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Swanky Sailor Moon styles selling now at Tokyo department store

Casey Baseel Apr 4, 2014
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SI 13

With three months to go until the delayed beginning of the long-awaited new Sailor Moon TV series, fans have a lot of time on their hands. Some have filled this with dressing their dogs up like characters from the hit anime, while others have undressed to reveal their Sailor Moon lingerie.

But what if you want not just anime-themed underwear, but outerwear as well? If that’s the case, one Tokyo department store is ready to be your one-stop shopping destination with a whole store of clothing inspired by the pretty guardian herself, Sailor Moon.

You can find this special shop at the Shinjuku branch of prestigious department store Isetan. If the idea of Sailor Moon clothes conjures up images of cheap silkscreened T-shirts sold in an anime convention’s dealer’s room, rest assured that Isetan has a decades-long reputation for quality and stylishness, a virtual necessity due to its location in one of Tokyo’s most competitive retail districts (not to mention a stone’s throw away from the bevy of beautiful people at the RocketNews24 office).

Like an alliance of pleated skirt-wearing superheroes, three design houses have teamed up to create the Sailor Moon collection. The collaborative venture by Honey Bunch, Secret Honey by Honey Bunch, and Riccimie Premier Salon opened on April 1, with the bold name Girls Love Mode – Let’s Prism Power Make Up.

▼ “Let’s Make Up?” We didn’t even know we were fighting!

We snuck out of the office and stopped by on opening day to check out the store’s lineup of clothes and accessories. Even though it was a Tuesday, the place was overflowing with young ladies who love fashion as much as they do the Sailor Scouts. Even before we set foot inside the shop, we knew we were in the right place when we saw the unmistakable hairdo on the mannequins waiting at the entrance.

The size of the crowd was intimidating, but one thing we’ve learned from all the episodes of Sailor Moon we’ve watched is that in life, you have to be brave (we’ve also learned that evil monsters are perfectly happy to wait while you change your entire outfit before they attack you, but we didn’t see how that would help us in this situation). So we took a deep breath, steeled our nerves, and weaved through the mass of people as we made our way through the store.

Some of the clothes put their anime origins front and center, such as these shirts bearing a close-up of the series’ heroine. Other items make less direct references to the franchise, such as this hooded sweatshirt with a crescent moon positioned and proportioned exactly like the one in the Sailor Moon logo.

Subtler still are these ribbon-accented numbers. To the untrained eye, they look like ordinary cardigans, but other anime lovers will immediately recognize that the color combinations, from left to right, match those used in the costumes of Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Mars.

Most girlish of all are these moon-patterned chiffon dresses.

If you’re not shopping for clothes, the staff will be happy to direct you to some of their other wares, such as their selection of tote bags and smartphone covers.

But while this is first and foremost a retail outlet, the interior designers have made efforts to insure Sailor Moon fans can enjoy their visit even if they don’t spend a single yen. For starters, there’s a large monitor showing images from the show.

▼ Mercury has always been a fan favorite in Japan.

▼ Hey, up there in the corner, could that be….?

▼ Yup, it’s Sailor Moon’s mentor, Luna!

But just as the shining moon must disappear with the dawn, this special Sailor Moon shop won’t last forever. Girls Love Mode – Let’s Prism Power Make Up is a limited-time affair, and closes for good on April 8. So if you’re interested in picking up some unique Sailor Moon goodies, head on over right away (after all, it’s not like you’ve got episodes of the new series to watch…yet).

Shop information
Girls Love Mode – Let’s Prism Power Make Up, located in:
Isetan Shinjuku Main Building 2nd Floor/ 伊勢丹新宿店本館2階
Address: Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Shinjuku 3-14-1
東京都新宿区新宿3-14-1
Open 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m.
Website

Photos: RocketNews24
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