Online Shopping in Japan

/ April 13, 2015

So as you might know I was a little concerned about my size and the way I would be perceived in Japan. Also I was very sure that I wouldn’t be able to buy a lot of clothes because of the size. Though I am still somewhat unsure about the first part I was definitely wrong about the other.

The magazine La Farfa, which is a fashion magazine for chubbier girls, works together with Nissen and the shop Smile Land. At smile land or respectively at the online shop Nissen, you can buy clothes up 10L, the largest size I have seen so far. So I took a look at the Nissen online store and was pleasantly surprised that they actually do have a lot of their clothes in those larger sizes. I was even happier to discover that they obviously don’t take the path of many european/german approaches of the potato-sack-cover-up fashion. The clothes are very cute and it didn’t take long until I was adding items to my virtual shopping cart.

I didn’t really think about buying anything but my husband suggested I should just try it out and return them if they don’t fit. Said and done and only three days later I was holding my package in hands. By the way, the postal service is really cool, we wanted to go out and after calling we were told the exact time the package would arrive (and it did).

I was a little concerned about one skirt that wasn’t available in the largest size like the other two I had ordered in 10L. Another item that I was very curious about was the even smaller shape wear I had ordered as well. I figured it might give me a good idea about size and possibly be helpful even if I first had to lose some weight.

It turns out I didn’t have to worry. The two 10L skirts are actually one to two sizes too big (insert shocked face here), the smaller skirt fit perfectly and even the shape wear could have been a little snugger. All in all a pleasant surprise though I did cut out the underskirt shorts of one of the skirts because they were an awful fit.

And I was so glad I didn’t order that cute dress I saw because it was only available in 6L. We went to the Smile Land Store in Shibuya and I bravely tried (for lack of availability) a 3L size of the same dress… it was too big. At least it was way to wide in the bust area and made everything look big but very very flat. What concerned me was the fact that the store clerk said this was the right size and it was better to have some room to move. This might be true in general, but I don’t think it looks flattering if you only have “wiggle room” in your bust part…

I ordered three skirts and the shape wear for 4924 Yen (including tax) but thanks to a 1500 Yen coupon only paid 3424 Yen (about 27 Euros) which really is a bargain. I’ll definitely try this again and might even be brave enough to order some pants and see how this turns out 😉

Oh, and did I tell you that they have shoes that are even two sizes larger than I need… *grabbing notebook and wallet*

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11 thoughts on “Online Shopping in Japan”

  1. I went to their website to check it out of curiosity and their clothes seem cool. Although I live in New Zealand and have no idea about shipping to there, but what a good find though – thanks for sharing

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    • I think it’s changing here, too. Lately I saw really a lot of bigger people especially compared to some years ago. For me it’s a good thing and I really hope that soon the shoe stores here will follow suit 🙂

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  3. Those are really cute skirts! I especially like the third one 🙂 I totally get you on this.. I’m not really large, but I’ve got pretty big legs and Korean girls are all walking around on tiny sticks. I’m also a lot taller than the average Korean girl and sometimes I feel like I stand out, and not in a good way. However I guess the only things I’ve found real difficulty in buying is shoes ;__; My size is the biggest they go in Korea so I can get them.. it’s just the selection is limited. They’re also full of massive heels and I just want small ones :/
    Also that site has a lot of nice stuff! I love online shopping so I’m definitely going to have a look on there 🙂 I already get most things online anyway haha.

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    • Shoes is really bad. It’s the same in Germany; even though you can get larger sizes you always have to find them in the last little dark corner of the shoe store and the selection is by a nice estimate about 20 years older than I want to portray myself 😉
      I’ll try their shoe selection and hopefully I won’t be disappointed. I really could use some rain boots right about now…

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  4. Tulsa Time in Kichijoji is great for shoes. That was my go to place and they are still around. I wear an 8 to 8.5 Cdn size and that was about the *smallest* they carried. I had trouble with clothes too but have had some luck with looser cut clothes (but nothing for work!) from Uniqlo (bigger sizes above xl are online apparently) and Shimamura. My legs are long and I’m tallish so pants and pjs have been too short. Another option is second hand shops. I’ve seen a lot of clothes from outside Japan if you like to sift and sort. You must be thrilled to be living in Japan! I’d love to be in your place. 😀

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    • I haven’t heard of Tulsa Time and will definitely Check it out. I’d prefer to buy shoes after I tried them so this might be an alternative to online shopping 🙂 thanks for the Tipps
      It still feels somewhat unreal but I think as soon as we moved (fingers crossed for this saturday) I’ll get settled in 🙂
      How long have you lived here?
      Looking forward to read more from your Blog 🙂

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      • Oops! I should have mentioned that I only shopped physically in those stores and not online. Tulsa Time had a lot of imported shoes from Italy and some locally made ones (Marie Claire?) and I bought both from there.

        I lived in Japan for three years and my hubby and I have gone back every other year since we moved to Canada. Our dream is to have homes in both countries within the next 5 years. It’s our reality but it’s so hard to be so far from family and friends, especially now that we have a wee one. We are either far from my family or his and that is the hardest part about being in a mixed marriage.

        I’m also looking forward to reading more of your blog! 🙂

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