Job Discussion Forums

Furansesu · Joined: 26 Feb 2009 Posts: 7 Location: UK

I've been told that an 'average' sized Western lady will struggle to find clothes in Japan. REALLY?! How big do Jap clothes go? For reference I'd be looking for stuff to fit a 5 ft 4 sz 10 (UK).

chinagirl · Joined: 27 May 2003 Posts: 235 Location: United States

At 5'4", you will have no real problems unless you are overweight. Many Japanese women are that height. There are only a few things that are tough...

For women of non-Asian heritage it can sometimes be difficult to find pants and underwear here, unless one has particularly slim hips.

Big/long shoes can also sometimes be harder to find in cute styles. As long as your feet are no bigger than a size 8.5 US/25cm, you will be OK.

Japanese women come in all shapes and sizes, so no worries. Younger women are much taller than their mothers and grandmothers these days.

(By the way, you should avoid that particular abbreviation of the word "Japanese" that was used in your post.)

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Yes, please don't use "Jap". It's offensive.

For womens advice like this, I usually send them to the www.being-a-broad.com site (or its accompanying book).

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

At your height and size you would be fairly average here and probably fit most clothes, unless as above you have very curvy hips or bigger boobs than the average Japanese woman. I'm a size 10 (US 6 for those unfamiliar with UK sizing) and not super curvy, but I find trousers in my size tend to be snug on the thighs and hips but gape at the waist due to the relative lack of curves on the average Japanese women.

Thirded as above- "Jap" has associations with World War 2, and is considered offensive not just on this forum but also by Japanese people. Best avoid it.

wintersweet · Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 12:22 am Post subject:

Female friends who were raised in the US and elsewhere (including friends who were East Asian ethnically, but not raised in Asia) of a similar clothing size generally found they had to spend a little more time trying on clothes to ensure that the tailoring would accommodate their butts and chests. A Korean-American friend was kind of pleased, actually, having rarely experienced difficulty buttoning shirts before, something I'm all too familiar with. Laughing

It just meant they couldn't buy fitted shirts, zippered slacks, and other nonstretch things without trying them on. But at least they were able to buy clothing, lucky ladies. Confused

Brooks · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1369 Location: Sagamihara

being 5'4" I would say you should buy clothes overseas.
I worked with a woman who was the same height as you, and she did her shopping in the US (for pants and shirts). It was because of body shape.
Japanese women tend to be thinner. My colleague was not overweight.

Furansesu · Joined: 26 Feb 2009 Posts: 7 Location: UK

Phew that's a weight of my mind!

Also, I'd like to apologise if I've inadvertantly caused any offence through my use of language. I genuinely was unaware of the connotations of that particular term and will of course avoid it in future. Thanks for the heads up!

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

I don't really think you need to buy all your clothes overseas- I am 5'9" and can buy things here, so you will definitely be able to- just expect to have to look longer for a good fit.

In Japan I buy clothes from Zara, H&M, Benetton, and also a lot of the Uniqlo and Muji stuff fits me. My main issues are sleeve and leg length, which won't be problems for you.