Axes Femme (1st order) & how to register - Lace up ankle boots & Axes Femme Kids x My Melody dress and bag

- Jump to "How to register" section -

I've admired Axes Femme items from afar for a while and finally went into a few stores during my last Japan trip but didn't buy anything for myself. At the Lalaport Funabashi store, we did end up purchasing a little dress from the Axes Femme Kids line for my S's niece.

She had liked the Axes Femme Kids x My Melody collab items (see above) but we weren't willing to spend that much at the time (as a trip gift). Instead, we got a different dress on sale which we thought was a better choice given that we weren't sure of her exact size since she's never had Japanese sized clothes before.

I've been checking into the Axes Femme online shop every so often when I've had some free time after missing out on getting the dress she really wanted for S's niece back in August, and I finally found that the collab stuff was actually on a little bit of a sale! Her birthday was at the end of October and I figured that although it was too much money to spend on a trip gift for her, we didn't mind spending the money on her for a birthday present. Luckily, the dress we wanted to get was still in stock in her size.
Axes Femme Kids x My Melody collab My Melody OP in white
（キッズ）マイメロディパネル柄ワンピース  -

(Sorry I forgot to grab a stock photo of the dress earlier and by the time I went back to the webstore, the listing was gone!) This dress came in white and pink but S and I preferred the white version best.

If I could wear this little dress, I totally would, but I guess it's good that I don't fit it lol wtf. Honestly I feel like it's only cute as a little girl's dress and would look a bit silly on me as an adult woman haha. But I still totally love it! I like the ruffles at the top, the stripe lace heart print covering the majority of the dress and then the My Melody and friends motif at the hem. And the back is just as cute as the front with snap closure.

While I was at it, I couldn't resist also getting the little My Melody die cut bag as well! This made the total for her birthday gift a little high, but I figured I could save it for Christmas or something. OR KEEP IT lol wtf.
Axes Femme Kids x My Melody collab My Melody design bag in pink -

This bag also came in red but it was sold out and I thought pink matched the dress better anyway. It's an adorable size, just right for a little girl. It doesn't hold very much but I guess it would be good for snacks or something like that. (I'm not sure what little girls would need to carry on their person haha.)

My dad said that from the back the bag looks like a hand flipping someone off (which I can't help but agree with), but it's a children's bag that clearly has a front that should be the exposed side lol. It looks so, so cute with the dress, I can't stand it. I almost wish I could just keep both even though I have absolutely no use for either myself wtf.

Aaaaand since I was making the order anyway, I decided to look around if there was anything I wanted for myself. Because...why not lol. I've never had anything from Axes Femme before so I didn't want to risk too much money on something that might have a weird fit, but I settled on these boots:
Axes Femme lace up ankle boots in pink -

I've never had boots in this half-calf length before but I liked that you were able to fold down the top to expose the shearling and create a slightly different look. I also liked the pink color!

Truly, I have no idea what I'm going to wear these with. I ordered them in size L and they do fit but seem a bit big. They'd definitely be a pretty good fit for a US size 7.5. And I didn't even think about how impractical the shearling detail would seem in Hawaii wtf. (Usually things like that are a huge concern to me but I let it slip my mind I guess because I just really wanted to purchase something for myself.) I'm not completely sure if these boots would be better with someone else so I haven't really "worn" them yet even for coordinates while I decide if I'd be wasting them by keeping them. I feel like these would be great for a number of lolita coordinates actually. I do think they're very cute (in the stock photos and in person) but now that reality has sunk in a bit, I'm not sure these are the best choice for me and where I live. I do own several pairs of boots already and rarely get to wear them :|

 

I know I'm really late to the Axes Femme game (and there are much stronger fans of the brand than I am) but I've gotten questions about ordering from the website before, so just so there's a record out there somewhere (in case you didn't know), you can order directly from the website yourself and use Tenso or another company as a forwarding service. Axes Femme does not ship internationally.

