Ladies' Fashion from Japan

How do Japanese women's sizes work?

On three scales that appear side by side in listings: 号 (gō) sizes such as 7号, 9号 and 11号, where 9号 is the Japanese medium; letter sizes S, M, L that run smaller than US letters; and brand numeric sizes 0, 1, 2 or F for free size, used by many Japanese women's labels. None of them map cleanly to US sizes, so Japanese sellers list the 実寸 measurements — バスト (bust), ウエスト (waist), 着丈 (length) — in centimetres, and those numbers are the guide. Compare them against a garment you own.

What do きれいめ, カジュアル and ガーリー mean on Japanese listings?

Style words that Japanese sellers and shops use as categories, and they are how the women's market is browsed. きれいめ (kireime) is clean, polished dressing; カジュアル is casual; ガーリー is girlish; モード is designer or fashion-forward; and 量産型 describes a particular soft, coordinated look. Brands are grouped by these words on ZOZOTOWN and in magazines, so searching a style word plus an item type reaches listings that a brand search misses.

• きれいめ — clean, polished style
• カジュアル / ナチュラル — casual / natural
• ガーリー / フェミニン — girlish / feminine
• モード — designer, fashion-forward
• ワンピース / セットアップ / ニット / スカート — dress / matching set / knit / skirt

Which Japanese women's brands sell mainly through Japan-only channels?

The domestic labels. SNIDEL, Lily Brown, FRAY I.D and gelato pique from MASH Style Lab; MOUSSY and SLY from Baroque Japan; earth music&ecology, LOWRYS FARM and niko and... from the casual groups; and the Japanese licences of overseas names sell through Japanese stores, USAGI ONLINE, ZOZOTOWN and Rakuten Fashion, all delivering inside Japan only. Their sold-out pieces move to Mercari and Rakuma, where women's clothing is a core category. OneMall provides the Japanese address and yen payment and forwards from our Japan warehouse.

SNIDEL from Japan: sizes and listing terms →

Where is Japanese women's fashion sold?

New from ZOZOTOWN, USAGI ONLINE, Rakuten Fashion and the brands' own online shops, all domestic-only and orderable by pasting a link; resale on Mercari and Rakuma, where tags-attached pieces from sold-out collections are common; shop-graded secondhand at 2nd STREET and ZOZOTOWN used.

How do I read the condition and disclosure notes on a used women's piece?

Wear count first, then fabric notes, then household disclosures, which Japanese sellers include. 着用回数 states how often it was worn; 毛玉, 伸び and ほつれ describe knits and lace; 匂い, ペット and 喫煙 disclosures state whether the household has pets or smokers; and クリーニング済 means it has been dry-cleaned.

• 着用回数 1回 / 数回 — worn once / a few times
• 毛玉 / 伸び / ほつれ — pilling / stretched / fraying
• ペットなし / 喫煙者なし — no pets / no smokers
• クリーニング済 / 洗濯済 — dry-cleaned / washed
• タグ付き / 試着のみ — tags attached / tried on only

What does a women's clothing order from Japan cost to ship?

Very little per item once consolidated, because dresses, knits and blouses pack flat and light. At order time you pay the yen price, OneMall's service fee, shown before you confirm, and the seller's domestic shipping if charged; when the items reach our Japan warehouse you choose an international shipping method and pay for it. Ordering from two or three brands and a few resale sellers and shipping once is the pattern; a coat is the one piece that adds volume. Import duty, if your country charges it, is collected on delivery.

Estimate shipping with the OneMall calculator →