When I was first getting into Japanese Fashion, I was a US size S and was fortunate enough to easily fit into my favorite Japanese brands (like Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, Angelic Pretty, and LIZ LISA). Now that I am older and have had a child, I am a US size M, which is a borderline size for J-fashion. I can still squeeze into some things, like dresses with full back shirring, full skirts with elastic waistbands, knit dresses and tops, and sweaters, but a lot of stuff no longer fits me. Having a proportionately small bust and waist helps, but my shoulders and upper arms are often the limiting factor. And I’m not even that big! Fortunately there are some options for fans of girly J-fashion who don’t fit into the tiny Japanese “free size” (and even a few true “plus size” options).
Metamorphose temps de fille
Metamorphose is a name I was definitely very familiar with since the early days of Lolita fashion, but somehow the brand never quite caught my attention until recently. I know they were popular early on because they were one of the first brands to ship overseas, but their styles never stood out to me. A little classic, a little sweet, and sometimes just plain weird, although I’ve come to really appreciate their more unique and quirky prints (unabashedly doing their own thing). I noticed they had started making a Plus Size, so I gave it a try and… it was too big! And too LONG! Both of their sizes have full back shirring so they can accommodate a range of sizes, and I am actually able to fit into the smaller size (but maybe plus size blouses for the shoulders). Not only did it make me feel good about myself, I was honestly very impressed that they actually make dresses for ladies who are even larger (and taller) than myself! I even saw a couple releases in a Plus Plus Size. Meta seems to really care about their international customers. My aesthetics are actually more on the classic side of sweet anyway, so once I found a few pieces that really resonated with me, I completely fell in love with the brand. Highly recommended! They also make larger shoe sizes.
Atelier Pierrot
Atelier Pierrot is a gothic Lolita brand, so not as much my style, but I still own a few pieces from them. Their pieces generally have a lot of shirring, and some come in sizes. Their online store also carries other indie brands, including Moi meme Moitie (Mana’s brand) and Triple fortune (BABI and KAIE’s brand), which also tend to have a decent amount of shirring.
axes femme
Axes femme makes feminine casual wear as well as Lolita fashion under their axes femme kawaii label. Their clothes are still generally sized for a petite Japanese audience, but I felt it was worth mentioning because the fit is just a little bigger than most of the popular girly brands. In general the styles are looser or stretchy, and occasionally they release a size L, which will give you just a few inches extra if you’re a borderline size like me. Their style is more vintage feminine than sweet girly, and personally I love that. Axes femme is one of my favorite brands and I’ve collected a lot of their pieces secondhand.
Dear My Love (Yumetenbo)
Dear My Love is known for the girly ryousangata and jirai kei styles that have been popular lately, but unlike most girly brands that typically only have one size (like LIZ LISA, Ank Rouge, Secret Honey), Dear My Love has a range of sizes. In addition, they have Dear My Love Whip, a plus size line that goes up to 6L. This is a fantastic resource for current Japanese girly fashion. I’m typically a size L-LL in Dear My Love, so I don’t know how it is for the larger sizes, but I did find that those sizes were a little short on me in the torso (I’m 5’5″/165cm with a long torso). Otherwise, the pieces I got fit great and I am very happy with them. Dear My Love is a less expensive brand, but shipping can cost a lot, so keep an eye out for sales and coupon codes.
Now I’m not a huge fan of ryousangata/jirai, but Dear My Love Rose is their more casual girly line, and they make great versatile girly basics. I find myself gravitating more toward their pieces. Dear My Love Emily appears to be a little more Lolita style (but very basic), and also has sizes up to 6L. Diable baiser seems to be aimed at gals (gyaru), which is uncommon these days! I’m not familiar with the current state of gal fashion, as it mostly died out long ago, but apparently it still exists and it’s very different from what I knew in the early 00’s. It’s fun to browse, although mostly not my style.
Dear My Love and its sister brands also have shoes in a wide variety of styles, and some of them come in a few larger sizes.
Bodyline
Bodyline used to be the go-to brand for inexpensive Lolita pieces and generic cosplays like nanchatte seifuku (costume school uniforms) and maid uniforms. They offer some slightly larger sizes, although the selection isn’t as great these days. They recently closed their last physical store and seem to be more focused on costumes now.
