Clothing for BIG people in Japan

[Declan Murphy]

I have a rather tall, well built student, who needs to buy some
clothes. After studies in Okazaki he'll relocate to the Tokyo area.
Where in Aichi & Tokyo can you recommend he go to for some shopping??
He is a mature age executive, so mostly will need smart casual &
business wear.

[CL]

On 01/13/2012 06:03 PM, Declan Murphy wrote:
> I have a rather tall, well built student, who needs to buy some
> clothes. After studies in Okazaki he'll relocate to the Tokyo area.

> Where in Aichi& Tokyo can you recommend he go to for some shopping??

> He is a mature age executive, so mostly will need smart casual&
> business wear.

There is Zenmall in Shibuya, but some of their stuff is truly tres geek
moderne. I can't recall the name, but there is a store for Western
clothing for sumo rikishi in Ryogoku and have heard that there is also
one in Osaka around Namba or Shinsaibashi. The Japanese keyword search
term is "big and tall men" usually in katakana.

--
CL

[CL]

Adding ... I spoke to a former rikishi I know and he says there is also
a tailor somewhere close to the auditorium where the Nagoya tournament
is held who can tailor from scratch or re-fit off-the-rack suits and
casual clothes. He can't remember the name but says it is within
walking distance of the front gate of the tournament site and they're in
the phone book where their ad states that they specialize in large
sizes. He says there are also a couple of men's shops close to where
all the stables stay to prepare for the Nagoya Basho (can't recall the
name of the area) which cater to larger sizes. He's been out of sumo
for a while but buys clothes from some of these places ... and for the
life of me I can't remember the name of the facility where the Nagoya
Basho is held, but I can walk or drive there from the Nagoya shinkansen
station.

--
CL

[chuckers]

On Friday, January 13, 2012 11:43:07 PM UTC+9, CL wrote:
[edit]

> and for the
> life of me I can't remember the name of the facility where the Nagoya
> Basho is held, but I can walk or drive there from the Nagoya shinkansen
> station.

Aichi-ken Tai-ikukan perhaps?

[chuckers]

I think google might have eaten my post. Apologies if this appears to be a repost:

TV Personality Ishizuka does adverts for this place:

http://www.sakazen.jp/

They specialise in BIG people clothes. Might only do Internet shopping which is a
bit of a risk but they seem to be able to refit/resize things for you for free or
for a nominal fee.

[chuckers]

TV Personality Ishizuka does adverts for this place:

http://www.sakazen.jp/

They have sections for BIG sizes. Not really sure how big but ought to be worth
a look at any rate. They may only do online shopping which is
always a bit of a risk but it looks like they have a refitting service (some
free, some for a small fee) if it doesn't fit right.

[Rik Brown]

I'm not especially big (6' 1"), but I've never been happy at all with
any of the clothing options in Japan unless you go the tailor made
route. Part of the reason is not just sizing up, proportions in body
parts tend to be different and that affects things such as shirt and
slacks lengths.

I've always found that its best to stock up when you go home or have
family/friends ship over the proper stuff. However, if it is business
suits, you can get those tailored for the right proportions. Over the
decades, I've used:

Ricky Sarani
3-3-12 Azabudai
Minato-ku, Tokyo

'Ricky Sarani where suit will always fit' (http://www.rickysarani.com)

He's not far from the Russian Embassy in Roppongi. Since the American
Club is just behind the Russian Embassy, he gets a bunch of business
from the business-types who frequent the club. He's certainly well-known
among the business crowd in Japan.

-- Rik


--
Rik Brown

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[CL]

On 01/16/2012 08:54 PM, Rik Brown wrote:
> I'm not especially big (6' 1"), but I've never been happy at all with
> any of the clothing options in Japan unless you go the tailor made
> route. Part of the reason is not just sizing up, proportions in body
> parts tend to be different and that affects things such as shirt and
> slacks lengths.
>
> I've always found that its best to stock up when you go home or have
> family/friends ship over the proper stuff. However, if it is business
> suits, you can get those tailored for the right proportions. Over the
> decades, I've used:
>
> Ricky Sarani
> 3-3-12 Azabudai
> Minato-ku, Tokyo
>
> 'Ricky Sarani where suit will always fit' (http://www.rickysarani.com)
>
> He's not far from the Russian Embassy in Roppongi. Since the American
> Club is just behind the Russian Embassy, he gets a bunch of business
> from the business-types who frequent the club. He's certainly well-known
> among the business crowd in Japan.

If you have more money than common sense, buy from Sarani. When I
worked in industries that required suits, there were a group of Indian
tailors from Hong Kong that used to bring sample books of whatever you
wanted, take your order and deliver your suits and shirts a month later.
All for less than half of Sarani and they fit a lot better. They used
to advertise in the Japan Times and Daily Yomiyuri but the best guys
were the ones that were introduced from office to office.

--
CL

[Rik Brown]

CL:

Ricky Sarani makes good stuff. I have suits he made over 30 years ago
that my son now wears and they still look great. 'Nuff said.

Cheers. -- Rik

[chuckers]

The problem with those guys is that once you get introduced, they come and
bug you to buy a new suit every 3 months or so.

Now that I think of it, when I wore suits, I had 2 business weeks worth made up
at a retailers convention (GDI or something) that was invitation only but
you could bring a friend (I was a friend.) Go enough times, and they put you
on the mailing list to get your own invite.

They were fairly well made. Sort of a screw up on one of the embroidered initials but oh well.

No opinion on Sarani.

[Rik Brown]

I've never tried those "come-to-you" tailors. However, I used to travel
to Hong Kong and Bangkok quite often when I was a tour guide. I was
never happy with the long-term quality of the suits that I had made in
either place (the shops were recommended by local people I knew). The
suits were cut fine but the materials tended to wear out rather quickly.
Again, I still have the Ricky Sarani suits which my son now wears (if
only I could lose a few kilos and get back into them).