tokyo & kyoto shops

[stadsvandringar]

There is absolutely no way you will pay anything like £20 for anything cool second hand in Japan. I think you are confusing second hand with thrift or charity shops. Designer second hand shops in Japan might be something like 50-70% off retail, sometimes less than that for newer season things, but that's about it. There are more thrift style shops that are cheaper (and usually in the suburbs), but involve lots more digging. In the central city you are much less likely to find any amazing deals. The selections are generally decent in tokyo, especially if you're after CDG, Saint Laurent or that kind of stuff that's big here. The shop staff are also usually very knowledgable and know their stuff and what people are willing to pay.

In sum, if you're visiting for a short time, expect that you will find a lot of cool stuff but also expect that you will pay for these things. Tokyo is rightly known as a shopping city (probably the best in the world in my opinion), but it is not known for being especially cheap.

[Acid, Bitter and Sad]

So my girlfriend and I are finally finally finally going to Japan in October. Basically all I need to know is... who carries Paul Harnden and/or Elena Dawson, and what are the best second-hand stores for (hopefully the aforementioned brands) and Comme and Yohji?

How up to date is that original Google Maps link that Lowery posted on the first page of this thread? Are there similar maps that I can find/buy/download that has every store that any SZer might be slightly interested in that I can just load onto my phone when I'm in Tokyo? What about Osaka and Kyoto?

DSM, CDG Aoyama, Barneys NY (Ginza, Shinjuku, Yokohama) for PH.
Given the exchange rates, and the tax refunds, Harnden prices are only slightly more than IF's.

CDG Trading Musuem carries some Elena Dawson (female).

[raddy]

Second on the Kichijoji recommendation, love the area. Jiyugaoka is also great.
.

Definitely, Jiyugaoka is probably my favorite neighborhood for daytime wandering.

[tellure]

Just got back from Tokyo - some brief notes:

Used shops:

Kind-U - Shinjuku location was very small, and tiny selection of SZ-style brands. Shibuya a bit bigger but still nothing impressive.

Ragtag Shinjuku - also pretty small.. I would say the chance of finding something you like and in your size at these little used shops is <1%.

There was one used shop I found mildly interesting.. it's called Komehyo and it's a narrow 5 (or 6?) storey department store opposite Isetan (next to H&M) that only carries higher end used clothing and jewelry. Most of their stock and trade is the women's designer handbags and clothing, but way up on the top floor there's a small men's dept. After wading through racks of of gaudy Dolce & Gabbana there's a small selection of Rick, some Junya I think?, and a few interesting pieces like a Carpe Diem leather shirt jacket for ~$600, and some well-worn Carpe lace-up boots for ~$400. Still nothing impressive but at least larger and better organized than the chain used shops IMO.


For retail, there are the high end boutiques as noted earlier in the thread - Lift / Lift Ecru, Boutique W, etc. These were pretty much as you would expect - very well curated, very beautiful and very expensive.

For overall choice and variety, I would pick Isetan Men's - pretty large selection of quality brands even though the space isn't huge.. reminds me of Barney's NY. They also do the 5% sales tax refund in-store (for a 1% fee), so bring your passport if you buy anything over $1k.

I also enjoyed R&Co and Edition at the Omotesando Hills shopping mall. Edition had some nice Stephan Schneider.. damn those are some great fabrics. R&Co had some Viridi-Anne, KK Attachment, 10 Sei 0 Otto.

Overall the value in Japan is in the Japanese brands IMO (Viridi-Anne, Julius, etc.). I had never seen any taichi murakami stuff before, and it was quite beautiful and well made (at Lift and Boutique W).. pricing was more in line with the euro brands though.

Since I'm a more pedestrian guy than most of the hardcore SZ crowd, I also enjoyed some of the more mainstream Japanese brands like wjk (as noted earlier in the thread, their store is in the LaForet teenage shopping complex in Harajuku - quite out of place but cool to see their whole lineup.. very nicely made and cohesive).

I'm also a huge KK Attachment fan and their flagship store in Shibuya was great. Picked up another one of their guidi-leather jackets.. even at retail (~$1650) they seem like a bargain with leather of that quality.

Overall though I would say the biggest barrier to clothes shopping in Japan is sizing. Unless you're a 44-46, expect to find very little that fits.

