My Story
As a kid I was probably only normal sized until I hit 3rd grade. That was when I went through a growth spurt (I grew a foot in less than a year!) and rapidly started gaining weight. Not to help my self esteem any better, I got my period in 4th grade. This was during the time you were supposed to be playing with toys, not going through puberty! I pretty much skipped shopping at kids clothing stores and went straight to Wet Seal by the time I hit 4th/5th grade.
You're probably thinking, "Why is all of this background necessary?". It's because it eventually led up to me being diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
Why does it matter? It basically means that I will be bigger than size 9 for the rest of my life and will eventually have problems conceiving children. The majority of fellow sufferers will also be big, with some exceptions like Kate Gosselin from Kate Plus 8. So even with proper diet and exercise, it's only a means to stay healthy but size-wise I'll still be about the same. It's been a tough ride and I have fluctuated in size through out the years from size 9 to 15 (which it currently is at because my butt is huge). I'm smaller on top (but have broad shoulders), so I can fit anywhere between M-XL depending on the clothes. Being big has always caused emotional problems through out my life (being bullied from grades 3-8), but I think it was only recently when I decided that I need to be happy with myself and accepting the fact that I won't ever be super skinny.
How did I get into Japanese fashion?
I've been going to Japan a lot since my dad used to work and live in Tokyo, it kind of was just a natural fit. I started off by wearing Pop & Cute fashion (from the time I was 13-17ish), which used to be the dominant style at Shibuya 109-2 before gyaru-o and onii-kei took over. Unfortunately all of the pictures I had back from that time are on my computer with a broken hard drive, so I can't show you any but this photo from my transitional period from pop & cute to gal.
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| My friend Tsuyoshi and I at 9LoveJ in August 2006. I'm wearing an Angel Blue cap and a Daisy Lovers zip up top. I was probably wearing Cocolulu jeans. |
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| My 17 year old self wearing Cocolulu. |
The past is the past though, these are more recent pictures:
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| Note to self: school bathroom mirrors are tiny >.> |
If you've read this far, I'm really surprised! I'll get to what you want to know, where to get Japanese plus sized clothes for gals!
Japanese stores selling plus sized clothing suitable for gal
I have 3 favorite places, and they ship international! Yay! A few things to keep in mind while shopping from these stores:
- Register for their newsletters (メルマガ) to know when they get new items in stock! The bigger sizes always go first, so that makes buying things plus sized difficult and competitive.
- Japanese hips are TINY! If you plan on buying bottoms, remember to buy 1 or 2 sizes larger than your US size if possible.
- Need help with using Rakuten? Click here for information in English!
Yumetenbo/Dreamv (夢展望)
A budget gal clothing store that was ranked as the #1 online store for gals to shop at by Popteen! Not only do they have really cute clothes for normal gals, a lot of their clothes (mostly tops and one piece dresses) come in sizes up to LL (US L) or 3L (US XL)
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| Simple one piece dresses in a variety of colors up to size 3L. Only 980yen! |
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| Sexy Koakuma/Agejo styled dress for 2980yen, up to LL in size! When buying these agejo dresses, please be sure to check for the hip size because they're very constricting in that area! T_T |
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| Cute one piece dress with cat ears and armwarmers for 1980yen that is carried in up to 3L size! |
One of my favorite places to find random pieces <3 They can get a bit pricey, but it's definitely worth it for some great pieces of gal clothing.
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| Himegal dress for 2980yen in up to 4L (US XXL) size! |
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| Koakuma styled dress for 3980yen in up to 3L size. |
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| Popular sequin tiered skirt that a lot of gals wear, 2900yen and in sizes up to 4L. You can see me wearing a similar skirt I bought from Mim Min in 2 of the style pictures in this post! |
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| Keeping up with the trends, these furry legwarmers/boot covers should fit up to a size 5L! |
Mim Min
This is a site that branches off of another popular Rakuten store, A Happy Marilyn. This store specializes in girly plus sized clothing, many pieces that can be fit for gal! While this place can be hit or miss, it is noted that they used to carry a line of plus sized Vanquish clothing designed by famous gal model/TV personality Jun Komori. While her clothes are sold out there now you can still buy some Eyemazing eyelashes there. As of post date, there wasn't really anything interesting I wanted to post :'( But keep checking for new items!
I was gonna suggest the store Rue21 as a good alternative to Japanese Gal fashions, but you just had to go and wave that Nekomimi dress and those fuzzy legwarmers in my face, didn't you. *cry*
ReplyDeleteErm, but yeah, Rue21 offers XL and up sizes, I think jeans stop at 15/16, but I've been going nuts on their tops and bracelets. I've got 2 denim capris, 1 jeans and 1 skirt from there, and they all rival the trendy clothes of Shibuya... minus the super cute dresses. ;_;
Just so you know, I think you're gorgeous. :'3
ReplyDeletexo
http://www.gigikisu.eu.pn
@ Paula
ReplyDeleteI agree that Rue 21 is cool, but in this post I was focusing on Japanese clothes that fit plus sized gals :) I'll probably do another post in the future with American stores. I wish there was a Rue 21 closer to me, the only time I went was on the way to an Indian Casino in San Diego :'(
@ Gee
Thanks so much for the compliment :)
Wow, Dom, great post!
