When it comes to models though, how exactly do clients calculate what a model is worth?

Elena Greenwell, a model for online retailer Shopbop

Earlier this week, Jezebel published documents from an ongoing lawsuit involving models who claim their former agency was withholding payments. the most interesting part are earning statements where it’s discovered that for all of the prestige that comes with a Vogue editorial, the H&M ad running next to it was probably worth much more for the model. Specifically, it’s revealed that Vogue‘s day rate for models (at least in this case) is a paltry $250, and French Vogue‘s is $125. Don’t feel too bad – campaigns for H&M pay $60,000, J.Crew pays $15,000 for catalog appearances and booking campaigns for luxury brand ad campaigns can range from $35,000 to $172,500 – we’re asusming for more than one campaign.

While the money is obviously in ads, the editorial appearances are seen as a catalyst for launching commercial careers. The assumption being that the models in the commercial campaigns bring in at least as much as they’re paid in sales.

Today, the New York Times claims that online retailers see more value in more “relatable” looking models. While you may be able to relate to Karlie Kloss or Freja Beha Erichsen just fine, online retailers think they’ll influence a wider audience with slightly larger models (size 4, rather than size 0) who is good looking, but not in the “gorgeous, but I’d never be able to look like that” way that runway models can be.

There are enough photoshop disasters from fashion ad campaigns to remind us that the definition of relatable is still incredibly subjective, but Shopbop and Gilt both voice opinions that shoppers don’t want to see impossibly flawless models when shopping.

“We donâ€t want a model to appear intimidating in a way they do in a fashion show,” Gilt’s Alexandra Wilkis Wilson tells the Times.

Steven Reider, a manager at Elite Model Management says online  appearances haven’t “ever made anyone a star on the global playing field of models,” but if the money is made on the more commercial campaigns, does that matter? Bluefly, the only retailer mentioned in the Times’ piece to test the difference between using models and using headless mannequins noticed only a very small increase in sales when using people to promote the items. Customers, they found, placed far more value on being able to zoom in on details and view more detailed photos.

Does this, in fact, support the position of using models as clothes hangers rather than personalities? After all, if an actual clothes hanger brings in the same amount in sales, why bother with the more costly model? We actually think it points more to the need for the return of the 90’s style supermodel who was as much of a draw as the clothes. Beauty companies – perfume makers especially- have found celebrity endorsed products can equal big sales, so there’s obviously some real value in name or face recognition. Magazines – Vogue included, have seen increases in circulation by pushing models off the cover in favor of actresses, musicians and other celebrities. They may not have the recognition of  J.Lo or Beyonce, but wouldn’t models become more relatable if they were allowed to become celebrities in their own right again? Victoria’s Secret has done pretty well business-wise with that line of thought, in spite of the fact that most women buying underwear will probably never be able to relate to walking around wearing a million dollar bra (or contract, for that matter).

The Seattle online retailer announced plans to relaunch their online clothing and shoe business with a focus on the high end market.  Amazon already owns Shopbop, which carries hot, mid-range designer labels like Elizabeth and James, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Diane von Furstenberg, Alexander Wang, and KORS by Michael Kors among others. Recently acquired Zappos, which started by selling shoes online (see our picks for on trend Zappos shoes under $100), also carries clothing now – specifically, some of the same secondary designer lines.

You may remember from our infographic of where the wealthy shop online, that Zappos reaches more  shoppers in the $100,000/year household income category than sites for Neiman Marcus or Saks Fifth Avenue combined.

While it’s difficult to break out traffic to the apparel section of Amazon’s site specifically, Scot Wingo of ChannelAdvisor, a company that helps 3rd party sellers on Amazon and eBay, estimates clothing, shoe and accessory sales at Amazon.com to be anywhere from one-third to one-fourth of Amazon’s total $24.5 billion in sales. {Financial Times} There’s no word on if that includes sales from Endless.com, the separately branded shoe and handbag store the company launched in 2007.

The move comes after eBay revamped their fashion offerings to better compete with member sale sites like Gilt and Rue La La. eBay fashion now includes sample sales, a capsule collection from Narcisco Rodriguez similar to the type of pairing that H&M and Target have made popular, and a sleek new wrapper on the site to house it all.

With a focus on the holiday season, Amazon will use the data they’ve gathered up until October to enhance the user experience from selection to close of sale. Lest anyone underestimate the significance of this, Amazon’s tracking and testing of things as small as the color of buttons, or 3 or 4 words of text on a page, are part of what’s contributed to a 12.8% conversion rate, while industry norms are around 4.9% (and 2-3% isn’t unheard of as a normal rate of people who purchase, compared to people who visit). {ClickZ}

And it’s all of those things that should shake fashion technophobes, who are still indecisive about a serious commitment to online retail. While  companies like Zara and H&M are tepid in their response to the growing necessity of online shopping, at least they’ve started. They may also be prime candidates to partner with Amazon – for years, Amazon handled Target’s online operations, so suffice it to say they know a thing or two about handling large amounts of rapidly moving inventory.

