I made my first online purchase directly from Tokyo Fashion on February 7, 2012. I've bought their clothes from YesStyle before, as well as the now-defunct angiehearts.net. I love the styles, quality, and price of their clothes - but the YesStyle markup is ridiculous, and most of the other places using Tokyo Fashion stock photos are really selling cheap replicas...for about the same price as the originals. Tokyo Fashion has two slightly-more-upscale sister brands, Mayuki and YOCO, but all are sold in the same webstore.
Tokyo Fashion is Taipei-based, and their clothes are manufactured in Hong Kong.
Minimum international order at Tokyo Fashion is supposedly 15 pieces according to their overseas instructions, but readers have told me that they've gotten away with fewer items, and at least one person was told by Tokyo Fashion that the actual minimum is 5 items. In any case, if you're a few items short you can easily add some light, cheap items to reach the item minimum without inflating your shipping cost too much (shipping is pretty expensive, as they only ship EMS).
Read on for an overview, timeline, reviews, and a price comparison with YesStyle.
Overview
Customer Service/ Communication: 5/5
During their business hours, I received email responses within 30 minutes. (this might take longer if you email in English). The customer service representative, Ellen, was very sweet and helpful throughout the whole process.
Price: 5/5
For 14 items of clothing and 2 accessories, my subtotal was about $103. Most of what I bought was on sale; at MSRP the total would have been about $153, which is still quite fair.
Shipping/Packing: 4.5/5
Tokyo Fashion only ships EMS - it would be nice if they offered other options. However, they shipped out my order within one day, and everything was packed well. Each item was neatly folded in a plastic bag, with tissue paper as necessary, and the whole thing was bundled together and packed neatly in a box with their logo. They marked my order as a "gift," which might be a bit dodgy if you live in a country that's strict about customs. Also, I know that a lot of wholesale sites artificially inflate shipping costs - Tokyo Fashion doesn't. The total weight I estimated was just 5g less than the one they cited me (estimations I used are listed below), and the weight they cited me was the one shown on the package.
Quality: 4/5
Their items are always accurate to stock photos, with decent construction minus a few loose threads here and there. I'm not always happy with the quality of their fabric, and I don't think they correctly report the composition, as everything I ordered was marked "65% cotton, 35% polyester").
Overall: 4.5/5
For the price, Tokyo Fashion is definitely worthwhile. The cost is not much higher than buying knockoffs from a wholesale store, and the good customer service and quality assurance make it more than than worth the difference.
Shipping/Timeline
Business Day 0 (February 7): Placed order
Business Day 1 (February 8): Order marked as shipped
Business Day 3 (February 10): Order arrives in LA for customs
Business Day 7 (Feburary 16): Order clears customs.
Business Day 10 (February 21): Order arrives
Tokyo Fashion is fast. Even though they say to allow 3-14 days for processing time, my order was packed and shipped within one day. (If you purchase preorder clothes, of course, it'll probably take closer to the two-week mark.) EMS predicts 4-5 business days to ship from Taiwan to the US. Due to customs, mine took longer. However, I've never had an issue with customs causing a delay in buying things from China/Taiwan before, and anyway, that's totally not Tokyo Fashion's fault.
Packaging is awesome. This thing was like a brick...
Cute box, even!
Inside:
Spread out:
Personal Information
Height: 164cm/ 5' 4.5"
Weight: 63kg/ 138 lb
B-W-H: 92-71-92cm, 36"-28"-36"
Chest size: 36C (US)
In US sizes, I'm usually an 8 on top and 4 on bottom. I can wear most of Tokyo Fashion's freesize tops (not the woven blouses - those generally fit up to 88cm/34C), and freesize or size M-L bottoms (depending on the cut). Tokyo Fashion has more...err...forgiving clothes, as I generally wear a plus size in tops and L-XL for bottoms in Taiwanese sizes.