ReplyDeleteCuriou that I also have the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome thing too : (
I discovered about it when I was 12 years old, but I didn't turn into over-weight. I don't know if is lucky or not, but I don't mean this to insult.
It's interest to know more people with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. I'm following and supporting your blog!!
@ Love
ReplyDeleteI was diagnosed with it around 15, and yes you are definitely lucky to be one of the normal weight ones :P I don't take it as an insult and it's definitely a compliment to you! It's about a 1/10 chance to be like that.
Also thank you for the support :)
I have PCO too! I'm actually not that heavy all over, but I do have a large bust and hips, so these were great recommendations! Now I just need to find a tutorial on how to use the rakuten sites, thanks!!
ReplyDelete@ Littlekobaby
ReplyDeleteThe information on how to shop on Rakuten in English is here: http://event.rakuten.co.jp/borderless/infoservice/en/
I will add this to the main post as well!
i loved your mini gal story dtan!!!
ReplyDeleteim so glad i found your little blog!
and omg yes i am SO sick and tired of hearing skinny bitches say "you cant be fat and gal blablabla"
like.....no
honestly d, your not even that BIG! tbh!! O_O''
i have bigger taters than you, so thats why its so hard for me to find cute gal clothes--but trust me I MAKE IT WORK!
ive been gal for 5 years now and i still do not know how i found all my cute gal clothes....it amazes me i swear because my taters are just.....HUGE ><''
but this post really made me happy!
you are a great western gal and truly an inspiration to me<3
@ Tomo
ReplyDeleteYeah the haters all really stink. Last time I was in Tokyo (back during the time I only dressed gal, didn't have the whole look down) I still got a ton of "Oh she's so gyaru!" despite being a lot heavier than Japanese girls.
And yeah, I think in the US I would be considered more "normal", since I can shop pretty much everywhere. I wish I had bigger tatas, but all my junk went into my trunk~ lolol Which sucks because my waist size would probably be fit for a 11/13 but I wear 15 because my butt won't fit otherwise (so my bottoms are always baggy on the waist part, I don't like it!). But also I should feel good at the same time because I can wear gal brand tops since my boobs are pretty much non-existent.
But yeah, I think we definitely have more of a challenge at being gal but if we have the right eye for what works for our bodies and finding the right styles we can pull it off easy. I want to make sure we can stay positive in this community that tends to get really bitchy.
Fuck the haters! Nigella Lawson is hot and Chloe Agnew is cute :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I hate people who says fat girls are lazy etc and keep saying things like there are no pretty girls, only lazy girls. There are many kinds of beauty and there are things which you can't change no matter how hardworking you are.
I love your curly hair. It suits you well :)
I really enjoyed your story! I love the clothing sites you posted on here <3 The styles you pick are soooo kawaii!!!!
ReplyDeleteTry not to worry about those haters. Someone always has a reason to look at someone differently. I live in the ghetto side of Las Vegas and I've had people throw eggs on my car! I dunno if they hate me but it does get annoying and I try not to think about it.
But anyway, I love your phone charm and your light tan hat! I dunno what it's called but I love it! ･:*:･(*/////∇/////*)･:*:･
I seriously think I love you! :D you're such an inspiration! I've been into gal fashion for a while now, and I've slowly been transitioning into becoming more gal-like. I'm also a plus sized girl and I totally understand where you're coming from. My weight has been whats been holding me back... but reading this just gave me even more courage! Thank you, and never stop being you <3
ReplyDeletePCOS is different in everyone, but a majority of PCOS patients experience an incredibly low or non-existent metabolism resulting in it being very hard to lose weight. There are also cases (like myself) where I have to additionally take birth control in order to have normal periods, and birth controls generally make patients gain weight.
ReplyDeleteChanging your diet and exercise WILL help to an extent, but not at the rate of people with normal bodies. I highly doubt PCOS can go away just through diet and exercise. It is a manageable condition (I was diagnosed at 15), but the affects like infertility will be lasting.
I think it's awesome that you're promoting beauty for girls that are heavier than average. I think it's a shame that society promotes the misnomer that you have to be thin to be beautiful. Bigger girls can be beautiful and fashionable as well :) I found your interest in Japanese fashion interesting as well. I have a Japanese husband, and am into anime, video games, etc. I've tried to dress my husband up like a bishie, but he won't agree to it XD Oh well, a girl can always dream :)
ReplyDeleteHi, I also have POS. It has also caused weight issues for me but I find the less processed food I eat the easier it is to looes weight. It is great that you have learned to love your self as you are, it also took me some time to do that. I was also able to get pregnan although it was ddifficult. So don't loose hope!
ReplyDelete