Trend Alert: Online Stores That Sell Stuff From Foreign Countries

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If you're tired of seeing the same brands, products, styles, and demi-celebrities on every other shopping site, check out this trend that's sweeping the ecommerce world—a crop of e-tailers dedicated to sourcing hard-to-find local products from all around the world. There's Kiosk, a NYC mainstay, which sources everyday items from a different country each season; L-atitude, which curates high-end clothing and accessories; and Wanderloot, which has a more artisanal homewares bent.

L-atitude: Launched this past September by ex-Wall Street-er Alisa Ng, L-atitude currently stocks luxury fashion items from countries including Colombia, Turkey, India, and China. "L-atitude is a virtual escape for women who don’t have the time to globetrot year-round—but want to dress like they do," Ng said in a release. We're not talking hippie souvenir stuff, folks. Everything in L'atitude's carefully curated collection is impossibly chic—from the charming Turkish slippers ($35) from Istanbul's Grand Bazaar to the gold-and-glamorous Nicholas Liu vermeil necklace ($1,505) to Rezie Asprah's pear tribal clutch ($230). And you don't even have to travel to Istanbul, Hong Kong, or Manila, respectively, to get them.

Kiosk: One of our favorite stores in New York's SoHo—okay, this one isn't new, we've been going there for years—is dedicated to selling cool, hard-to-find-Stateside everyday items from other countries. Featuring a different region each season, Kiosk is currently on its second round of Japan (this summer was all about Iceland). We're obsessed with the Kaol mints ($12), the mintiest things in the world that remind us of our grandmother; this futon beater ($18), because who knew futons needed beating; and this Fukimodoshi noisemaker ($13), which is, like everything else in Japan, horribly efficient, and allows you to blow into three noisemakers at once.

Wanderloot: Just launched this week, Wanderloot is dedicated to sourcing hard-to-find off-the-beaten-path homegoods from places including Saigon and Addis Ababa. "In a world of mass manufactured products, it’s inspiring to see the continuation of old world techniques, often in surprising, updated forms," founder Julie Grant Weiss says in a release. Some of our favorite items—also great for gifting—are the handmade spiral cups ($55), which are so understated and chic; the Bali beach bag ($19), which is simplicity embodied; and this Ethiopian lion and dove rug ($49) which we mostly like because the lion looks really surprised.

· Shop L'atitude [Official Site]
· Kiosk [Official Site]
· Wanderloot [Official Site]