Here is a VERY brief introduction to ordering from their online shop. I admittedly do not know as much about the brand as I could, so this is just a general outline of what I found during my personal experience about ordering. Unfortunately, I cannot answer too many specifics about the brand itself but I know there are likely many other people out there who can.
As always, if you have little or no Japanese (reading) knowledge, it will help you to use Google Chrome or any service that permits full page translation to the language of your choice.

This is their official online shop.

And this is their outlet venue. You can navigate between the two using the link in the top right. The text is in English.
You can put items from both the regular online shop and the outlet as well as items from all the different AF lines (Axes Femme, Axes Femme Poetique, Axes Femme Kawaii and Axes Femme Kids) into the same cart and make one purchase.

Look carefully at some of the items in the outlet because the Kids line products might be sprinkled in there along with the rest of the stock and you don't want to buy something intended for an adult and end up with a tiny version. There is an indication in the item name "（キッズ）" but you might miss it if you're just so excited about the item because the kids line is so cute wtf lol. A big giveaway is usually the sizing options. Kids items come in S, M, L and XL whereas most adult items don't have so much variety.

My advice, as per usual, is to register before you try to check out. Idk if it's just me, but I usually find that easier. Even if I don't purchase anything in that moment, my address, etc will be ready in the event that I do want to make an order and I don't have to fuss with it - all I'd have to do is log in. The registration is the "hard" part for most international customers anyway.

Near the top center of any page on the website, go to "New member registration". Read the terms and conditions. If you agree, click on the button on the right.

Next, you need to fill out your member information

Start with your last name and first name in English (as you entered it with Tenso/your forwarding service).
Then enter your last name and first name in hiragana. If you don't have a Japanese keyboard or don't know the transliteration of your name, google "english to hiragana" and try a website like this that will just spit out something kind of close to your name. This is a required field for AF so you just need to put something there, but afaik Tenso doesn't care about this too much as long as your English name matches your account and you enter the rest of your information correctly.
Enter your date of birth, select your gender and enter your email address. Be sure to type your email address correctly because this is where your order confirmation will be sent and it will also serve as your login username.

(scroll down)

(Enter your email address and) Re-enter your email address.
The next few blocks ask for your address information. Go to Tenso and login. This should take you to your "My Page" (https://www.tenso.com/en/my_page/). At the top of your My Page is your Tenso address. You will be using that for reference. I did my best to break apart the address into the appropriate blocks so you just need to copy and paste certain portions of it. The "State" (都道府県) block is a drop down bar, so select "Tokyo" if you're using page translation or "東京都" if you're not. (This may populate automatically if your input your postal code correctly)
Note: Copying and pasting some of the numbers may not work because of the "font" that Tenso uses so you may need to manually type those in. 
After you finish filling out your address, the next two entries deal with receiving the mail magazine from Axes Femme. If you want to receive it, check the "Hope" box (the only option). If you do not want to receive the mail magazine, leave it unchecked. If you checked it, select one or both of the first two options in section below that. If you left it unchecked, you need to check the third box.
If this is your first time purchasing from Axes Femme and have never visited a store in person, you likely do not have a membership card from AF. Leave the membership number entry blank and for your member card number, just put "0".

(scroll down)

(Leave the membership number entry blank and for your member card number, just put "0".)
"Best to use deferentially store" I think is essentially asking you which store you'll be most likely to purchase from. For most international customers, that will be the last option in the drop down bar which is "online shop". This is a required field but answering differently/incorrectly isn't going to screw up ordering. I think it will just change what kind of emails you receive (if any).
Lastly, enter a password of your choice that includes both letter(s) and number(s) and at least 7 characters but less than 15. Re-enter your password and then click the button on the right.
Note: if you did not fill out the form correctly, the website will stop you from moving forward. Google translate will likely be able to help you figure out what the error is. If it's anything to do with half vs. full width characters, it might have to do with copying the numbers from your Tenso address. Delete just the numbers from your address and phone number (if they were copied and pasted) and use your My Page for reference to manually type in those numbers.