No, the people who should really be afraid are the labels which will wait so long to get into e-commerce, or respond to the trends within it that are emerging, that re-capturing the attention of shoppers who’ve stopped checking back to see if they’ve joined the 21st century will be even more costly and require more effort than if they’d bitten the bullet and just done something. While the Net-a-Porters and Gilts of the world are pushing the online shopping experience to mobile devices and beyond, they’ll still be playing catch up for pushing splash pages and clunky flash intros.

Offline retail will never die, but consumers have decided that the experience they want isn’t always in a store. To the retailers and brands still weighing their online options: when companies that have built their billions catering to that shift decide to focus on your customer, you don’t have long to decide.

Diane von Furstenberg Barita Dress {Shopbop}
$325

Lucky Brand Aimee Flat {Shoebox New York}
$69

Martin + Osa Woven Mesh Bracelet {Martin + Osa}
$39.50

Siman Tu Coral Half Moon Earrings {Vivre}
$285

Proenza Schouler PS1 Large Shoulder Bag {Kirna Zabete}
Smoke Leather
$1995

What would you wear this week’s little black dress with? Let us know in the comments.

Want to know where the wealthy shop online in the UK? Visit Signature9 UK for a look at the UK shopping sites popular with high earners.

It’s impossible to break out apparel shoppers for department store sites (many of which also sell home and garden items), so it should be noted than not every visitor browsing macys.com is there for clothing, beauty or jewelry items. But even if half of the visitors are there for dresses instead of dishes, Macy’s is attracting one of the largest (and richest) online shopping audiences.

Our data is from Google’s Ad Planner, which only offers visitor and demographic information going back one year. We can’t say if the economy has played a role in shifting online shopping preferences, but presently, wealthy online shoppers aren’t visiting luxury destinations in the same volume as they visit e-commerce sites with mid-level pricing. A possible silver lining for sites specializing in luxury sales: while they may not get the same volume of traffic, it’s quite possible that high end e-commerce sites earn more per sale and visitor.

Of the top 20 apparel e-commerce sites attracting the largest number of wealthy online shoppers, 6 (30%) are sites specializing in discount sales. Gilt and Rue La La are neck and neck for the title of the invitation sale site with the wealthiest visitors. Allowing for a small sampling error, the two sites could even reach the same number of wealthy visitors. The advantage, however, goes to Gilt Groupe, who attracts a combined 1.2 million visitors across the main Gilt site, and recently launched sister (and brother) sites Gilt Fuse and Gilt Man. Combined, Gilt Groupe attracts more visitors earning $100,000 or more than any other online only e-commerce apparel site besides Zappos. Pretty impressive for a company that’s not even 3 years old.

When it comes to visitors earning $100k or more per year, invitation sale sites may not have as many visitors as department stores, but as a percentage of visitors, a sizable portion are in this desirable online shopper demographic.

Infographics may be copied or reproduced online with a live, followed link to this page. Please contact us for high-resolution images suitable for print.

Marc Jacobâ€s taste for Louis Vuitton and Karlâ€s for Chanel were as sweet as could be. Ombre aquamarine, lavender and bubblegum pink abounded. Fingers, feet and Afros featured playful tassels, baubles and kiddie accessories galore. Remember Candy Land as you prepare to ring in spring.

Louis Vuitton

Chanel

Sherbet shades, subtle shimmer and plenty of potential for layering over sheer hose a la Chanel. Elizabeth and James Japonais Shift Dress, $395 from Shopbop.

Refresh the ubiquitous leather-wrapped wrist look via cotton candy color and mother of pearl charms. Ra Creations bracelet, $70 at Shopbop.

Styled right it can pass for rock-candy luxe.Captured Flower Ring, $4.80 from Forever21.

A classic trench with a ruffled skirt, in a dreamy hue (plus epaulettes!) – this jacket satisfies every sweet tooth. Ruffle-Bottom Jacket, $695 from Burberry at Bergdorf Goodman.

A spot of spring for your head (hair), heart (lapel) or hobo (you got it). Chanel turquoise raffia brooch, $299.99 at Bluefly.

Thread Social sleeveless dress. The color (or lack thereof) of the season, an intriguing shape, and a style thatâ€s right layered or alone, open or closed. Transitional, smart and a steal.

$178.20 at Shopbop.