There was a time when air travel was considered a real privilege. Men and women donned their Sunday best like they would for any special occasion, while flight attendants wore uniforms that were just this side of enviable, more than appropriately stylish for the times. It was all very glamorous really. What's more, all passengers were treated like they were flying first class, because essentially they were.

Today's skyscape is a far different one filled with leisure suits, less than comfortable flying conditions and beyond heightened security, making travel more of a stressful occasion than a special one. Luckily there is FLIGHT 001(pronounced flight one) a site that's outfitted with all the flying essentials today's harried traveler needs, from regulation sized bottles for carry-on to kitsch travel accessories. Here are a few of the must-haves from FLIGHT 001:

1. Comfort is crucial when travelling. Does that mean I think you should wear pyjamas when you fly - no, it does not - but there's no reason for you to suffer in-flight with a stiff neck and the myriad afflictions associated with flying such as puffy eyes and sticky hands. For those flights that still allow carry-on (!), take the In Flight Comfort Kit. Comes complete with inflatable jersey neck pillow, earplugs, padded jersey eye mask, wet wipes and 10 sheets of paper soap and a handy little pouch to carry it all in.

In Flight Comfort Kit

2. Toiletries can often be a hassle, because you invariably forget something.  Just in case I think every suitcase should be packed with a Hemergency or Shemergency kit. These tiny kits have everything you could ever think to use in a jam plus a few things more!

The Shemergency Survival Kit

The Hemergency Survival Kit

3.  Packing (and unpacking) is probably one of my least favourite things to do, and I'm sure I'm not alone. There is an art to packing which very few have mastered, but the Flight 001 exclusive Spacepak can turn even the most helpless packer into a packing pro. According to Flight 001 "this system allows garments to undergo double compression and organization with 1 side for clean laundry and 1 side for dirty laundry." Ingenious!

F1 Spacepak Set

While we might never be able to recapture the luxury in the skies of yesteryear, it's nice to know there's something out there that can make today's travel a little less painful.

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I don't know about you, but this time of year just isn't as fun as I rememeber it being as a kid. As a kid what was your major responsibility when it came to celebrating the holiday season? For me, it was to make my parents some crude holiday-related craft at school and wake up at dawn on Christmas day to open presents. Totally stress free. Now that I'm an adult (and I use that term lightly), there are a lot of stresses associated with the holiday season. Family obligations, friends to see, dinners to cook, dinners to attend, the endless parade of holiday parties, and I haven't even mentioned gifts. It's not the gift giving I have a problem with, it's the shopping - scavenging through the overcrowded malls and waiting in long lines with other tired and stressed-out shoppers. I said, No more! and for the past few years I order all my gifts online. Of course, this is not a novel idea and many people shop this way year round, myself included, but it can become a bit more daunting when you have several people to shop for. What sites should you visit?

 I'm a big fan of department store sites where you can order gifts for your whole family in one spot, such as Nordstrom (they deliver to Canada too), and John Lewis in the UK. Most places will gift wrap, and shopping for one household on the same site saves on shipping costs too. 

Gloves and Scarves for Her from Nordstrom

Hampers are terrific for families and couples because you only need to send one for a household and there is generally something in every hamper that will appeal to everyone. Once reserved solely for the British elite, high end grocer-turned-department-store Fortnum & Mason's charm has spread to to the masses, and now even delivers their world famous hampers to North America. With prices to suit all budgets they are really great way to send some love in a basket. They sell out quickly this time of year, but they still have several varieties available, so don't miss out.

Fortnum & Mason Christmas Hamper

 For friends, co-workers and everyone in between, check out FredFlare.com. This quirky site has all kinds of inexpenisve gift ideas from the silly (bacon bandages anyone? $9),  to the downright pretty (gold brocade tulle corset dress $52). And with almost everything under a hundred dollars, you might even have enough left over to buy yourself something to!

Pocket Guitar Hero from Fred Flare

Happy Holidays!

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Since launching our eCommerce platform for online retailers we have been exposed to loads of cool e-tail sites in our travels, so I thought it would be neat to introduce a new feature to our blog that showcases the ones that are doing really innovative things. 

At this year's Shop.org Annual Summit we met some of the gang from MyShape.com, an online retailer that finds clothes for you based on "your unique body shape." Interesting, I thought, and being someone that is proportionally challenged when it comes to clothing fit (AKA every woman on the planet!), I thought I should investigate further.

MyShape.com

Having ordered plenty of clothing online, I have come to realise that fit guides offered by most online shopping sites are dubious at best. What makes MyShape truly innovative is that it will find clothes for you based on your specific measurements and even pre-determine what size you should be for each item of clothing you select. Membership is free and once you've inputted all your measurements, MyShape will fill your "personal shop" with only the clothing that is best suited to your particular body shape. With an array of high-to low-end designers and brands there is something at MyShape to fit not only everyone's size, but also everyone's budget.  Alas, they do not ship internationally, so my investigation stops here, but it looks as if they are working to fix that, and judging by the feedback peppered throughout the site, there have been a lot of satisfied customers!

Know of any eCommerce sites, or just cool sites in general, that you feel are doing truly innovative things we'd love to her from you! Leave us your suggestions in the comments section or tweet us @OverlayTV.

UPDATE: Good news! Just heard from @MyShape and they told me that customers outside the U.S. can get their "shapes" shipped internationally by using  BongoUS.com. And here's the bonus: international customers who use Bongo will be offered a MyShape.com gift certificate!

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