On the next page, double check your information (you'll want to do this now instead of second guessing yourself every time you make an order), then click the button on the bottom right.

When you reach this page and receive the confirmation email, your registration is complete.

I'm not going to walk through the entire shopping and check out process with pictures because I'm not personally going to make a new order at this time and didn't document it at the time of my original purchase. It's essentially pretty self explanatory and the google translation of the pages aren't too terrible (for English. I'm not sure about any other language). Some of the navigation buttons do not translate, but the green one on the right is used to proceed.
Browse the website and add items to your cart as desired. When you're ready to check out, click on the green button on either the top right or bottom right of your cart page (and log in to your account if you haven't already).

This above page might be the only part that's a little confusing looking but since you already registered, you can essentially leave everything as the default. On the right side, it's asking for your delivery information and you want it to be "Order Information Address" and you do not need to specify a specific date or time for the delivery. "None specified" will give you the quickest delivery. Click the green button to proceed.
On the next page, you enter your payment information. My US credit card worked fine. Do NOT choose COD/Cash on Delivery if you are using Tenso because Tenso does not provide this service. You need to pay for the item yourself using a credit card. Click the green button to proceed.
The following page will be the final one before your complete your order. Confirm the information on the screen. Order cancellations are not accepted, so be sure of what you are purchasing, the amount you will be paying and where you are sending it to before your click the green button on this screen.
Then your purchase should be complete and you will receive an email with your order information! Tenso will receive and process your package and you will complete the rest of the international shipping through them.

Sorry the end/check out part was a bit more lax, but I believe that you'll be able to figure it out. If you've purchased from any Japanese webshop with a forward service before, this one is not much different. I don't really think this necessarily needed its own tutorial but I have gotten a question about it before and I had the opportunity, so I decided a quick how-to couldn't hurt. Again, I'm personally not fluent in Japanese and the information provided here is only based on my personal experience and what worked for me. Any issues/questions about ordering/the shop can be directed to the brand itself or Tenso if that's where you're experiencing the problem. I have no official or unofficial affiliation with either company and also do not have any extraordinary knowledge about them. I'm simply one customer trying to help other (potential) customers. Thanks!

Only Love Daily online shop: first purchase & how to

I follow a few shops/brands and shop staff on Twitter, and one day I noticed some new stuff in my feed coming from Miauler Mew & their shop staff! Tbh I was really confused at first, probably because I'm not overly familiar with Miauler Mew but also because of my limited Japanese skills. Anyway, I finally caught on that Miauler Mew has a sister brand of sorts called Only Love Daily which features items that are a little more otona/adult style, but still very cute and casual. It's definitely a departure from the loud colors and prints of Miauler Mew though.

What really piqued my interest is how amazing the shop staff looks in the items -

Photos from Only Love Daily's twitter @O_l_d1

Everything fits so well and is coordinated on point! I'm really not a fan of overly distressed denim for myself but I like the use of it here. And I feel like there's quite a range even in just these photos from a bit cutesy to more casual cool. I also really like the use of hats!

This was enough to convince me to check out the web shop which was linked in the tweets. I had a little trouble accessing the website from one of my computers. I'm not sure why - if it's some kind of firewall or something? because the website doesn't have a ".com" or something similar? I really don't know. But I didn't have any problems with my laptop and that's all that really matters lol.

