eye-opening trip into the globe of fashionable talent we inhabit.

I've missed a billion go-to fashion websites but these five are ones I frequently bookmark and feel that stand out from so many in the crowd. They're either fun and dandy, informative, easy to use or just plain different than the standard site roll to which we're accustomed. Have any sites like these you recommend I check out? Chirp me, Face me, email me or comment below to let me know and I'll share them with the rest of the world, too.