Weight Estimations
These are the weights I used to estimate what shipping would be, and also how I calculated proportional shipping costs per item (for review purposes). These aren't exact values by any means, but based on my order I was within 5g of whatever system they use to calculate shipping weights.
- Small items: 100g
- T-shirts: 200g
- Sweaters: 300g
- Shorts: 300g
- Skirts: 300g
Reviews
Prices are given in the following format, and are based on a 28.5 NT to 1 USD conversion rate: $ Price without shipping ($ Price with proportional shipping)
All items are freesize unless otherwise noted. Measurements are the ones provided by the site and are measured flat. For tops, the bust measurement is given; for bottoms, the waist.
Stock photos are copyright to Tokyo Fashion Co.
Cell phone charm, white
Price: $2.07 ($3.50)
Rating: 5/5
Exactly like the stock photo. A little squished from shipping, but nothing awful.
"Foxtail" bag clip, white
Price: $6.31
Rating: 4.5/5
Not as soft as the the fur for the cell phone charm. Also a little squished from shipping. Other than that, as expected. Kind of wish I had picked pink as I'm feeling paranoid about getting this dirty, but I really don't have anything to match the pink.
Faux two-piece, dark red
Price: $4.76 ($7.53)
Measurements: 38 - 58 cm
Rating: 5/5
Nice quality, soft material. Probably would look best for A or B cup, but I knew that when I bought it ;_; just too cute to resist. No worn pic; I'm probably going to give this to a smaller friend.
Victorian-style turtleneck, white and black
Price: $4.88 ($7.74)
Measurements: 37 - 57 cm
Rating: 4.5/5
I wish the material was a little softer/ more cotton and less polyester, but it looks exactly like the stock photo and fits my huge-by-Asian-standards chest. Still looks a little odd around the chest, but I'm planning on wearing it with a jumper, so it should be okay. There's a bit of cotton lace trim on the cuffs, which is a nice touch. No white photo because I was wearing makeup and didn't want to get the shirt dirty - sorry!
"Love Sweet" Thermal T, navy
Price: $6.74 ($9.60)
Measurements: 44 - 60 cm
Rating: 4/5
I was a little disappointed with the material - it's a bit scratchy - and the print is stiff. All the models are wearing something underneath, so I guess it's not meant to be worn directly against the skin. Hopefully it'll soften after a few washes. However, it's still quite comfortable and cute, and true to the stock photo.
Bow-pattern sweater, navy
Price: $6.74 ($11.30)
Measurements: 34 - 50 cm
Rating: 4.5/5
Not as soft as the cardigans, but still comfortable, and no noticeable flaws.
Heart-pattern cardigan, dark pink
Price: $6.11 ($10.40)
Measurements: 44 - 52 cm
Rating: 4.5/5
Really nice material, thick (not...chunky, just substantial and good quality) and silky-soft. Only knocked off half a point because one of the buttons was really loose (and fell off as I was putting the cardigan on to take a photo), so I'll have to re-sew it before I wear this outside.
Polka-dot cardigans, navy and red
Price: $7.12 ($11.42)
Measurements: 42 - 52 cm
Rating: 5/5
One of the reasons I placed this order was because I couldn't find a polka-dot navy or red cardigan that I liked for a reasonable price in the US. I'm really happy with both of these.
Bow-back hoodie, dark gray
Price: $4.67 ($8.96)
Measurements: 52 - 62 cm
Rating: 4/5 I thought this would be made out of the kind of fleece that blankets are made of, but instead it's this odd one-sided fleece (the inside isn't fleecy). The lining of the hood is very soft, and the same material is used to make the bow on the back. The front is pretty basic, nothing to show.
Tiered skirts, black and camel
Price: $7.33 ($11.63)
Measurements: 28 - 47 cm
Rating: 4/5 for black, 3/5 for camel
The material for the black skirt was stiffer than I thought it would be, but not too bad - the stiffness is part of what gives the cute "cake" shape, so I'm willing to overlook it. The camel skirt was even stiffer, and the material was little bit thinner. Also, the skirts weren't lined, so the stiffness made them a bit uncomfortable to wear, as if they were starched. I'll probably wear these with "safety shorts," so it's not a big deal to me, but I did expect a lining.
