IT SHOULDN’T come as a surprise that Amazon.com’s getting into online clothing sales. The surprise is that mainstream media outlets have characterized clothes as a difficult item to sell online.

Apparel has been sold in mail-order catalogs for over 120 years. Anything that can easily be sold in a mail-order catalog can also be sold in an on-screen catalog at least as easily, and probaly more easily. Size and color variations, and fabric close-ups, can be viewed as instantly as the speed of a user’s modem allows. Images of garments and accessories can be combined, like digital paper-doll ensembles, to ensure the right total look. Custom sizes can easily be calculated for the perfect fit.

The only real barrier to online clothing sales thus far has been the perception of Internet users as all males (more specifically as slovenly, fashion-challenged males). Now, the Net’s far wider appeal has been proven in demographic surveys. The online realm’s gotten its walls repainted and its lawn mowed; it’s officially a lady-friendly place now.

And since females traditionally control more than their share of consumer-spending decisions, that means the bigtime may have finally come for those e-tail entrants, such as Amazon, that have managed to stick it out thus far.