As I write this I'm wearing a wjk shirt I bought in Large, which fits my slim 48 build very snugly. Time and again I tried on stuff that I liked but was too small, only to be told there was no larger size available. Isetan was slightly better, but I also struck out on a beautiful Stephan Schneider wool shirt there (nothing above size 3).

I tried on various jackets and heard many times that they only carried 44 and 46's. So be warned! Although shopping in Tokyo can be pretty fun (especially if you like the Japanese brands), you can definitely spend a lot of time with very little return if you aren't a 46 or lower.

[TriggerDiscipline]

there are 3 kinds in Shibuya unfortunately you probably went to a bad one,

I live in tokyo and currently the store people should have checked out is the rag tag across the bend of the kind because they stock Paul and Carol more often than you would find at Kind, but kind gets M.A.+ and Rick, and Rinkan gets the most diverse Rick, and home of Used Chrome Hearts.

If people actually come to tokyo If I have time I'm willing to show them the shibuya stores circuit.

[mikemikemike]

does volga volga ever show up at the second hand stores?

[TriggerDiscipline]

does volga volga ever show up at the second hand stores?

never if there's a chance its like 0.01%,


here's a guide if you're in shibuya,

Ok so you want to hit up this circuit:

http://www.kind.co.jp/shibuya/

^
after checking out this store head to the other ones, this one is not the best one but it has multiple floors

http://www.kind.co.jp/shibuyajinnan/

^
There's a girl here who speaks english, head towards the left of the counter theres stuff you might like from that side.



there's a rag tag around the corner, opposite direction of the supreme, and then there's a store called rinkan on that same area that might have what you want (rick, julius, ann d, carpe, ect. )


there's a store that sells a lot of women's and men's CDGH and yohji near this bar: http://www.adceed.com/user_images/3016756.jpg

not sure what the store is called maybe 10-LOW its called.
Address: 渋谷区宇田川町11-6 渋谷宇多川KKビル3階



things are subject to be around or not be around, it works for me because i check on a weekly basis or follow the rakuten stock.




feel free to ask any questions

[croatoan]

Is Space still around in Shibuya (or at all)? Their webpage starting to redirecting to "Brand Collect" a while back, but at least their old(?) location near Tokyu Hands often had tons of great stuff.

[Null12]

Nice info. on this thread. I'll be chilling out there in July as well, hopefully I'll bump into something nice.

Lot's of relaxing walking. Awwww yeaaaaah~

Also, if I find drop crotch Julius trousers for 50p I'd come in like a wrecking ball. :3

*Cringe*

[mikemikemike]

trigger(or anyone else who knows), what about alteration work in tokyo or osaka? directly, i have a RipvanWinkle jacket that has one of the upper arms pulled a bit snug(internally). is it out of the question that i could say, take it to them in person and get an in-house alteration? or could you suggest someone else that would be competent enough to do this type of work? I ask because i have very little understanding of the scope of RVW in japan and what they would or would not do.

[nicelynice]

I'd take it directly to the brand - most Japanese labels have EXTREMELY good customer service.

If you need difficult alterations, I HIGHLY recommend these dudes:

http://www.sarto.jp/

The prices are on the upper end, but they do fantastic work if you have an article of clothing that is important to you.

In other news, just got a postcard in the mail and Lift (Daikanyama) is having a pre-Golden Week sample/outlet sale this weekend on the 26th and 27th at 30 - 60% off normal prices.

[MrBushido]

Any stockist in Tokyo/Kyoto for 'If Six Was Nine' other than the Maniac Corp shops?

How are the prices compared to the EU?

[mikemikemike]

slight update, went to RVW and the fellow working behind the counter took great care to examine the jacket. sadly, he expressed that if it was to be taken apart and he was to try to readjust the inner sleeve, there might not be enough fabric to do so. very interesting store location and aside from lack of sz 5~6 stock good selection of their current offerings.
trigger and nicely, thank you both for your suggestions and help. I am in tokyo till saturday and hope to visit most of the locations trigger mentioned.
cheers

[madeinthedark]

boutiqueW in Omotesandou is nice shop too!:)

http://www.boutiquew.com/

[bryantyj]

Agreed! Boutique W is a really nice shop. Tomoya is a great host. To my surprise he has been open for 15 years!