Matelot shorts, black
Price: $9.33 ($13.63)
Size: M
Measurements: 36 cm
Rating: 5/5
I love these shorts. They fit me perfectly - usually Western pants that fit me in the waist are too loose in the hips, and the ones that fit in the hips are too loose at the waist. The material is nice, like slacks material.
Summer shorts w/ belt, military green
Price: $7.12 ($11.42)
Measurements: 34 - 43 cm
Rating: 5/5
They're wrinkled in my photo because I had just unpacked them, but they do look just like the stock image and are really light and comfortable.
Dress + shrug set, dark red dot + black
Price: $12.04 ($16.33)
Measurements: 41 - 60 cm
Rating: 5/5 dress, 3/5 cardigan.
The most expensive item I ordered! The dress itself is lovely, soft and comfortable, but the cocoon-style shrug looks awful on me because my shoulders are pretty broad and thus it doesn't drape quite right. Also, the material of the shrug feels pretty cheap - definitely more polyester than cotton.
YesStyle Price Comparison
As of the day I ordered, not all the items I ordered are in stock on YesStyle, but 8 were. Here's quick cost comparison of those items.
Since YesStyle offers free shipping over $150, and the total cost of these 8 items on YS is well over $250, no shipping charge was added to the cost for those items.
Paid: what I paid (sale price + shipping)
YesStyle: YesStyle price as of the day I ordered from Tokyo Fashion (February 8, 2012)
| Item | Paid | YesStyle |
| Cell phone charm | $3.50 | $10.80 |
| Heart cardigan | $10.40 | $35.00 |
| Polka-dot cardigan, navy | $11.42 | $27.00 |
| Polka-dot cardigan, red | $11.42 | $24.00 |
| Tiered skirt, black | $11.63 | $28.00 |
| Tiered skirt, camel | $11.63 | $25.20 |
| Matelot shorts, black M | $13.63 | $35.00 |
| Dress + shrug, red/black | $16.33 | $50.00 |
| Total | $89.96 | $235.00 |
Buying the same items from YesStyle would have cost me about 2.6x what buying straight from Tokyo Fashion did. I also did some calculations based on Tokyo Fashion list price vs. YesStyle (not including shipping), and YesStyle marks up the Tokyo Fashion list price by about 3x.
I love your blog.. So helpful and detailed! Also, I recently bought the Betsey Johnson Serenn too! I'm loving them!! Prom shoes~~ :D
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I could help! ^___^ Those are gonna be some killer prom shoes - definitely more comfortable than strappy stilettos :D
DeleteI just found your blog from googling pg美人網 review and tada here I am. lol I find blogs like this interesting and it's the same thing I do! ahhhhhhhhh just not as detailed as you missy... shame on me :D
ReplyDeleteHi anli!
ReplyDeletei was cheking tokyofashion in taobao, and i was very sad when reading the reviews :( . i thought this store would have 4.8 or even higher, but they only have 4.6.
When i read the reviews i found many bad comments, like saying the quality was bad, the clothes were too thin and so on. so i dont know if its really worth buying from this shop.. cause the clothes look so cute, but i think almost every item i have put an eye on has some bad reviews >.<
would you recommend me buying from this shop? do you know any other similar shop that sells this kind of items?
thanks :)
As far as ratings go, I gave TF a 4/5 on quality, but for the price and range of styles I'd definitely still buy from them again. They're the #1 ranked online Taiwanese fashion brand because of the constantly-updated range of on-trend styles and the affordable price point, not because their clothes are amazing quality (kind of like Forever 21 in the US, which is more expensive than TF but pretty comparable in terms of quality).
ReplyDeleteThe most similar brand/store that comes to mind is Tian Mu (天母嚴選) and its sister brands, available at GoToBuy Online Shop and their Taobao storefront. The price point is pretty similar, but so are the reviews for quality. (I haven't bought anything from them before, so I can't comment.)