In any case, I poked around the website for a bit and noticed that there were a few items on sale for a price that I didn't mind paying just to try it out. On a complete whim, I decided to attempt to register/create an account for the web store and see if I could make a purchase. I didn't have too much trouble and the process isn't very complicated. If I had come against any sort of real road block, I would have given up and resolved to just admire the pieces on Twitter, but it was simple enough that I went through with everything at like 11:00pm without thinking too hard about anything lol.
I was a bit worried that they wouldn't take my credit card or they wouldn't ship to my Tenso address or something like that, but I received the order confirmation email and then the shipment alert email the next day without any fuss. And within 24 hours of shipment, I had already received an email from Tenso letting me know my package had arrived! Super quick and no headache on my part worrying that I had filled out the form wrong lol.
(I'm including a short how-to-register/order tutorial at the bottom of this post if you want to order as well and need a little help or reassurance.)

Here's my small order! -

Back ribbon OP in black
バックリボンワンピース

Back open OP in white
バックオープンワンピース

Flare OP in pink
フレアワンピース

Sorry for just a quick post of the pictures without too much individual commentary but I don't have much to say about them individually and feel pretty blah. None of these items fit me very well which is not what I was expecting at all. I ordered the dresses in size M because that's usually the "letter size" equivalent of Japanese free size and size S is typically just a little too small. I figured the shop staff in most of the twitter pictures was wearing size S and she was super tiny - much smaller than I consider myself. I don't know if these are just kind of janky pieces or what but they are huge. The white and pink dresses don't look too bad with the belt but I would NEVER wear them in public without it. And the black dress can't really be worn with a belt because of the cut and yeah that one fits especially horribly, especially in the top in the bust and under the arms and the waist too. Also can't wear it in public. It doesn't even really seem like the same dress from the stock photos based on the material? 
When I first opened the package, my first impression was that these items seemed like cheap, eBay-from-a-warehouse-in-China quality. I don't know if this is the case with all the items from this brand or just the ones made from this type of fabric. The items don't appear cheapy in the staff photos at all. Then again, I do feel like Miauler Mew items are a little bit on the cheaper side for fabrics but not THIS bad. Truly, it's not horrible but it's just not what I was expecting.
I would say this order is a complete bust for me. I don't want to get down on the brand as a whole because I feel like some of the designs are really interesting, but just based on what I have here, I wouldn't order any similar items and definitely not at full price. I'm glad I only purchased on sale this time and didn't gamble more money. I don't know how much of a difference it would have made if I ordered size S but there's no way for me to know now. If I do decide to order again in the future, that's definitely the size I'd get though. For girls who are a bit bigger than Japanese free size, maybe the size M from this brand might be better for you.
If you think these will fit you better than me and are interested in taking any of these off my hands, please let me know. I can provide more information on request. I know I won't be wearing any of them any time soon, if at all. Otherwise, they might just go straight to donation because the sizing is really not on par with what I feel comfortable wearing.

I know that I didn't have the best result from my order, but that doesn't mean that ordering from this brand won't be right for anyone else! If you're interested, the process basically follows along the vein for most Japanese online shops but since I had time, I made a short tutorial.

How to register and order from Only Love Daily online -
If you're unfamiliar with reading Japanese, you may want to use Google Chrome/automatic page translation.
You will need a forwarding service address to order from this website if you are an international (outside of Japan) customer. I personally use Tenso and will be referencing my address with Tenso in this guide. 
If you need help registering with Tenso, please use this guide before proceeding with your order from Only Love Daily.

Go to http://onlylovedaily.tokyo/

In the top right, click on the My Account icon (the one that isn't your cart).

You're directed to this page to log in. You're a new member, so click on the new member registration link.

Enter your email address and then submit.

You'll get an email (to the email address you entered) with a link to complete the registration. The link expires, so if you don't do it before the allotted time, you'll need to complete the above steps again. In that same vein, you can only use this link once so be sure to open it in the browser you want.

 Fill in your member information including your email, password and your Tenso address/information. This is very similar to Liz Lisa/Tokyo Kawaii Life's or any Japanese online shop's registration process, so if you've done it before, it shouldn't be too difficult. There might be more than one way to do it, but the way I personally filled it out is outlined above using my Tenso address as a reference. (And it arrived at Tenso's warehouse without issue so I'm assuming it's okay.)

