Comme des Garcons from Japan

Which COMME des GARÇONS lines exist, and which ones are Japan-only?

COMME des GARÇONS, founded by Rei Kawakubo in Tokyo in 1969 and shown in Paris since 1981, is a group of separately labelled lines rather than one collection, and Japanese sellers list by line name. The lines a buyer abroad meets most are CDG PLAY, the heart-logo casual line drawn by Filip Pagowski, and the menswear lines HOMME, HOMME PLUS and HOMME DEUX; alongside them sit SHIRT, tricot, BLACK, JUNYA WATANABE and noir kei ninomiya under the same company. Several lines and many seasonal items are sold mainly through the company's own Japanese stores and Dover Street Market Ginza, and the Japanese resale market is where they are sold on afterwards. A proxy is how an overseas buyer orders from those domestic-only sources.

What does the AD year on a COMME des GARÇONS tag tell me?

The year of manufacture. COMME des GARÇONS prints "AD" followed by a year on the garment's wash tag, and Japanese collectors and sellers use it as the definitive date of a piece: AD2003 means the garment was manufactured in 2003. Sellers write the AD year in listing titles, so searching a line name with an AD year is how the archive is browsed in Japan. Ask for a tag photo showing the AD year and the line label before ordering an older piece.

• AD1998 / AD2010 — production year printed on the wash tag
• ギャルソン / コムデギャルソン — the brand in katakana; sellers use the short form
• プレイ / オム / オムプリュス — the lines, in katakana
• アーカイブ / 初期 / 黒の衝撃 — archive / early era / the 1980s "Black Shock" period
• サイズ S / M / L — the letter sizes used on most lines

Where is COMME des GARÇONS sold secondhand in Japan?

Yahoo Auctions holds the archive, sold by season and AD year, and Mercari and Rakuma hold the everyday volume of PLAY and HOMME pieces. 2nd STREET and ZOZOTOWN's used section carry shop-graded pieces. Current season is sold at the company's own stores, Dover Street Market Ginza and Japanese department stores, all of which deliver domestically only; a product link from those shops can be ordered through OneMall.

How do I check a CDG PLAY listing before I order?

Ask for the heart patch, the neck label and the wash tag, then read the condition notes. PLAY is the most copied COMME des GARÇONS line, and Japanese sellers know it, so a serious listing shows the tag with the AD year and states 国内正規 if the piece was bought through the domestic channel. Treat that as the seller's statement: OneMall is a proxy buying service, not the seller, and does not guarantee authenticity; the photos are what you decide on. For PLAY x Converse, the size is in centimetres and the box, if included, shows it.

• タグ付き / 未使用 — tags attached / unused
• 国内正規 / 正規店購入 — domestic channel / bought at an official store, as stated by the seller
• 毛玉 / 伸び — pilling / stretched knit, the common notes on PLAY cardigans
• 着用回数少なめ — worn a few times
• 箱付き / 箱なし — with or without box, on Converse

What does a COMME des GARÇONS order from Japan cost in total?

Item price in yen, OneMall's service fee and any domestic shipping the seller charges are paid when you order; the fee is shown before you confirm. The international shipping is paid once the item is at our Japan warehouse and you have chosen a method. PLAY tees, wallets and cardigans are light, so for that line the shipping is a small part of the total and consolidation across sellers is the main saving; a HOMME PLUS coat or a pair of PLAY x Converse in the box is priced on weight and volume. Import duty, if your country charges it, is collected on delivery.

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How should I search for COMME des GARÇONS on Mercari in Japanese?

Search ギャルソン, the short katakana form almost every Japanese seller uses, combined with the line in katakana; the full コムデギャルソン and the Latin-letter name appear less often in titles. Add the AD year for archive pieces, or ハート for PLAY.

• ギャルソン / コムデギャルソン — the brand
• プレイ ハート / PLAY コンバース — PLAY items / PLAY x Converse
• オムプリュス / ジュンヤ / オムドゥ — the men's lines
• AD2005 — a production year
• 財布 / ウォレット — wallets, a large share of listings
• 未使用 / 美品 / 国内正規 — unused / fine condition / domestic channel, seller's statement