After I had my son, I had a freak-out moment when I realized almost none of my huge collection of Lolita dresses fit me any more, so I went to Bodyline and ordered a few simple dresses. They were cute and fit me well, so I was happy about that, but you get what you pay for. The quality wasn’t terrible, but I felt more like the princess’s maid rather than the princess herself, and ended up selling the dresses after wearing them a few times.
Taobao Brands
Then of course we have the Chinese market Taobao. There are a lot of Chinese indie brands on Taobao that make J-fashion styles, and they are cheap and often come in a range of sizes. To buy from these brands, you need a shopping service or a reseller. I know some people who browse Taobao themselves, but I personally would rather pay a little more for the ease and convenience of shopping on a reseller site that’s set up for an English-speaking audience. I have heard some sites called “scammy”, but I think it’s important to understand what a Taobao reseller is and how it works. These resellers are not affiliated with the brands they sell, which is why you will see the same items offered on different sites (so sometimes it pays to shop around for the best price, including shipping). Sometimes resellers will buy stock of an item, but usually the items listed on their site are not items that they physically have in their possession. When you place an order, they turn around and buy it off Taobao. They have to wait for everything to be shipped to them (and sometimes wait to be made, as some items are on pre-order or are made-to-order). And sometimes, it turns out an item is unavailable, and your order has to be changed or cancelled. This is not the reseller’s fault. Once they have all your items (which CAN take many months), they can ship it to you, and shipping from China is not exactly quick or cheap either. The whole process can be very slow, and Chinese customer service is notoriously lousy, but keep an eye on your order and be patient. I have tried a couple different resellers and have not had a problem with any of them so far, even when items became unavailable.
42Lolita, Lolita Wardrobe and My Lolita Dress are trusted resellers that I’ve heard have better customer service than most. Again, I haven’t had a problem myself, but I’ve heard stories of poor communication or people having trouble getting their money back after a cancellation with some of the other resellers. These sites obviously focus on Lolita fashion, but things like sweaters, blouses, socks, shoes, and accessories can also be used for more casual girly looks.
That said, these items are still cheap products from China, and the quality and fit can be very hit-or-miss. I’ve had to resell a lot of blouses and shoes because they didn’t fit me right. Now it turns out there are plenty of Taobao resellers on Amazon, too (in fact, I bet a lot of the fashion items on Amazon are from Taobao). They charge more, but hear me out: if you have Prime and can find items on Prime for a reasonable price, it’s completely worth it for the free shipping and free returns, especially if you’re not familiar with the sizing. I bought this Lolita blouse, and I love it and wear it all the time (as always, check the size chart, because it runs small). This chiffon blouse is also a popular basic, and although it’s only one size, it can stretch quite a bit (yes, it’s short and sheer, but it works well under jumperskirts). My general recommendation would be to search for “Lolita” or “kawaii” plus whatever you’re looking for (for example, Lolita blouse, Lolita accessories, or kawaii sweater), and then filter by Prime. It’s especially handy if you’re just looking for a few small things like socks. [Affiliate links]
Secondhand J-fashion
As mentioned previously, there are plus size and “plus size friendly” Japanese brand items, and if you’re familiar with what you’re looking for, you can check secondhand sites for more options. Lace Market is the place to go for international secondhand Lolita sales. There is also Kei Market for general J-fashion sales, but it doesn’t get much activity. Closet Child and Wunderwelt are Japanese secondhand stores that ship internationally (Wunderwelt sells some new items too). They focus on Lolita, but you can find some axes femme and other girly brands on there as well. For the best selection, though, check out Mercari Japan, which is integrated with the Buyee shopping service to ship internationally (you can search for items through Buyee’s interface, too). If you’re comfortable with using shopping services, there are more plus size girly J-fashion brands, but I’m not familiar with them myself.
I hope this list helps some of you find girly Japanese fashion pieces that you can fit and wear with confidence. Fortunately, feminine fashion in general has been trending for several years now, so hopefully we will continue to see more options for J-fashion fans of all sizes all around the world.