Buy clothes here or there?

[lydilia]

I don't have much professional attire that is suitable for cold weather. That stuff is starting to go on clearance sale here; should I do some shopping now, when I know where to get stuff that I like that fits and is affordable, or should I pack lightly and hope to do some shopping in Japan next fall? (And I figure that if I end up not doing JET,

Comments

[hkmercredi]

Hrm, tough choice particularly since you don't know where you could end up for JET. Depending on where you go, you'll never need anything heavier than a rain jacket.

If you think you'll use winter clothing at other times too (aka, you're not planning on living in the desert for the rest of your life) then it could be worth it to stock up now just in case.

It's also possible to get things delivered here - I've used Eddie Bauer a few times, and while shipping is expensive it's convenient and quick.

hmmm

[anonymous]

Japan is really expensive and unless you are ~5'6" and 115 pounds, it might be difficult to find nice close that fit you. This is especially true if you are not in a metropolitan area...

Uniqlo is nice, but their clothes are not what i would call professional.. for women at least.

Re: hmmm

[abbajen]

Wow, I'd definitely be the right height (I'm 5'4"), but I'm 30 pounds too heavy.

Re: hmmm

[kouitten]

Really? I'm 5'6" and everyone in my father's family says I'm awfully tall - I'm half-Japanese.

[marasca]

I don't know whether you should shop now or not, but here's my advice on what to shop for: I have to wear a suit for graduation next week, but otherwise I'm purely "business casual" at work. Khakis, black pants, and sweaters. I have one long skirt I wear occasionally in the winter

[gypsyamber]

You actually get a small stove in the classrooms? Wow.

[marasca]

They're slightly better than nothing; I think the kids' body heat heats the room more than the stove. Poor you!

[gypsyamber]

I would get stuff there while you can that fits and you like. Most definitely. Of course if you end up in Tokyo or Osaka, then you may be able to find things in western sizes but don't count on it if you're somewhere more rural - or you're pretty much Japanese size and shape yourself.

Uniqlo does have some thigns that fit and I've found it good for supplementing my wardrobe with woolen turtlenecks and fleece jackets for winter - but all the sleeves are a good inch short on me. (I'm 172cm, and about a size 16)

Also, assuming you're writing from USA, clothes are probably cheaper there anyway.

As for schools, I wear smart casual - usually jeans (with thermal leggings), woolen turtleneck, fleece jacket and another fleece or woolen jacket - the schools get stupidly cold. I sued to wear nice woolen dress pants but most other teachers wear jeans at most of my schools.

[steampunkpirate]

RE: UNIQLO -- I must agree with the whole "sleeves-an-inch-too-short-for-me" thing. But that's not a problem, since I usually just roll up long-sleeved shirts (I haven't tried any short-sleeved shirts from there). At any rate, I don't find the clothes work-appropriate for anything outside of elementary school.

RE: OP -- Maybe I'm lucky, but I never had to really break out the "winter clothes" all winter, and I'm far from the most southern placement here. A hoodie, vest, and mittens got me through the winter, and all the locals thought I was crazy.

[hkmercredi]

heh, yes, you're lucky :oP

I live in Aomori prefecture; Aomori City is on the same latitude as NYC to give some perspective. There's a lot of snow here; then there are some up in Hokkaido who would probably think it's pretty wussy here, heh.

Uniqlo's not too bad; my torso is long so I find their stuff a bit on the short side.

[steampunkpirate]

Well, in complete fairness, I'm from Maine (same latitude as Northern Hokkaido), so my "harsh Shikoku winters" are nothing compared to what I'm used to. My students here complain about the weather and huddle up to the kerosene stoves between classes, but they wear shorts and a T-shirt for track practice, so it can't be all that bad.

[iideliishii]

I would definitely go shopping here. As you probably know, you will probably be able to find clothes in Japan to fit you, but they won't necessarily be made to fit a western body. I could often fit into jeans at the back of the rack in Japan (that was before I came back to the US and put on about 10 pounds, though, YUCK), but they would fit really weird -- tight in the butt and thighs, loose in the stomach and waist. It sucks having a western body in Japan. Plus, it's nice shopping somewhere that you know the stores and know where you might be able to get nice clothes and good deals (although shopping in Walla Walla SUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKS...I found this out last fall when I was looking for a dress for my cousin's wedding, so you might want to save it for when you go home for the summer). I did buy many things in Japan to supplement my wardrobe, but it was nice having a selection of things to wear to work when I first arrived

[lydilia]

Yeah, Walla Walla shopping sucks. Are there any stores besides Macy's? I'm probably going to do some shopping in Spokane over spring break.

I don't really want to wait until summer, because I don't know if I'll be able to find cold-weather clothes in July.

My main concern about buying things here is packing. I'm so bad at it. I noticed that packing for my Sri Lanka semester was a lot easier than packing for my Japan semester just because one involved light t-shirts and a few thin skirts and the other was tons of bulky sweaters. I figure space not taken up by puffy coats in my suitcase is space I could devote to, I dunno, stockpiles of tasty vegetarian foods.

[iideliishii]

If you can get over to the Blue Mountain Mall, Sears and Fashion Bug have some good options (I got a really cute suit at Fashion Bug my senior year). You might also want to check out Goodwill -- they've got a lot of good stuff there, and it's much cheaper than buying it new (plus, it's pretty close to campus).

As far as winter clothes go, I have found that the best thing to do is ship them via surface mail when you leave. Although surface mail takes 4-8 weeks, you will not need your bulky winter clothes in the first two months...MAYBE some sweaters for the end of September depending on where you are placed, but certainly not the heavy-duty stuff. Although it usually ends up costing about $50 a box (depending on how much you put in there), its much cheaper than overweight luggage, and frees up a lot of extra room. I don't know what I would have done without surface mail either of the times I lived in Japan!