Burton's New Website Punts Merch by Weather

Your weather, that is. And it's curiously accurate. Here's what I see when I hit up the new (...and improved!) Burton.com:



I actually do want one of those sleeveless hoodies, if only because Paris weather is so schizophrenic that you never really know when you'll need head coverage, even while the hair's being burnt off your arms. Plus, burnt orange is the colour this year. (I swear, I almost bought orange shoes this weekend. Luckily I was surrounded by those who love me.)

The bottom half of the page is loaded with "timelines" of the Burton team and hyper-produced lifestyle videos inspired by E's "Wild On" (for those of you who remember the climax of Brooke Burke's career):

You'll also find job opportunities (lots!) and -- at the very bottom -- a series of big fat buttons that let you shop backpacks, men's tees and women's hoodies. That's arbitrary. But if your original reason for visiting the site was going shopping in any case, you can click on the "shop online" button in the upper right-hand corner, where a login button normally sits. I guess for now we'll ignore the fact that, once in the E-store, half of the nav is in German. But that makes sense as they only speak German in Europe.



(Even in Paris, whose name -- and whose weather! -- the homepage nailed perfectly. WTF, mate?)

Hat-tip: Influencia.

FCUK's Youtique: Your YouTube E-Store!

French Connection United Kingdom's gunning for a little social media infamy. It was the first brand (at least, the first we knew of) to dive into ChatRoulette with a campaign targeted specifically to its drive-by lurkers.

Since then, and with help from agency Poke, it's launched Youtique. The latter aims to give you a YouTube-based retail store experience, complete with nurturing how-tos and an efficient path to check-out.



Mimicking either situational comedy or the intimacy of a personal shopping experience (or both?), minimalist how-tos, sometimes featuring stylist Louse Roe, teach users how to "sparkle at a wedding," "look irresistible the morning after," "look awesome in the office" and even "catch a bouquet elegantly." But it isn't all polish and perfect primrose points.

Here's an ironic piece on that most treacherous of social rituals, eating spaghetti in style:



"Buy" buttons appear around halfway through each piece, aiming to profit from an endorphin-charged impulse buy:



Clicking on either button takes you to an e-boutique page dedicated to whatever clothing was featured. Pick your size, make the purchase. It's that easy - maybe deceptively so, as it leaves us all wondering, "Why don't we see more of this?"

Via.