A Thread about my delusional trip to Japan

In search of a new personality

It might surprise you to learn that despite my love of fashion, I am a notoriously bad shopper. I’m incredibly picky, very indecisive, and also kind of stingy! Spending lots of money on clothes gives me anxiety. Still, like any delusional holidaymaker, I convinced myself that in Japan, I would become a completely new person.

Gone would be the days of having nothing to wear, or feeling like my outfit wasn’t right. Instead, I would glide seamlessly through the rest of my life in a timeless capsule wardrobe of expensive-but-cost-per-wear-economical staples that perfectly articulated my signature sense of style (which I was also going to find in Japan).

Inevitably, the fantasy soon rubbed up against my actual personality, reminding me of the old adage, “Wherever you go, there you are.” It turns out that not even a 14-hour flight to one of the world’s most style-conscious destinations can rid you of a lifetime of indecisive and parsimonious shopping habits.

Still, I did manage to buy a few things, and even when I didn’t buy stuff, I visited a few great stores and met some amazing people. Here are some of my Tokyo highlights:

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Dover Street Market Ginza

Of course the first pilgrimage I made was to the OG Dover Street Market. There, I felt sure I’d be anointed by Rei Kawakubo herself, who would bestow me with a cloak of connoisseurial protection to guide every future purchase.

Whilst I didn’t meet Rei, the store lived up to expectations. It looks pretty unassuming as you enter - like a small Comme des Garçons boutique with a narrow escalator and an elevator outside. Head up the escalator to the floors above, and that’s when the store unfolds in all its glory. 

On the first floor, I was greeted by a large hanging rail made of deconstructed bicycles, made to house the collection of one of my favourite new designers, Johanna Parv. Her sleek sportswear is all based on a woman cycling around the city, with technical flourishes and clever construction to allow pieces to morph and change for practicality (for example, a long skirt with built in shorts has a slit in, so you can put your handbag handle through it and sling it over your shoulder. This also holds the skirt away from the pedals).

Next to her was a beautiful Lemaire concession, where the pieces hung in a custom wooden frame topped with oddities and antiques. There was also a smaller display shelf nearby, where one of of the brand’s sculptural ‘egg’ bags was shown alongside… a sculpture of an egg. It’s this kind of chic wit that makes DSM so unique.

On the floor above, I was reunited with my beloved Vibram FiveFingers - the freaky versions by Suicoke which look like fuzzy monster feet, complete with pedicured toenails.

The thing about DSM is that it really encourages you to look, and it rewards you for doing your research. I breezed past the Moncler display, barely noticing a rail of pale yellow and green jackets. My partner, however, got very excited, and told me that these were the pieces made in collaboration with Apple design visionary Jony Ive, who spent FIVE YEARS developing the magnetic buttons.

Exiting the escalator on another floor, I experienced a wave of déja-vu. I realised it was because I was finally seeing the Phoebe Philo collection in the flesh; the paper thin stretch leather leather booties and the staggeringly expensive ‘Gig’ bag I’d read so much about. There was also a rail of ready-to-wear, where I caressed some of the liquid satin draped blouses and tried unzipping those titillating jeans (I can confirm they undo all the way to the butt, and that the zipper opens extremely smoothly, unlike the juddering stop-start of zips on muggle clothing).

The strategy behind most big labels is that they create an enticing brand universe, and then offer different tiers of products so that you can buy into them at any budget. The big spenders go the whole hog, whilst entry point customers might buy a lipstick or a purse.

DSM is no different - even if you can’t walk away with a Jony Ive jacket or a pair of Phoebe Philo jeans, you can buy a Comme des Garçons Play t-shirt, or in my case, sneakers that you later realise are too small (DSM have a no-returns policy). Must have confused the cloak of protection with a cloak of delusion.

Archive Store

Luckily at Archive Store I had no such concerns. As a shop specialising in the kind of archival grails that Japan is famous for, I knew it was unlikely that anything would fall within my budget.

On the basement floor of a building in Shibuya, the shop is more like a fashion museum than a retail space. The muted greige walls contrast the rose gold hangers, and the rails are divided up by designer: Yohji, Comme, even a rack from Margiela’s tenure at Hermes (1997–2003). On one chair, I spied the CDG Homme ‘Jugo’ boots from 2015, a riding boot whose toes extend into cartoonishly long pointed tips.

In the middle of the store there was a large central atrium, like an exhibition space, where a Japanese film director (below) had his entire Raf Simons archive on show. I was introduced to him by the store’s very friendly founder, Tatsuyuki Suzuki, who I had a great chat with despite our language barrier. My favourite piece in the collection was actually a rare Raf Simons book, The Fourth Sex, in which I found the references to the film ‘Christiane F’ that I discuss in this piece.

Radd Lounge

After an hour or so in Archive Store, I wandered up the street and stumbled upon Radd Lounge, a multi-brand boutique I’d heard of after my friend Marie Lueder acquired them as a stockist. 

