18 Brands Like Axes Femme for Romantic Vintage Fashion
You built the wardrobe: lace-trimmed blouses, tiered skirts, a ribbon at every collar, a coat with a bow on the back. Then the new season landed and it looked like the last one. Axes Femme sells Belle Époque Paris filtered through Tokyo, with most clothing between ¥3,300 and ¥8,800, and once you own six pieces you have seen the whole vocabulary.
These 18 brands work the same romantic vintage ground from different angles. Ten sell out of Japan in the same lace-and-ruffle territory, several of them inside the lolita world that Axes Femme borders without entering. The other eight are British, French and American brands pricing in pounds, euros and dollars, which matters if shipping out of Japan has stopped you before.
| Brand | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Jane Marple | ¥4,180-¥63,250 | Grown-up classic lolita |
| Liz Lisa | ¥4,600-¥18,700 | Sweet girly at Axes Femme prices |
| Lily Brown | Mid-range | Vintage shapes with a modern cut |
| Jill Stuart | ¥3,245-¥19,580 | Ribbons that pass at the office |
| ModCloth | $51-$134 | Sizes XS to 4X |
| Ank Rouge | ¥3,000-¥15,000 | Princess lace, loudly |
| Innocent World | Premium | Restrained classic lolita |
| Emily Temple Cute | ¥5,280-¥60,280 | Storybook prints |
| Angelic Pretty | ¥3,300-¥44,000 | Full sweet lolita |
| Secret Honey | Mid-range | Sweet Japanese dressing via Rakuten |
| Marine Serre | €150-€1,600 | Romance with a hard edge |
| Sister Jane | £69-£215 | London jacquard and bows |
| RIXO | £135-£495 | Printed silk for occasions |
| Batsheva | $200-$450 | Prairie and Victorian shapes |
| Christy Dawn | $198-$378 | Regenerative cotton dresses |
| LoveShackFancy | Premium | Floral maximalism |
| The Pretty Dress Company | Mid-range | 1950s silhouettes, made in the UK |
| Royal Princess Alice | ¥3,850-¥38,500 | Gothic-tinged fairy tales |
Jane Marple
Jane Marple is the older, quieter cousin of everything else on this list, run by St. mary mead co.,ltd. and sold through its own online shop at ¥4,180 to ¥63,250. Collections arrive as named print lines like Folklore lace, French marine and British potteries.
Where Axes Femme keeps prices low and turnover fast, Jane Marple treats a print as an archive. The Vintage cherries dress runs ¥63,250 and the matching blouse ¥37,950, which buys you fabric weight and a cut that reads as clothing instead of costume. A second line, Jane Marple Dans Le Salon, handles the softer everyday pieces. Accessories start around ¥4,180 if you want to test the water first.
Best for: Wearing the aesthetic past 30 without anyone calling it a costume.
Liz Lisa
Liz Lisa is the closest price-for-price match to Axes Femme here, selling through its official store Tokyo Kawaii Life at ¥4,600 to ¥18,700. The look is girly rather than antique, built on gingham checks and off-shoulder necklines.
A gingham ribbon frill off-shoulder top costs ¥11,000 and the gingham tweed jacket set-up ¥18,700, so a full outfit lands where an Axes Femme coat would. Hair pieces like the ladder frill headband (¥4,950) do the finishing work that Axes Femme leaves to lace collars. Liz Lisa runs collaborations often, including Sanrio pieces, so the catalogue moves faster than the classic Japanese labels further down this list.
Best for: Swapping brands without changing your budget.
Lily Brown
Lily Brown builds every season around one idea it prints on its own homepage: VINTAGE FUTURE DRESS. Dresses, skirts, vintage-styled bags and accessories, cut for a modern body rather than a period reconstruction.
This is the pick for readers who like the romance of Axes Femme but find the collars too literal. Lily Brown takes the same lace, jacquard and puff sleeves and hangs them on cleaner shapes, so a piece works with plain trousers. Pricing sits mid-range. It also sells through Usagi Online alongside Snidel and FRAY I.D, which is useful if you want to compare several Japanese labels in one basket.
Best for: Vintage references you can wear to work.
Jill Stuart
Jill Stuart trades in Japan as JILL by JILL STUART, and jillstuart.jp now redirects straight to its store on mix.tokyo. Prices run ¥3,245 to ¥19,580, with most pieces between ¥8,000 and ¥17,000.
The romance here is turned down two notches from Axes Femme. A balloon-sleeve shirt dress (¥19,580) or a balloon-hem tee (¥8,690) reads feminine without announcing a subculture, and the ribbon quilted wallet (¥14,850) carries the sweetness in the accessory instead of the outfit. If your wardrobe has to survive a commute and a meeting, this is the softest landing on the list.
Best for: Keeping the ribbons and losing the questions.
ModCloth
ModCloth is an American retailer selling vintage-style dresses from about $52 to $134 in sizes XS to 4X, which makes it the widest-fitting alternative to Axes Femme here. The Surplice and Demand Midi Dress runs $51.99 and The Dear Johnny Shirt Dress $134.
