(all photos from ASOS’s iPad magazine)

Mobile technology is quickly taking center stage, in every aspect of our lives from our morning coffee to our hospital x-rays. In the fashion world things fall somewhere between that heavy and that light. It’s been almost comical to watch as the glossies stumble their way into the Internet age with scanned versions of their paper versions for us to flip through on a tactile screen. Finally some magazines like Elle are starting to get it right, creating an interactive supplemental digital version that (for now) appends what printer put to paper.

Some companies — mostly ecommerce-based clothing stores — are taking things a step further. Net-a-Porter has an incredible iPad app that allows you to page through products like the aspiring swashbuckling stylist you are. For a shopaholic like me it’s a delight to see potential purchases presented in new ways. The Net-a-Porter app is like an online rag: constantly updated, filled with product placement and highly aspirational.

A more recent entry to the scene is ASOS, the online clothing retailer that’s making quite a splash in the USA. I lurked on their website for awhile as I waited for friends’ reviews of the service to come in. As the positive remarks drifted in I took the plunge and now I love the brand. Deciding that the website wasn’t enough, ASOS recently unveiled an iPad app of its own that is part magazine, part catalogue and part People Stylewatch. The October issue (#2 after the debut September issue) features Lily Collins on the cover, several bloggers within and some models to round out the cast. I love that the app scrolls in every which direction to reveal more information — up, down, zooming in or out, sliding to the left or right. What would take an 8-page bifold on paper becomes three or four screens of scroll on the iPad.

It’s apps like these that make the iPad fun for a shopping lover to own. I received my iPad as a gift, and while I initially only found it a fun digital toy, it is more and more becoming a daily must-have for me. It helps me through my work day with email and document creation, allows me to blog from just about anywhere, and now feeds my dirty shopping and fashion habits with equal aplomb. But that’s a love story for another post.

Do you have an iPad? Any other fashion apps I should know about?