I’ve done a fair amount of dinner party polling in my day—all official, clearly—about whether people prefer to shop alone, or in roving packs of friends (who all maintain voting rights in the dressing room).

There are two distinct camps, and both seems to have an equal number of adherents. Online, it seems to work in the same way. There are those who dart from site to site, covertly and clandestinely, who sneak their packages into the their homes and closets and are loathe to share their finds with a wider audience for fear they’ll be copied—or mocked. And then there are those who put every potential purchase in front of a panel, whether it’s through e-mail, text, or Facebook.

I  believe in a world that hangs out somewhere in between these two extremes, where you can take recommendations from trusted friends—in a lowkey way—while still following the pitter patter of your heart. After all, when I decide I want printed floral jeans, I don’t want to be told that they’re insane! (it’s sort of like announcing the name of a child that’s not yet born—if it’s not signed, sealed, and delivered, everyone feels welcome to offer an alternative that they prefer…whereas, if it’s a done deal, they hold their tongue!)

We try to keep this balance in mind when putting together stories for Beso, because as much as we want to surface products you all might not otherwise find, we want to provide a space where it feels safe to just like what you like. To that end, I’m pretty excited to bring a host of my friends (and former magazine colleagues) on as contributing editors to Beso. These are women I turn to for shopping advice almost daily, whether it’s for a vacuum cleaner recommendation, or a tip on a designer I should look to for a truly inspired necklace. Because I trust them through and through, I’m hoping you will too!

And speaking of social shopping, I’m pretty thrilled to announce that I’ve just joined Opensky as a curator! Please, please FOLLOW ME, not only to get access to my sales (all things I love so much I would, or have, bought them in bulk!), but also to be nice. Because, let’s face it: I don’t want to be the least popular one at the Opensky party! I’m up against supermodels like Molly Sims and Veronica Webb and Top Chefs galore (including Padma Lakshmi and Martha Stewart). And while you’re at it, follow Kim France, too: As the founding editor of Lucky Magazine, she pretty much taught me everything I know about being an editor (I love her Opensky tagline, which acknowledges that Lucky was the first magazine to democratize style). Kim is also a friend with excellent, and relatable taste. Going shopping with her is one of life’s greatest pleasures…she can truly intellectualize and justify anything—to that end, she’s arguably one of the only people I’d listen to, should she tell me I’m not allowed to wear floral print pants.

P.S., I love the last round of emails from you guys—please keep them coming at elise@beso.com.