A guide to buying from Yesstyle

I'm kind of addicted to shopping, and one thing I love shopping for is clothes. One of my favorite places to buy is Yesstyle.com, an online retailer based in Hong Kong that sells Asian brands of clothing.

I really love Yesstyle because my own fashion style leans more towards the classy and cute style of Asia, but buying online clothes can be risky; you can't see or feel the clothes, you can't do try-ons, and usually you can't do returns, or it's a hassle to return things. So whenever I buy I'm always super careful with what I choose to get.

I've made ten orders with Yesstyle, and I've only ever been disappointed once. When I first was researching Yesstyle, I was scared to order because I'd heard so many horror stories about the site. But after a few orders I learned a few tricks that have kept me happy with my purchases and I thought I'd share them to help some other people out.

So what are my tricks for buying cute asian clothes online?

1. Don't buy clothes with inherent risk
This is always my first rule. What do I mean by inherent risk? I mean clothes that are difficult to buy even when you can see and feel the product in front of you. Things like shorts, shoes, pants. In other words, clothes that require a very precise fit. Since you can't try the clothes on, it's best to avoid things that have even a chance of not fitting properly. When I shop on Yesstyle, I tend to only buy tops or skirts. With those types of clothes, there's a bit more leeway on the fit so it's not as much of a risk.

2. Be careful about material
When you're buying clothes online and you can't feel the clothes, it can be hard to tell the quality of the material. A good general rule of thumb is, "You get what you pay for." That is, more expensive clothes will have higher quality material. There are some cheaper brands that are still excellent quality, but it can be hard to tell until you've bought it. Knits are generally good, as are hoodies and sweatshirts. Be careful about fabrics like chiffon and lace as well. Stock photos are often deceiving, and these two fabrics can easily look or feel cheap in real life. There is also the danger of sheer fabric being too sheer. If you're really eagle-eyed you might be able to tell from the photo, but it's not easy. If you're suspicious or would rather not risk it, just skip it.

3. Measure yourself, and be aware of asian sizing
It may surprise non-Asian shoppers that on Yesstyle, the majority of clothing does not have sizes. Most clothes are one size fits all, or "free size". However, be aware that this one size fits all is geared towards young Asian women, who are generally shorter and have petite body frames. Yesstyle lists measurements of the clothing on the item's listing, so before you buy, measure yourself to see if what you're buying will fit. On the other hand, the measurements can sometimes be inaccurate, so take the measurements with a grain of salt. At 5'7", I am much taller than most Asian girls so this is something I'm always aware of when buying from Yesstyle. I recently bought a dress that fit perfectly on the top, but it was so short on me that there was no way I could wear it without tights or leggings underneath. On an Asian girl of more average height, she probably would have been fine. 

4. Check the brand

One of my favorites!

I don't want to sound like a snob, but I usually only buy from a few brands I trust. I have bought clothes from Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, Chinese, and Hong Kong brands and I can say that usually, Korean brands have the best quality clothes. They are also more expensive, but again, you get what you pay for. The others are of a lower quality that is by no means bad, but not excellent like the Korean brands. The one time I was truly disappointed by a Yesstyle purchase was a skirt from a Taiwanese brand, and as a result I now stay away from Taiwanese brands.


5. Be patient and wait for sales

If you want the higher quality clothes but can't afford the higher quality price, just be patient. Yesstyle has brand-wide sales all the time, and there's usually a discount code or promotion floating around that you can take advantage of.

I'm a gold member. In other words, I've spent way too much money here

If you sign up with their rewards program, you'll automatically get 3% off everything in the store, and the discount gets larger as your membership level increases. You'll also get coupons for reaching new membership levels. Also, the prices on non-sale items aren't fixed and fluctuate pretty often, depending on supply and demand, according to Yesstyle's FAQ. I recently bought a sweater from Yesstyle, and when I checked the listing the next day, the price had dropped five dollars. What I usually do is browse from time to time and save things I like in my cart, then wait for a discount code to come out. Then I buy. 

6. Read the reviews

This may sound like common sense, but it's very important. Not just to look at the average review, but to actually read what people have written, because the number of stars isn't always indicative of quality. When you read the actual reviews you'll get a lot more information, when people say things like, "It was nice, but the color was darker than the photo", or, "It's not as thick as it looks." Some people will even say how the item fits on them and give their height and weight, so you can use that for comparison. Reviews are often essential in my decision on whether or not to buy something.

7. Expect things to sell out

Items on Yesstyle sell out surprisingly quickly. And once it's gone, it's very unlikely that it will be restocked. Keep this in mind if you do the "browse once in a while" shopping method that I do, because usually after a few weeks, items I've saved will be no longer available. In other words, if you see something you really love and have to have, don't wait too long before buying.

8. Check availability

This isn't really related to making sure you're getting good quality clothes, but a lot of the bad Yesstyle reviews I've read complain about the slow shipping, so I thought I'd add a final tip to make shipping faster. Yesstyle has two availability statuses, "Will ship in 24 hours", and "Will ship in 7-14 days". If you want your clothes to ship quickly, only buy things that say they will ship in 24 hours. That means that the item is in stock in Yesstyle's warehouse. If you choose something that says it will ship in 7-14 days, that means Yesstyle has to order it from the brand retailer, which takes extra time. I've only ever ordered 7-14 day items twice, but both times my order was gotten together and shipped out in a week, which is pretty reasonable. Usually Yesstyle ships that night or the next day, and the package gets to me in about week and a half, give or take a few days because of customs.

...And that's all! I hope my tips make your Yesstyle shopping excursions a little more stress-free and help you get some adorable Asian clothes you love! I have an order coming in soon so maybe I'll do a haul post once it's here. This package will also be the first Yesstyle order I've bought and used Express shipping, so I'll be able to comment on how good that is as well. See you next time!