Basically, when buying clothes, you *want* style, (cheap) price, and quality, but you usually only get to pick two out of three. If you're willing to pay more for better quality, I'd recommend looking at Japanese brands, but that's a huge price jump (easily 5x the cost). I honestly don't know any brands that carry similar styles to TF that are of moderately higher quality and moderately higher prices.
i will try and buy probably 3 items :P. the model from tian mu is the same as tokyo fashion, right? i think i see the same models in very different brands.
Deletethe matelot shorts you bought are cute :), are they still on sale? i am trying to find them in their taobao shop but im not lucky. i only found them here:
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=13939010498 which i think are the fake ones lol
have you already washed your clothes? how did they come out??
i tried searching for all the items you bought in taobao, but i couldnt. do they put all their items there? i am having trouble with google translator lol
thanks again for your fast answer :)
Yes, one of the models works for both brands.
DeleteStock turnover at Tokyo Fashion can be very fast. All of the items in my order are sold out.
Most clothes that I buy from Taiwan I handwash and line dry, since washing machines and dryers in the US are a lot more high-powered than the ones in Asia (and most of the wear/tear on clothing comes from washing them, not from wearing). So I haven't had any problems with that. I machine-washed the last dress and it came out fine.
oops forgot to answer the last part.
DeleteI checked a couple of items and it seems that the stock in their Taobao store is not exactly the same as the stock in their main site. I'm guessing they may keep a separate warehouse in China.
for some reason my last comment is not showing!
Deletei wanted to say thanks for your answer and too bad the shorts are out of stock because they are so cute!!!
:))
hi.. so glad to read your blog. so much fun! as you mentioned that Tokyo Fashion is manufactured in Hongkong, do you have any idea if they have offline store there in Hongkong? I'd be in Hongkong next week.. and hoping to find this kinda Tokyo Korean Clothing Store.. thanx
ReplyDeleteThey do not, but you will find similar styles everywhere.
DeleteIs the price in their website in Taiwan currency? The cost comparison you did here, is it in US Dollar?
ReplyDeleteYes and yes.
DeleteHi, could you help me out? So I've emailed them and I believe they've placed in the order but I have no idea how to pay! I think they changed the layout since you've done your walkthrough. I'm pretty much stuck at step 3. Let me know, thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi! I placed an order at the end of August and the format was still the same. Like it says in the walkthrough, please email me (at iamnothighfashion@gmail.com) rather than using the comments if you have any question on ordering! Take a screenshot of the page where you're stuck and also forward me the last email they sent you.
DeleteHi angelin,
ReplyDeleteI know you said to email you but i was just hoping perhaps you could update your walkthrough for Tokyo Fashion? Like the previous comment, they have changed their website layout and it is really different now.
Thank you!
I haven't placed an order since the end of August and am not planning to do so any time soon, so I cannot do a walkthrough. Like I said in the previous comment, please email me (at iamnothighfashion@gmail.com) rather than using the comments if you have any question on ordering, and take a screenshot of the page where you're stuck and forward me the last email they sent you.
DeleteHi! I loved your review/haul so much that I decided to try purchasing from Tokyo Fashion too! All thanks to your instructions! I made my own Tokyo Fashion haul post and linked back to your instructions page. Hope you don't mind!
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the instructions and this blog post! It was all really really helpful! :3
I'm glad you found the guide helpful! My Chinese is pretty bad, too - going through the ordering process on my own the first time took forever, so I wanted to save other people as much trouble as possible haha =__=;
DeleteThanks for your detailed post^^
ReplyDeleteBtw, is it cheaper to buy directly from TokyoFashion than buying on Taobao via agent...? (I'm wondering because I might order directly from TF)
If your agent lets you use a cheaper shipping method, it might be cheaper to buy from Taobao via agent, but the difference between EMS shipping and the cheaper shipping method would have to be greater than the agent fee.
Delete