Where to buy unlined linen or other lightweight jacket online?

June 25, 2009 12:53 AM

Where can I buy an unlined or lightweight men's linen jacket or similar like this for very hot, humid Kyoto summer? Must be worn with white dress shirt, tie and black pants. Degree of difficulty: 46L/XL and shipping to Japan.

It only has to be worn twice a week, only until I get into the building, then I can take it off. I've been wearing three light-colored sportcoats, but they are 48L and I'm tired of looking baggy, and I'm already too big for Japan without extra fabric snapping in the breeze.

I would get two of those GAP ones at that crazy price and dye one dark if they shipped to Japan, or if our GAP carried them. I don't know where to look on ebay/Amazon, everything looks fishy. Could I just wear a breezy linen vest over my white shirt? That would seem dressy enough to me, but where would I get it? Something else? Budget is up to USD$150 or 200.

Pants are always black, shirt is always white, usually red tie. Is normal linen beige color OK or do I need a dark jacket/vest? Talk down to me, because I'm fashion sense-impaired.

posted by planetkyoto to clothing, beauty, & fashion (14 answers total)

Can't help with overseas, but the only place in Tokyo where I can shop is Zen-mall for larger/imported clothes. Some of the branches have big sizes floors, like the Shibuya one (doesn't help you in Kyoto). Unfortunately, the online section is lacking those items entirely. I don't know if there would be such a branch/shop in your neck of the woods.
posted by lundman at 1:06 AM on June 25, 2009

There are lots of places with big sizes in Kyoto/Osaka, but unfortunately, Japanese XL is really small, so I have to go for the 4L size, which means a mile wide and way too short in the jacket length and sleeve length.
posted by planetkyoto at 1:21 AM on June 25, 2009

Might be worth it to get your current clothes altered/tailored. Possibility?
posted by heather-b at 5:55 AM on June 25, 2009

Yes, the Japanese XL is anything-but. The pants have no crotch, the shirts cut off circulation to your arms etc. :)

But Zen at least imports most things, like Beefy-Ts, Levis etc. Only place I have found that imports X, XL and up. In the big-size stores. Has this guy in the ads. The big-size suits area has plenty of.. suits..
posted by lundman at 6:11 AM on June 25, 2009

Ebay has some 46L linen jackets from sellers who claim to ship worldwide.
posted by Comrade_robot at 6:57 AM on June 25, 2009

Have you checked Grand Back? I think they're around Gojo-Kawabata.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 7:34 AM on June 25, 2009

Land's End ships to Japan.

Men's Regular Traditional 2-button Silk Linen Cotton Sportcoat comes in 46 but it's lined with silk.

The coat is on sale but it's still $250 plus $49 for priority air shipping which is still 2-4 weeks. $75 for UPS to git to to you in a week. I dunno about duties to Japan.

Anyway, good luck.
posted by GuyZero at 7:36 AM on June 25, 2009

Amazon has this linen/rayon jacket that looks like it would fit the bill. It's actually sold by Amazon vs. a 3rd party merchant, so they will definitely ship to Japan. There is a pretty good clothing selection on Amazon, although some of the sellers may not ship overseas.

In general, the suits/jackets with Italian-sounding names and ridiculous markdowns (list price: $1500, actual price: $120) on eBay/Amazon are shady due to the misleading marketing, but are usually good enough quality to meet your needs (i.e. they won't fall apart from a couple hours of wear per week).
posted by pmann at 8:52 AM on June 25, 2009

Thanks for the answers. Grand-Back is actually a 4-minute walk from my mother-in-law's house, but it is geared toward the outlandish yakuza casual chic look. I do get socks and t-shirts there.

I buy most of my clothes from Lands' End, but it seems they don't offer much of an ultra-lightweight jacket, although they used to. That one doesn't seem very breezy to me.

I may have found a solution with an offer by MeMail for a trade of Japanese shopping services for American shopping services.

Thanks again for the helpful suggestions.
posted by planetkyoto at 9:03 AM on June 25, 2009

what about taking a picture of that jacket to a seamstress? she could probably whip one of those up for you, and it would be perfectly tailored.

i know that japan is expensive so it may be different, but in china it is very easy (and cheap) to have clothes made "from scratch".
posted by imalaowai at 8:34 PM on June 25, 2009

The Mister orders (and has been really happy with) business attire from Paul Frederick. He's gotten a few linen items from them and also Land's End...though he says the Land's End poplin blends and seersuckers are better than their linens, which tend to become mishapen, quickly.

We're in Gifu, which is nearly as humid as Kyoto.
posted by squasha at 5:46 PM on June 27, 2009 [1 favorite]

This is currently on the Paul Frederick clearance page.
posted by squasha at 5:51 PM on June 27, 2009

My last comment, I swear (obviously, finding clothes for us is near and dear to my heart...we're both tall, even by US standards) the vest is absolutely formal enough, especially in the era of "Cool Biz" (particularly if you can find one with lapels), and Paul Frederick also carries those quite frequently.
posted by squasha at 5:55 PM on June 27, 2009

Got two of those GAP jackets on the way thanks to a kind MeFi soul who wanted me to do some shopping for her in Japan. Thanks for all the suggestions and I will be bookmarking the Paul Frederick site for future reference. Looks good.
posted by planetkyoto at 7:44 AM on July 5, 2009