It will also ask for a fax number, so I put the Tenso's phone number for that as well but it's not a required field when you check out. It will also ask you if you want to subscribe to their mail magazine - elect in or out based on your own preference. 

You need to confirm the information on the next page after you complete the form, and then you should be ready to shop!

The website is pretty simple. I just use the categories on the left side to navigate to what types of items I want to look at. The top choice in kanji is "All items".

For certain items like OPs, be sure to select the color and size that you want. The size measurements are usually specified under the item name at the top. Free size usually equates to size "M" and is what I purchased for myself.

 Once you have all the items you want in your cart and everything (item, quantity, size, color etc) looks correct, click on the red check out button on the bottom to proceed.

This will take you to a screen that asks you to enter your log in information at the bottom. Enter your email address and password and then click the yellow log in button.

Once you log in, scroll down the page and you should see your member information as you entered it earlier. You shouldn't need to make any changes if you entered it correctly. Click the orange next button.

This page is asking you to choose your delivery method. There's essentially one choice. If you're using a Tenso address, you will be paying 864yen unless you met the minimum spending amount for free shipping.

Below this should be your shipping address which should already be filled in. You can double check it if you want to. Click the orange next button to proceed.

Then you need to pick your payment method. You cannot choose cash on delivery with Tenso and I doubt bank transfer will be advantageous (if even possible) for international customers. I would only suggest the middle option which is for credit cards. Click the orange next button.

 Fill out your credit card information. This form is pretty standard for any online shop regardless of country. The only difference is the option that I boxed in pink which is giving you the option to pay for this purchase in installments. I do not suggest trying to use this if you are unfamiliar with it. Leave it as the default which is the one in the pink box. If you're using a translator, it might translate as "lump-sum payment" or "bulk payment". This just means that you will be charged the full amount all at once which is how most purchases work. 

Once you have completed the form, click the orange next button.

On the next screen, scroll down and double and triple check all the information that you entered. Once you are satisfied with that all is correct, you will proceed with your purchase by clicking the red button on the right available at the top and bottom of the page. 

Then you should be directed to a confirmation page and also receive a confirmation email with this subject line. You do not need to take any action as a result of receiving this email.

When they have shipped your order, you will receive another email with this subject line. You do not need to take any action as a result of receiving this email.

Tenso will send you an email when they have received and in-processed your package. The remaining part of the process (package forwarding) needs to be completed with Tenso which has an English website. If you are unfamiliar with Tenso's process, you can check out this portion of my How to order from Tokyo Kawaii Life tutorial. I will not be repeating the steps in depth here. Essentially, you just need to pick your shipping method with Tenso, pay for the shipping, Tenso will ship your package and then you should receive it at your specified mailing address. Delivery speed depends on the shipping method you select.

(Note: I am nowhere near fluent in speaking, reading or writing Japanese. I am sharing this information based on my personal experience that I considered a success after one try, but I cannot answer anything more than basic questions concerning this process. I am still exploring and learning more about this site myself, but this information should be enough to help you make a simple purchase!
If you are having trouble proceeding past the credit card information form or checking out after the payment screen, your credit card company may be blocking the purchase because it's an international purchase and deemed "suspicious activity". The only way to resolve this is to contact your credit card company. Usually there's a phone number on the back of the card you can call and just approve the purchase. I cannot do anything to help you from my end and the online shop cannot do anything to help you. This is something you need to do for yourself.) 


Hope this is helpful if you are worried about ordering from this website! It worked for me, so I'm assuming it should be okay to work for others, but let me know if I should make any corrections. I didn't go through the registration process wholly again for this post (and wasn't 100% sure it was going to work when I did it the first time, so I hadn't done screenshots during that time), but usually filling in your Tenso address is the "hardest part" which is why I covered that specifically.
Good luck and happy shopping!