Japan is known to adore fashion that isn’t quite popular everywhere else in the world today. As you walk down some streets in Japan, particularly in Tokyo, you are bound to bump into someone who looks like they’re in a costume of some sort despite the fact that it isn’t Halloween. If this happens, just appreciate it because it is rare for people to be that openly expressive with confidence. Now if you happen to be aware of these expressive outfits in Japan and you happen to be looking for certain Lolita dresses that are cheap, you can go straight to a store called Closet Child.
The Closet Child Stores in Japan and How to Get There
It isn’t clear when the business of Closet Child exactly started but they have definitely been in the industry for years now because some reviews from about this store that you can find online can be dated back to the year of 2015. This is not to say that it started in the year of 2015. It just proves that their stores have been in Japan since 2015 and that would mean that they have been a successful supplier of demands to their market for years now. That might not mean much to an average person but if you know anything about keeping a business running, the accomplishments that this business has made will definitely motivate you to your core.
It is easy to start a business and to keep it going for the first 2 years because the hype it creates in the market is inevitable, especially if your products are special. Sadly, if you do not have an effective strategy to continuously make your business successful by pulling in customers into your store daily without the initial hype, your business will most probably fail in the long run. With this being the case, for any business that isn’t a known brand, especially in the fashion and clothing industry, to not only survive but grow in a market over 4 to 5 years is truly remarkable. In the case of Closet Child, this achievement is greater than it already is because they made a business grow with thrift items making up most, if not all, of their inventory.
Some of you suspect that they did it by putting up a lot of small stores to get a wider area for a market but what Closet Child actually did was the opposite and it proved to the best approach. It is surely one of the best decisions of their marketing division has ever made for them because by focusing on placing 2 stores in the center of the clothing craze as well as the location where a lot of people like taking risks for fashion, they were able to monopolize the market. These two stores are found in Harajuku and Shinjuku.
The Harajuku Closet Child store is found in Jingumae, and it is very near the Ota Memorial Museum of Art. What you want to do to get there the fastest is to get down on the Harajuku Station and then take a 5 to 10-minute walk. Luckily, there aren’t many street names you need to remember because you only need to go down Takeshita Doori and the building Closet Child resides in would be beside the Bodyline store. These Closet Child stores usually just take up a floor or two of a commercial building and for the Harajuku branch, you will be able to find it on the 3rd floor of the building.
The Harajuku branch is the easier of the two to get to because it is found on a well-known street that has very limited stores to check out. The case for the Shinjuku Closet Child store, on the other hand, is a bit different because it is found on a much taller building so its sign is easily missed. To get to the Shinjuku branch, you’ll want to start your journey from the west exit of the Shinjuku station. This is the exit from the train station that should lead you straight to the subway entrance. Just take a right from the exit and go straight. You’ll want to cross the road when you see the Uniqlo store there but, right after, proceed down the direction of the street once again. Continue down this direction for about a kilometer. Keep your sight on the upper left side of the street and it is there that you will see the sign for Closet Child Shinjuku. Note that it is found on the 5th and 6th floor of the building so really scan the signs you see from top to bottom to not miss it.
What Stuff You Can Find in Closet Child
Unlike some stores of the same brand that have different items for sale, the Closet Child fully stocks itself with all the same items so that what you can get from one store is also available in the other. This is a vital decision of their heads because they only have two stores and if they lost customers due to such negligence, it would be such a waste for them. With this said, you can confidently travel to and shop at any of the two stores they have and be sure that you won’t be missing out on anything great.
Another thing to note about Closet Child is that they aren’t a production type of clothing store. Somehow, they were able to build a business based on secondhand clothing and it catered to a niche market. You will see all kinds of items being sold in their stores. There are things that look like pajamas as well as things that look like they were taken straight out of a maid anime. It’s actually hard to categorize the goods in this store because of the wide assortment they have. They literally have items that are gothic as well as angelic. They have some Vivienne Westwood as well as punk plaids and in addition to all those choices, they also sell accessories that range from top hats to pompom headbands and many more.
Some people might be against or hesitant to buy secondhand clothing but buying from a known and growing brand like Closet Child is different from buying from a shady place. There is a reason why people are supporting this shop and that is the reason why they have been successful so far. It would be very difficult to buy a lot of secondhand clothes in a store that wasn’t reviewed by sources like “www.lacarmina.com” or the likes of it because you do not know if you’re being fooled into buying sketchy items. The reviews and growing reputation of their business are key in giving people the experience they are looking for to give their money and their trust to you more freely. With this said, it becomes easier to understand why they never had a hard time selling their magnificent products at a cheap price.
The Other Cheap and Unique Shops in the Area
There are other stores around the area of Closet Child that is also cheap and worth the time to explore if you want to shop in Japan. The tricky part here is finding which ones you can trust like Closet Child. To solve this, you can easily look for reviews on the store you find before buying anything from there to know if there are any tricks in the way they do business. Luckily, people who get ripped off are especially motivated to write dirt about their wrongdoer so bad reviews are sure to be there if the store deserves it. There are many permalinks and online articles that you can check on when you search but here are some trusty shops you can already visit to give you a good head start to your shopping in Harajuku.
The first store on the list that you’ll see is called Chicago. It will literally be the first thrift store you see when you head out of the Harajuku station. The sign has the “Chicago” lettering in red and there are palm trees painted beside the name. It’s a pretty small store compared to the others you will find and this can be a good thing or a bad thing for you. It would be bad if you wanted a wider variety of items in the stores you shop in but, at the same time, it would be a good thing if you see that you can easily scan through their selection faster because of their size. There were some items they sold here for as low as 15 USD or around 1700 yen but, more or less, everything is sold around 25 USD or around 2800 yen.
The next good store around the same area is called Kinji. This store is much bigger than Chicago and they have a wonderful filing system that makes it so easy to know which is where. The people here also speak a bit of English so it is easy to transact with them but if your questions get too complicated, you should opt to use a translation on your phone. Aside from the size and the organization, this place has received good reviews for being cheaper than the usual thrift store. Of course, this means that stocks run out fast but if you lose a good piece of clothing because someone else beat you to buying it, that’s on you and not the store for not having more of that secondhand clothing item. Also, take note of the fact that the size of the place can fool you in a good way because the variety of clothes you can find here can be compared to a mini Closet Child. You’re probably going to want to spend at least an hour to make sure that you get everything you like in the store.
The best thing about traveling to Japan for the purpose of shopping is that their stores are open all year round. This means that whether your trip to Japan is in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, October, September, November, or December, you will definitely be able to pass by these stores to see what they have in store for you. Shopping blogs like Sanrio and other bloggers should be a reliable source of places to visit if you want to shop for cheap in Japan. Just take the time to watch and review their feedback and work and by the time you go to Japan, you should be able to come up with a list of places to go to immediately. You can also watch documentaries about these areas on TV if you get lucky enough to catch them. Those shows are very informative and they spoon feed the details to you so all you have to do is pay attention. Given the number of things you can make use of to make sure that you find what you are looking for in Japan, a great plan is all you need to get things done so make sure to do your due diligence before your trip to avoid the headaches that may come your way if you don’t.