VIRTUAL shopping is almost shopping. Not recommended for those who are into instant gratification. Patience a must. Just waiting for the site to load, and later, for the merchandise to arrive can kill a large chunk of the fun in shopping.

Shopping online can also be a minefield. From getting shanghai?ed into buying a Triple Class A counterfeit to shady sellers who don?t deliver the goods, online buyers have a lot to beware of. But the convenience of shopping from home and the option of getting the best price (online shops sometimes offer hefty discounts) make it all worth it-well, almost.

The menu of what you can buy online can also be mind-boggling and that?s just fashion, mind. To make things a bit easier, we?re giving you 31 of the most interesting online fashion sites to check out. No local sites because hey, if you can personally eyeball the stuff, try it on and haggle, why take a risk in cyberspace?

1) Net-a-porter.com ? Designed like an online magazine, the site has stylists/owners pairing current must-have fashion items together and also shows you how to wear them, in an edgy very Brit and dead cool manner.

2) Fashion at style.com ? The fashion bible a.k.a. Vogue and W magazine?s ground zero. With 58,000 runway looks (by season, designer and trend), it?s an absolute bombardment of stuff enough to bury even the most gung-ho fashionista.

3) Fashion Planet.com ? Trend spotting?s a good way to start your seasonal shopping. It?s always good to start with a plan. If you can?t find inspiration in the real world, this site goes global and hopefully points you in the right fashion direction.

4) Dailyfashion.com ? Fashion community for real girls, not models.

5) AskMen.com ? Fashion and lifestyle mingle in this online magazine with advice for men on a multitude of things, from clothing to dating.

6) LoveToKnow.com ? Be up to date on the latest fashion sites. From accessories to wedding dresses, editors choose the top 10 latest sites for you to check out.

7) Bluefly.com ? Carries a wide selection of discount designer clothing a couple of collections late, in limited sizes and colors. Get that bag or shoe you couldn?t buy at full price for a significant discount. Rest assured it?s the real thing and the items, regardless of season, are still choice.

8) Torrid.com ? Plus-size fashion for women. Check ?Diva Favorites.?

9) Rusty Zipper.com ? 12,000 vintage clothing items for men, women, and children. Does trolling through acres of Salvation Army (ukay-ukay) sound like hard labor? Get online here with cool drink in hand and shop with your feet up to your heart?s content.

10) NeimanMarcus.com ? The best and brightest brands in the world of fashion for the rich and famous can be found here. Shop for men, women and children. Free shipping over a certain amount.

11) Intermix.com ? This site allows you to shop by trend with chic guidelines you can follow, so as not to stumble into the boring or obscure.

12) KirnaZabete.com ? Like their well-edited boutique in New York, this site carries the who?s who and the upcoming designers in stock. This store and site has been targeting upmarket and visionary fashionistas since 1999.

13) Nikeid.com ? Customize our own running shoes! How fun is that!

14) Glam.com ? Site claims to be your ticket into the glam life via fashion, events, beauty products and celebrity lifestyles. Delivers in a straightforward almost non-glam manner.

15) 2threads.com ? Give your two cents? worth and learn a few things fashionable from this site. ?Both the 2threads team and the community are invited to contribute to the site through blogs, videos, music, products finds and photos.? (From the web)

16) Chictini.com ? Chic or weak, vote on anything fashionable on this site.

17) Herfablife.com ? People post info on their fab neighborhood finds. Other users can comment/vote on the items posted. Nothing rated lower than 4 stars. Beware: one woman?s art may be another woman?s junk?

18) Stylefeeder.com ? ?? allows users to browse the web and add clothing, gadgets, or other items they find to their Style Feed, which they can then share with friends. The service also analyzes the items a person adds, enabling it to create personalized recommendations and an improved shopping search engine.?

The site also has social networking features. For example, it identifies users with similar tastes, called StyleTwins, and makes it easy for these users to get to know each other.? (From the web)

19) Yoox.com ? Well-organized by designer, category and style. Serious shoppers will enjoy this.

20) Couturelab.com ? Emerging obscure trendsetter site not for the faint of heart.

21) Seaofshoes.com ? See how an avid blogger/shopper puts her model-worthy looks and amateur photographic skills into a daily blog of what she and her equally stylish mom wear. High on cool pics and low on prattle make it work. It?s a fun peek into someone else?s pretty stylish life.

22) Lagarconne.com ? Individualist, minimalist, easy to wear, sleek, sexy.

23) Farfetch.com ? Very pricey and extremely über chic.

24) Shopbop.com ? Ever wonder what it feels like to shop with a well organized shopping fanatic? Get precise fashion advice and info exactly when you need it here.

25) Barneys.com ? Like the real world shop, this is a fashion elite?s wet dream. Shop

26) Aloha rag.com ? Merchandise here are chosen with a point of view-fashion forward.

27) Oaknyc.com ? Find edgy, rock and roll clothing and give your wardrobe a shot of fashion espresso.

28) Shopittome.com ? Hankering for your very own personal shopper? Submit the brands you like and this site will email you a ?wish list? that will make your wallet cry. So practice restraint if you can?

29) Eluxury ? Owned by LVMH, this popular highbrow site will be closing shop on June 26. Get ready to whip out your credit cards and PayPal accounts for the rumored Fire Sale that will have fashionistas foreclosing on second mortgages and emptying bank accounts.

30) The Sartorialist.com ? Blog Trend spotting site from stylish man/woman on the streets as seen through a designers? eye. The blog was started in 2005 by writer Scott Schuman (nominated by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in design), who travels the fashion capitals of the world ?off the runway,? looking for the next big thing. From Lauren Bacall to Teen Vogue contributors, he photographs and interviews ?real? and ?hip? people on their style choices. LRC