The house of Dior is one of the most storied couture houses in the world of fashion, famous for its intricate and lavish designs, its signature “New Look” silhouettes, and its penchant for staying ahead of the curve. Now, the house of Dior has come together with renowned fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier on Dior Couture, a portfolio that chronicles some of the most incredible haute couture gowns ever seen. The book allows the reader to take a visual journey through the history of the house, beginning with the designs of Christian Dior himself, through the years of Yves Saint Laurent and Marc Bohan, and finishing with John Galliano. Each piece has been shot in an equally glamorous location, from Times Square in New York to the Paris Opera House, on an equally stunning model—Gisele Bundchen, Karlie Kloss, Sasha Pivovarova, and Magdalena Frackowiak all make an appearance. Dior Couture($68.94) is available for pre-order now at Amazon.com, ahead of its December 6 launch date. In the meantime, however, click inside for a first look.

How to Shop Online

Research and Decide

1. Do an online search for the desired product. That’s the first step for how to shop online. I also recommend doing research on the store or shopping site as well.

2. Compare the prices and features and shipping conveniences offered from several sites. Make notes. The internet is a Comparison shopper’s paradise. There’s so much to choose from! But you have this advantage – you can take all the time you need to choose. And to learn how to shop online smartly!

3. Decide at which online shop to buy your item(s). This is usually the hardest part. In the end it is often an intuitive decision, but there are security criteria to use.

Check for Secure Shopping Site

4. Make sure the shopping site’s shopping system is secure, and offers the payment method you can or want to use. At the very least, read the “Terms of Service” and decide if you are ready to complete the transaction. Is this the scary part of how to shop online?

Check Out with Shopping Cart

5. Put the items in your shopping cart by clicking on them or the BUY link close to them. (It’s smart to keep a running total on some scrap paper. It saves having to remove things from your shopping cart when you gasp at the total.) Some sites will take you to the shopping cart each time, then allow you to click on “continue shopping” if you want to add more items.

6. When ready to buy click on shopping cart, and carefully check each item for accuracy, and the shipping charges, if any. If the total comes to more than you planned to spend, you can click “remove” to get items out of the cart. This is NOT a trap if you know how to shop online.

7. Fill out the form with your name, email, mailing address (if required), and your payment card type and number, etc. Click the last button. Click it only once! It may be slow because the system is dashing off to other financial sites to make sure your card number is good, and to process your purchase; if you click twice you will most likely be billed twice!

8. Find the link for the printer-friendly receipt, and print out your receipt on your printer for a hard or paper copy record. Put it where you store all your other purchase receipts, or enter it into your bookkeeeping right away.

Receive Your Purchase(s)

9. Wait for your purchases to be delivered by mail or courier. Or, download. If you bought digital products like software or e-books, after your payment is accepted, you will be taken to the download page, where you click on the link, and the download begins. You can have your item(s) in minutes! Sometimes in just seconds. This speed and convenience will soon be one of your most favourite parts of how to shop online!