Size range is the argument. Japanese romantic labels tend to stop where ModCloth is still going, and the fit-and-flare shapes in its dress edit land close to the Axes Femme silhouette without the international shipping. The Meet Me at the Motor Lodge Dress ($67.99) and Stay a While Tie-Strap Fit & Flare Dress ($75.99) show where the middle of the range sits. There is also a resale arm, ModCloset, plus label collaborations including Gunne Sax, which our guide to brands like Gunne Sax covers in more detail.
Best for: Anyone who has been sized out of Japanese sweet fashion.
Ank Rouge
Ank Rouge sells through the Ailand store under a tagline that translates as "cute is the best magic", with most items between ¥3,000 and ¥15,000. Princess lace and gingham heart pieces run through the collections.
Ank Rouge takes the Axes Femme romance and pushes the volume up, with deeper frills and a lot more pink. The clothes read younger and are cut to be looked at. Priced against Axes Femme it sits level, so this is a sideways move in cost and a large one in loudness. Worth browsing if you already own the quiet version of every piece.
Best for: The maximalist end of Japanese girly fashion.
Innocent World
Innocent World is designer Yumi Fujiwara's classical lolita label, working from European period dress into jumper skirts, blouses, hair accessories and shoes. The brand describes its own aim as proposing a new young lady style.
This is the restrained end of lolita, which is exactly why it suits an Axes Femme shopper. The prints are painterly instead of cartoonish, the silhouettes hold their shape without a mountain of petticoat, and pieces such as the Sumire's Jewelry Box Dress read as period costume only if you style them that way. Pricing is premium against Axes Femme, so treat a first purchase as a single good dress rather than a haul.
Best for: Crossing into lolita without going full sweet.
Emily Temple Cute
Emily Temple Cute prices its one-piece dresses from about ¥29,500 to ¥60,280 including tax, with accessories starting near ¥5,280. Collections carry names like Swan Lake, Strawberry BonBon and Vintage Ice Cream.
The house style takes European antiques and adds a pop twist, which is a short walk from where Axes Femme already stands. Where the two split is print ambition. The Stained Glass ROSE dress (¥60,280) is a designed object, not a seasonal filler, and it prices accordingly. Buy one piece and build round it. A Lace Ribbon Headband at ¥5,580 is the sensible way to try the brand before committing to a dress.
Best for: Print-led dresses worth keeping for a decade.
Angelic Pretty
Angelic Pretty is the sweet lolita benchmark, selling jumper skirts at ¥37,400 to ¥44,000, over-knee socks at ¥3,300 and headdresses from ¥6,600 through its Japanese shop. Stores sit in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.
This is a long way past Axes Femme. The prints are dense, the pastels are saturated, and a Delicious Lemonade Jumper Skirt (¥44,000) commits you to a whole coordinate. It belongs on this list because it is where the fantasy Axes Femme hints at gets built in full. If you are outside Japan, Angelic Pretty Paris is the brand's only European store and ships worldwide, pricing the Happy Cakes Ribbon Jumperskirt at €365 and the Charming Frill Blouse at €195.
Best for: Going all the way in, with a European shipping option.
Secret Honey
Secret Honey is a Japanese womenswear label run by EST CO., LTD., which keeps a brand site for lookbooks and coordinates and sells through a Rakuten web store. Pricing sits mid-range, close to Axes Femme.
The clothes lean on lace finishes, ribbon ties and prints scaled small, which is the Axes Femme playbook. Secret Honey posts full coordinates rather than single products, which is the fastest way to see whether a brand's proportions suit you before you order. Buying does mean going through Rakuten rather than a standalone checkout, so factor in an account and, from outside Japan, a forwarding service.
Best for: Sweet Japanese dressing at a price you already pay.
Marine Serre
Marine Serre is the luxury French house on this list, working in euros from around €150 for a Louvre Mona Lisa T-shirt to €1,600 for upcycled pieces. The crescent moon print runs across clothing, shoes and accessories.
The link to Axes Femme is romance built out of old material rather than new. Marine Serre reconstructs garments from existing textiles, so a draped midi dress made from jersey and silk scarves carries the same second-hand tenderness that vintage-inspired Japanese labels are chasing, then hardens the edges. The Moon Gathered Long Dress lists at €790. Nothing here is an everyday substitute. It is the piece you buy once, when you want the aesthetic to argue back.
Best for: One expensive dress that shifts the whole wardrobe.
Sister Jane
Sister Jane is a London label with dresses from £69 to £215, plus a pre-loved marketplace and a repair studio. Free UK delivery starts at £60.
Jacquard, taffeta and oversized bows carry the same nostalgia as Axes Femme with a British sense of humour attached. The Margaux Jacquard Mini Dress (£79) and Colette Jacquard Bubble Dress (£105) sit at the accessible end, while the DREAM line runs to £215 for pieces like the Jade Sequin Floral Maxi. Sizing and shipping both behave normally for European and American shoppers, which removes the two things that make Japanese labels hard work.
Best for: Romantic party dresses without a customs form.
