Spam From Japan

It began in early January 2009. I purchased a fukubukuro or “New Year lucky dip bag” at the Atelier Boz store in Shibuya. These bags are basically a form of gambling. Pick your size and gender and, while the contents of the bag usually retail for somewhere between two to six times the sale price, you can never be quite sure of what you’re going to get.

In my case, I chose men’s L size. I got a white half-shirt, half-waistcoat hybrid and… something else. It buttoned up to my neck and the material reached to my feet. One might be inclined to call it a dress. Except… it wasn’t. Not quite. It seemed to be for a slim man who could pull off the priest’s cassock look, or for a woman who enjoyed looking like Victorian widow. It was impeccably designed, hung perfectly on whoever wore it, and seemed to warp itself according to the general body shape of the person who put it on. As a trans guy, this was exactly what I didn’t want.

And one last detail? The tag said it was supposed to have retailed for around thirty thousand yen (US$315). What’s a guy with an expensive man-dress to do?

In my case, I decided to sell it at Closet Child, a well-known second-hand goth shop.

How to sell clothing at Closet Child

• Go to the counter and tell them you have stuff to sell.
• Show them ID with your date of birth on it. You can use your gaijin card (if you live here) or your passport (if you don’t).
• You will be given a piece of paper to fill in with your name, street address, e-mail address and phone number.
• You then will be given a seller’s card (separate from a point card). Write your name on it.
• You will be asked to return in an hour to see how much money they will offer you. You won’t be asked any embarrassing questions, like why you’re in possession of a man-dress.

In my case, they offered me 1900 yen (around US$20) for the man-dress and I politely declined, although I accepted their offers on some other items. The man-dress saga continues…