Gaijin Gyaru: Judging the Correct Length

Hello, everyone!

Since I've been making some recent purchases on different sites of Liz Lisa and other Asian brands, I thought I'd write this post to help and give some tips in judging what kind of size would fit or be appropriate for you. 


A common question my mum asks me when she finds outs that I bought a particular item of clothing online is: "How do you know what size to buy?"At first, I was quite lazy with sizing and went with my gut feeling since I know my upper body fits medium sizes quite well, and normally chose that for tops. But, that's not very reliable. Don't do that :')

Especially remember: Clothing brands from other countries might have very different sizes that what your are familiar with. Especially, ones from Asia, as it tends to be a lot smaller.

Ask the length of the product.

I am quite shy in terms of asking questions, but I now know how much it helps to contact the seller about sizes. They are more than likely willing to measure the piece and send pictures to you of the product so that you can judge it for yourself.

Another thing I like to include in my messages is, for example, if it is a skirt I would say my height and my own measurements and ask for advice as to whether the clothing piece would fit. I've had very honest replies that say that since a certain skirt, dress, or whatever it is, is a size S, it might not be a comfortable length for me (since my biggest concern in my message are length). It's very helpful. 

Another thing:

Compare how the product would fit on the seller compared to you.

Another thing I like to do, is sometimes the seller provides a few details, like their height on their profile, which can help you judge whether the product would fit you if you compare yourself to them. That's probably an awful way to put it, oh my gosh, haha. Let me give an example of what I mean: sometimes when I message the seller my concern about sizing, they reply back with "I am 165cm tall and this skirt sits just above my knee" or something along those lines, and then I go and try and figure out how it would look on me (who is 170cm tall) if I was to cut off 5cm approximately off a skirt. I would consider how far above the knee it would, or if the skirt is a bit flared, would it still feel comfortable. Things like that.

Sometimes, if you find a seller with similar sizing to you, it would make it a lot easier. But while I say all of this, if the seller provides measurements of the clothing piece for you, definitely compare that to your own measurements, and if it's really different, you might want to reconsider.

Have a look at the clothes you already have.

Something I tried when I first started buying clothes online, is I would put on the clothes I already own and take their measurements. It can help you familiarise with what measurements are comfortable for you.

Try and identify the model/what height they are.

This one is a bit tricky, but, if you can find out who is modelling the clothing you are interested in, you can find their height. Sometimes, websites provide details of the model and what size they are wearing, which can help you visualise whether something would be too big, or short for you etc.

Compare with previous purchases.

Something I find useful is if I shop from a store regularly, I compare previous purchase sizes with the sizes of the clothes I am interested in purchasing now. 

I guess the most obvious one: Measure yourself and keep them as a reference.

Haha, this probably should be the first tip. Get a measuring tape, and measure yourself. The most common one provided on online stores are things like shoulder, sleeve length, waist, bust, hips, and the length of the product in general.

I hope these tips help somehow! Do you have any tips of your own? Or any bad experiences in sizing when buying clothes online? Good luck and have fun shopping~

Enjoy life!

Nina