X-Girl and Uniqlo store reviews - trying my SoHo luck

X-Girl New York
265 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10012
212-343-2457

Uniqlo
76 Greene Street
New York, NY 10012
877-486-4756

SoHo and NoLita in New York are flooded with little boutiques and independent designer shops. The area is quite a great place to shop if you're looking for something different from the mainstream bunch; a few stores also serve as launching pads for up and coming designers. But buyers be warned: it's also too easy to drop several hundred without even trying.

I stepped out of the subway at Spring armed with the names of a couple of stores that a friend had given me. Both stores were Asian brands/imports. East Asians as a general rule are smaller than their counterparts in America, so it wouldn't be a bad place to start.

My first stop was X-Girl, on Lafayette. I stepped into the store finding a casual-trendy mix of urban chic Japanese designed goods. Not the sort of style anyone would normally associate with me, but I figured it would be a nice shot. I talked to the salesperson and asked if she could suggest any items that may fit me. I walked into the dressing curtain and tried them out, a little doubtful as some of the things looked a little big.

I was a little surprised at the dressing 'room' situation. If you look carefully at the storefront picture, you'll see a pinkish curtain behind the mannequin. Yup. That was where I was shucking off my clothes. Since there was no mirror to use to take a picture, I was a little bad and adjusted the curtain so sunlight came into the booth. I sure hope no one was looking a little too closely at X-Girl's window!

So I tried the stuff on. I was also disappointed and surprised that everything was too big! Their sizing is XS, S, M, L, or 1, 2, 3. Huh. Taking that small numbering system even further than I would have imagined. And as I thought, it wasn't cheap to shop there - the 'sweetheart shirt' was $106 for a frilly cotton button down! I left after learning that the sizing was supposedly the same in Japan. Huh. Well, moving on....

Next stop - Uniqlo on Greene. I knew that this particular store was a Japanese retailer, and my friend mentioned that they were in Japanese sizes. So as I stepped in, I got excited. The place kinda reminded me of a slightly funkier GAP - "casual wear that can be worn by anyone, any day." The stuff was certainly a good price; t-shirts were on sale for $9.99.


But alas, I was informed that their sizing followed US standards! Er...ok. Does it run small for American sizing, I tried to casually ask an employee. No, it actually runs large, he replies. WHAT??!?!? I was a little annoyed now. They might import the Japanese goods soon, but right now, it's American. Somehow, I thought that physical proximity to Chinatown would make a difference for sizing of their clientele. Silly me right?