Job Discussion Forums

[Cordial_Sunset]

My goal is to work for an ESL company in either Japan or Korea next year. Upon preparing to teach ESL I have realized the following delima.

I am tall woman. To be exact, I am 5'10" or 178 cm of an average (American size) build. I have a fairly difficult time finding clothes that fit my size and length in America, I was wondering if there are any women in this forum who have similar problems with clothes, and whether or not they know of any place to shop in Japan. Additionally, are there any stores that sell larger sizes of women's shoes?

I know the common advice is bring clothes with you rather than buy them in Japan, but it also can't hurt to know of any places to shop.

Anyways, I appreciate any advice you can give me.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

It might be a little early to worry about it now, since you don't even know if you'll be in kanto or kansai or somewhere else.

There ARE stores that sell north American sized clothes, but you sort of have to just forget worrying about whether you actually like the clothes or not. If it fits, get it, and get it right then.

Make up a list of websites that will ship clothes overseas.

If you are making a trip home to visit family, bring very few clothes and a very large bag. Buy new ones.

Shoes will probably be much harder to find than any other part of clothing- other than socks. You can definitely order them on-line. Just get a couple of pairs of shoes that you like, and know what size you are in common brands, then order.

[midnightpariah]

[Apsara]

I am 5'9.5 and have lived in Japan quite a long time. Most of my height is in my legs, and I find Gap pants a bit short- they only seem to have the regular length here- but Benetton and Zara are the perfect length for me.
I have a small frame but I do have hips which means that pants and skirts from Japanese brands don't sit well on me. I find I am fine shopping at Benetton and Zara, stocking up when I go home, and wearing a lot of capris!

Some department stores have tall sized sections- Marui Model is one- but I find them a bit expensive.

Even for Zara, Gap and Benetton my arms are long so I have resigned myself to a life of pushing up the too-short sleeves on everything I own- winter coats are the worst problem.

Shoes are trickier even at size 8.5 to 9, not so big for my height but beyond the range of most shops here except Nike stores for example. I do a major shoe shop when I go home. I stopped teaching English a few years ago and can now dress more casually so spend most of my life in sandals anyway and don't need dressy shoes much. I have never been into high-heeled shoes and if I wore them here I would probably hit my head on train doorways! For work shoes some branches of the chain Ginza Washington and shops like Marui Model have up to about size 10.5.

I increasingly see young Japanese women who are the same height or taller than me- once you start teaching ask your taller female students where they shop.

As above the bigger the city you are in the easier it will be to find clothes- I live in Tokyo where there is probably the most choice

[Glenski]

See what you can find on www.being-a-broad.com or in the related book.

[stillnosheep]

Clothes are heavy. Bring clothes you need for the season that you arrive and the following season and get family or friends to send out what you need for the other extreme season (summer or winter) later.