H Naoto

This place closed down already. Unfortunate too because they had some very pretty and well made garments that us chubbier visual kei wannabes could fit into.

FRILL Cut&Sewn (long sleeve): 85 $
Shoulder bag FRILL (50% off): 35 $
Budget shopping in H. naoto?. Yes!
The sales associate was fairly nice, within japanese etiquette.
I was greeted promptly upon arrival, but received adequate space to look around (which is a-​ok by me)
There was a fair amount of accessories on sale, but I was holding my wallet for BABY.

Be prepared to spend anywhere from 300 – 1,500 $ coming to this place.
Staff is hit or miss but if you get good staff they will convince you to buy the store!
I love it when the staff from Japan comes– they really give top notch service.
The store from time to time has h. Naoto-​himself come to the store for promotions and events. When he is around it is truly fun! He has got a great personality and is very personable. He is one of my favorite designers, not only because his designs are great but because he visibly cares about his clients, brand and service.
The quality of clothing is quite good, Some of the lace and materials can be very cheap compared to other brands that have a Lolita line (such as Baby The Stars Shine Bright– that is on the same floor in the new people building) but generally the fabric and especially the detail is lovely!
I recommend checking this place out! For those of you who are unfamiliar with this brand it is a clothing brand from Japan with several different lines and styles.
h.Naoto has designed clothing for the likes of Amy Lee from Evanescence, Yoshiki from X Japan and Gackt!
h.Naoto is a alternative clothing line with a gothic look and they have everything from casual to punk to full on gothic lolita!

I was so impressed by this branch of h. naoto…the first and only one I’ve seen outside of Japan. It carries each and every sub-​brand of the label, so it isn’t just for goths, punks, and lolitas… there are lots of understated and everyday wear-​friendly items as well.
The prices are high, but that’s what they cost in Japan as well. Alternative clothing or not, h. naoto has always been a brand that sells on a high end label scale, so make a clothing fund jar and fill it before your visit to avoid disappointment! ;) even if you can’t afford it, check out the clothing, because there are some pieces that are simply gorgeous, and deserve to be admired.
Staff here are super sweet and helpful, and I can’t wait to visit this shop again when I make it back to SF!

I visit this place every time I swing by J town in SF and it has really interesting garments. I wish they had a point card system to reward their customers like their booths at conventions do. Their garments are very expensive, but they are works of art, in my opinion. They also have pretty good sales, pretty affordable accessories/​t-​shirts (think in the $ 15 to $ 30 range) and their lucky packs are worth it, if you’re willing to take a hit with one or two weird items to get three or four you’ll probably like. The shop staff is pretty chill and will leave you alone, unless you ask for specific help. I like that.
I’ve bought a high waisted skirt, and a lucky pack since they’ve opened this store. They carry a variety of styles and there are many looks you can achieve with what they sell there, but it’s pretty pricey and very edgy. Some of their garments can be worn on a more day to day basis, for example, some of their t-​shirts and tops, but for the most part, you’d have to be into dressing over the top, have a very active social life, or a job that allows you to dress how you want to be able to wear these garments regularly. Black Peace Now, which used to inhabit the retail space that H. Naoto is in, had much more conservative clothing that is easier to wear on a daily basis, more affordable and is easier to incorporate into a pre-​established wardrobe.
I tend to buy items from h. Frill since I’m into lolita, although I did spring for the h. Anarchy lucky pack. It had two items I didn’t like, out of five items total, which I’ll be reselling in the near future. The garments are very artsy, so it’s hard for me to generalize the sub-​lines they carry, but based on what I have seen, in general this is the breakdown of the three major lines they carry in the store (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong):
*h.Frill — Lolita style garments, (not the western idea of lolita, but the Japanese sub-​fashion), so expect full skirts, lots of lace and frills. Since lolita has a pretty conservative and fixed silhouette that does not change seasonally, these are usually the most structured and predictable garments out of all of the brand’s collections.
*h.Anarchy — Glam rock, VK inspired garments. Very avant garde, but some of these items are definitely wearable daily if you pair them with more plain items.
*Hangry and Angry — Punkish stuff aimed at a younger crowd. Think of a more artistic, better constructed, and much more expensive version of some things you see at Hot topic.
There are many other sub-​lines that I’m not as familiar with, such as Sixh, Channel H, h. GRAMM and H. Naoto Blood. If anyone wants to comment on this, feel free to. I know my knowledge of this brand is pretty limited.
Another upshot is that they have things that will fit men. So goth and punk guys, if you’re not too big, have some extra $$ to burn and are looking for crazy awesome artistic clothes, head on over. Their sizing for female garments is also much more forgiving than other J brands. There are definitely things in there for tiny people and bigger people. Many of their garments are really free flowing and composed of multiple layers of fabric so they’ll look damn awesome on anyone who has the guts to wear a such a garment with confidence and style.

They sell out of the lucky packs real quick!
And then I realized why as soon as I looked at prices. Holy moly, $ 110 for a knit shirt, and $ 5– — for a jacket. I can buy a pair of Louboutins for that kind of money (although if Louboutin made a jacket, it would probably be WAY more expensive than $ 5hundredsomeodd). Yea, $ 100 lucky packs=steal.
I used to like H. Naoto back when I was *much* younger. Think, maybe when I was 16 and first into the Japanese gothic punk clothing scene. I’m 23 now, and obviously, the brand has evolved since then, and I no longer really am into the Japanese fringe fashion, as the charm has worn off a bit. This version of H. Naoto looks a little different from when I was 16, but it’s kind of «DUH».
This place occupies the area next to Baby, the Stars Shines Bright where Black Peace Now used to be.
Shop girl seems kind of shy. Every time I came to visit the store, she seems to go at great lengths to ignore me and kind of scurries around the place. At least say hello! Maybe she thinks I wouldn’t buy anything, but that is a spit poor reason to not offer any customer service or help. Retail is a terrible area to work in if you are shy, snobby, or pretentious. This is mainly the reason why I rated it so low. In boutiques like this, I expect really good customer service, especially if they have a Japanese name behind it, and especially if clothing is not a mainstream style. And hello, I’m Korean. Koreans and Japanese are anal about customer service because we are used to good customer service for no tip. Long story short: at least make an effort to say hello.
Clothes are mostly one-​size fit all. I noticed that in general, the cut is a little more generous than other brands (in comparison to Black Peace Now). If you are into fitted clothing, then you will have to get the clothing tailored or be relatively full figured. Or find the clothes with the corset lacing on the back to cinch it in at the waist.
A lot of the clothing is pretty aggressive in its styling. It’s a very distinct look, so if you dress more conservatively or simply, you may have a harder time trying to integrate pieces. I do think this is an excellent place to get edgy, unique knit shirts. Maybe for accessories too.
Overall, this place is good if:
— you are goth and have cash to burn
— are small enough to fit into it
— want a statement piece (clothes tend to be very flashy)
And bad if:
— you are on a «no black» buy (like I am…)
— expect to get much help from the shop girl
— you have a conservative fashion sense
— you are a tiny girl and want fitted clothing