Picture and pity this: A woman holds up a sweet pair of the latest jeans in a shop mirror . . . only to see the reflection of her own thighs bulging out from behind.
Tokyo is one of the world's major fashion centers, no question about it. But in the quest for a stylish wardrobe, Western women are often faced with a nightmarish reality: Those clothes look so good -- on the rack, that is, but not on their bodies.
"Bottoms are hard to find because I have hips and an ass," said Anna, an English teacher from Australia. "And at stores for larger women, pants are too big in the waist so you have to bunch it up with a belt and it looks ridiculous."