RIXO
RIXO builds collections from vintage-inspired prints on silk, with dresses from about £135 to £495. The Adele Silk Midi Dress runs £295 and the Marlice Silk Midi Dress £385.
Fabric is what separates RIXO from most of this list. Polka dots and painterly florals printed on real silk, cut into midi and maxi shapes that hang instead of standing out. If Axes Femme is a scrapbook of vintage detail, RIXO is one clean idea per dress, which makes it the better choice for a wedding or a milestone dinner. Tops like the Sandi Cotton Top (£135) are the cheaper way in. A homeware range runs alongside the clothing.
Best for: Occasion dressing in printed silk.
Batsheva
Batsheva works Victorian and prairie shapes out of New York, pricing dresses from $200 to $450. The Sailor Snap Housedress in Lavender Vine Stripe costs $200 and the Bow Pinafore Dress in Sky Taffeta $450.
High collars and covered arms put Batsheva closer to Axes Femme's vintage instinct than almost any American brand. The difference is attitude. Batsheva knows the shapes are funny and leans on that, mixing floral housedresses with sports references. The Snap Smock Dress ($225) is the signature piece and the easiest entry point. We go deeper in our guide to brands like Batsheva if this direction appeals. Bridal and home ranges sit alongside the main collection.
Best for: Modest silhouettes with a sense of mischief.
Christy Dawn
Christy Dawn makes vintage-shaped dresses in regenerative and organic cotton from Los Angeles, with The Dawn Dress at $198 to $248 and The Sinclar Dress at $378.
The romance is dialled down to prairie and tea-dress territory, all soft cotton and small florals. What Christy Dawn adds is a supply chain you can read. Its Farm-to-Closet collections trace fabric back to regenerative cotton farms, which is a different kind of story to the Japanese labels' print archives but scratches the same itch for clothes with provenance. Pointelle knits and silks widen the range past dresses. A resale platform, Christy Dawn Regenerates, takes pieces back.
Best for: Soft vintage shapes with traceable cotton.
LoveShackFancy
LoveShackFancy is the floral maximalist option, spanning dresses, skirts, knitwear, jewellery, bedding and fragrance. Free US shipping starts at $300, which tells you where the pricing sits.
Ditsy prints, ruffles, ribbon straps and lace trim on almost every surface. Against Axes Femme it is warmer and less structured, closer to a summer garden than a Parisian salon, and it commits to the fantasy across the whole house rather than stopping at clothing. Pricing runs premium. Our guide to brands like LoveShackFancy lists cheaper routes to the same look if the numbers put you off.
Best for: Florals and ruffles with no restraint applied.
The Pretty Dress Company
The Pretty Dress Company designs and manufactures in the UK, working 1950s silhouettes into midi, swing and pencil dresses alongside skirts, tops and knitwear. Pricing is mid-range, in pounds with multi-currency checkout for over 90 countries.
This is the most literal vintage brand on the list. The Hepburn Swing Dress and The Priscilla Midi Dress are period shapes reproduced properly, with the waist definition and skirt volume that Axes Femme only gestures at. Ready-to-wear, pre-order and made-to-order options all exist, so a body that Japanese sizing has failed has somewhere to go. Skip it if you want the lace and ribbon detail rather than the cut.
Best for: A true 1950s shape made to your measurements.
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Royal Princess Alice
Royal Princess Alice runs from ¥3,850 for accessories to ¥38,500 for a full coordinate, with the Rose Perfume Cat coordinate dress at ¥35,090 and the Vampire Lord bolero at ¥17,490.
Gothic and sweet sit side by side here in a way Axes Femme stays clear of. A Vampire Lord bolero and a Jam Cat Bread headdress (¥4,950) come from the same house, and the small accessories are the low-risk way to test the colour palette. Plenty of the catalogue is marked sold out, so buying on sight matters. Worth planning around: the shop's own terms cover Japanese delivery only, at a flat ¥700 with free shipping over ¥5,000, which means a forwarding service if you are ordering from abroad.
Best for: Fairy tales with the shadows left in.
How to Choose Between These 18 Brands
Start with the practical question, because it eliminates most of the list. If you are shopping from outside Japan, Sister Jane, RIXO, Batsheva, Christy Dawn, ModCloth, LoveShackFancy and The Pretty Dress Company all ship and size normally, and Angelic Pretty Paris covers Europe. Royal Princess Alice lists Japanese delivery only.
Then pick your register. Liz Lisa and Secret Honey are lateral moves from Axes Femme at similar money. Lily Brown and Jill Stuart tone the romance down for clothes that pass anywhere. Jane Marple, Innocent World, Emily Temple Cute, Angelic Pretty and Royal Princess Alice ask for a bigger commitment per piece and reward it with fabric and prints that hold value. Marine Serre sits alone at the top.
One habit worth keeping from Axes Femme shopping: buy the accessory first. A ¥5,000 headband tells you whether a brand's colour and scale suit you before a ¥40,000 dress does. For more in this direction, see our guides to kawaii brands like Japan LA and Japanese labels like Snidel, browse the rest of the romantic brand edit, or get in touch if you want a recommendation for a specific fit.
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Written by
Spencer Lanoue