The shop has a chaotic, DIY energy, and specialises in boundary-pushing designers like Lueder, Collina Strada, Eckhaus Latta, Betsy Johnson’s PRODUCTS and ex-Vetements progeny Prototypes. I also spotted Raga Malak, the brand co-founded by Bianca Censori’s stylist Gadir Rajab. Apparently Kanye, who’s currently based in Tokyo, shops at the store - unsurprising given that a few of the designers they stock were collaborators of his at one time or another.

The shop also introduced me to a host of great upcycled brands including 3R, Alyssa Marie Groeneveld, Lafaille and Heather Brennan Evans, many of which have been worn by South African singer Tyla thanks to her stylist Lee Trigg. As I was about to leave, I noticed a selection of trippy handbags from Danish designer Liana Paberza hanging from the ceiling. Given its comparatively small size, there’s a lot to discover in this store.

Vintage

You’ll probably have heard of Japan’s exhaustive array of vintage and secondhand shops. These fall broadly into two categories, the first being upmarket secondhand designer boutiques, where a lot of people go to buy bags. I visited a few of these, and although the selection is impressive, the prices are still very steep, and I found it all a bit logomania for my liking (there are only so many designer bags you can see before they all start to blend together into a depressing, consumerist soup.)

The second type are the shops specialising in American vintage, mainly denim, deadstock military gear, preppy collegiate sweatshirts and graphic t-shirts. There are literally HUNDREDS of these shops.

If you want to learn more about Japan’s relationship with American style, I’d recommend reading W. David Marx’s book, Ametora, which catalogues the history of this fascinating cultural exchange. (For a TLDR version, you can also read this interview I did with Marx for Huckberry earlier this year.)

A lot of people will recommend Shimokitazawa as the best place for this kind of vintage, but I actually found a better (and cheaper) selection around Koenji station, where you’ll find a street flanked with shop after shop, stretching as far as the eye can see. I’d advise going with a clear idea of what you’re looking for, otherwise you might end up like me, overwhelmed by choice and hiding out at a sushi carousel restaurant, drunk off two large beers.

I’m now kicking myself for not buying some of the t-shirts I found, although I did get a green football jersey (below - about £35) and one of those quilted military liners (£16) that have been copied ad infinitum by the likes of GANNI and Frankie Shop. But the original is still cool, imho!

My biggest recommendation (from my limited experience - please note I am not an expert! In the paraphrased words of Julia Roberts in Notting Hill: “I’m just a girl, standing in front of multiple Japanese vintage stores, asking them for a personality transplant”) is a chain of secondhand shops called 2nd Street, where you’ll find something in between the above two categories.

The selection is super broad - sneakers and outdoor gear in great condition at reasonable prices, high end names, plus cheaper sportswear and denim etc. They also have a good selection of designer accessories at more affordable prices - I’m still wondering if I made a mistake not buying the Yohji Yamamoto bag (below) I found on my first day, which retailed for around £250.

I actually visited the 2nd Street store in Koenji after my two beers, which is perhaps what (thankfully) pushed me over the edge of my best purchase yet - a pair of super wide, cropped cargo pants (£110) from Needles. I’ve been wearing them with the military liner and my Ann Demeulemeester boots as an homage to the conceptual Comme character I imagined myself becoming on this trip. Maybe I’m halfway there?

Tsutaya Books Daikanyama

Diverting from fashion for a moment, another shop I loved was Tsutaya Books in Daikanyama. Daikanyama is a gorgeous neighbourhood to wander around, also home to some great shops (although you won’t find any bargains there). The bookshop is set across multiple floors, and it’s a delight to get lost amongst all the different sections. I bought a couple of magazines, including a special interiors edition of Popeye - Japan’s premier menswear magazine (you can also learn about its history in Marx’s Ametora). I also discovered a Korean publication called ‘Magazine B’, where each issue tells the story of a famous brand, from Uniqlo to Disney to Aesop. I bought the one about Lego, because I think they’ve been doing some interesting projects lately. Of course I was also tempted by the Vibram one, lol.

Roommate

Around the corner from the bookshop I discovered the smallest, and newest entry on this list - a secondhand shop called Roommate, which is basically a tiny room of well-curated vintage presided over by the two guys below, who told me the shop had only been open for two weeks! I tried on some Prada sport pants and this beautiful Dries van Noten knit.

In summary, the spoils of my trip included one pair of too-small trainers, a military liner jacket, a pair of culottes and a football shirt. Hardly an impressive haul! Still, I learned a lot on my travels (even if the main lesson was one of begrudging self-acceptance), and met some new friends along the way. Let me know if you want to hear more about the non-fashion things I did, including one art experience I definitely would NOT recommend…

Tomorrow, I’m off to Seoul. Wish me luck!

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