The Product:http://ift.tt/2aoolcE tried to get some glow-in-the-dark shots but they didn't come out too well. You can tell that the kind off-white/limey colored patches are the glow-in-the-dark ink.Store & ServiceThe BAPE Osaka store is located about 30-40 minutes away from Dotonbori street by foot, in Minamihorie. It’s on a sidestreet from a bigger street featuring the Supreme Osaka store, a Champion store and some thrift store. You can hit one after the other no problem. But tbh I didn’t hit any of those since the day I got to Osaka I decided to go buy some BAPE and went off with only that goal in mind as soon as I dropped off my luggage.I was sweaty af as I made my way into the store because it was humid af and I tend to walk fast. So that was kinda embarrassing, walking into this immaculate boutique with a sweaty brow and in flip flops and some basic ass olive shirt (also complete with its own sweet sweat decals). I guess my SPRING SUMMER 16 SUPREME BACKPACK made me fit in more though because when I got there it was full of gaijin hypebeasts just like myself. Nah not really full, but there were two dudes, one Japanese and one American decked out in Palace and Supreme getting ready to bust over a shark hoodie. American dude was hesitant in buying but the Japanese guy was like come on lol do it.As far as the sales associates go, they were fashionable (all wearing some sorta BAPE piece(s) but nothing over the top or too loud) and really good at their jobs. To this extent, I mean that they acknowledged me when I came in but didn’t bumrush me asking if I was looking for something and let me browse totally at my leisure while hovering not too close but not too far away. IMO, that’s the sort of impersonal and efficient treatment I prefer. I’d just have to look at them for them to be ready to answer a question or get an item but their presence didn’t feel overbearing. It might be some sort of weird placebo effect from this being my first time in a higher-end store such as this than what I’m used to, but that sort of behavior from the sales associates was a nice change of pace.The store itself is on the smaller side when compared to the BAPE stores in Harajuku and Shibuya in Tokyo. It has shirts and hoodies on the first floor, with button ups and more shirts and some shoes on the second floor. The interior has a bunch of mirrors that make the place look really spacious though. I was honestly surprised that it was as small as it was, after like 5 minutes of walking around inside thinking there was gonna be more in the back or something. As I said though, the store itself is super clean. White tile and big glass window panes let in a ton of natural light complimented by the nice lighting they have inside. The shopping experience was like fucking primo but again, maybe it was because I had just walked 40 minutes to get there and was excited af to buy some BAPE. I spent about 30-40 min instore just looking at stuff. Eventually I decided to buy a shirt because I was into the design and I needed more white shirts in my wardrobe. The following is detailing my thoughts on that shirt.Material & ConstructThe shirt itself is made from very thick fabric. Think luxurious Carhartt. Its heavy, dense, and a little rougher in texture. Soft or smooth are definitely not the words that come to mind first when describing this piece but its not the same as some random heavy workwear shirt. Definitely wouldn’t say this is the most breathable shirt I have. I didn’t wear it much except once on a date in Tokyo at night during my trip because I knew that I’d sweat in it something heavy if I were to spend the day walking around in it. The stitching is pretty nice and very solid throughout. The collar is also pretty durable, doesn’t feel like it’ll stretch out or anything anytime soon.I didn’t notice any loose threads on my piece and after looking through the store for 40 min, I didn’t notice anything of that sort on the other items either. The screen-printing was also pretty top notch. The ink was on pretty thick and very sharp in contrast on the fabric. The particular shirt that I got was glow in the dark, so some ink can be seen in low light. Kind of a novelty and gimmicky but whatever. It looks cool regardless.One surprising thing that I immediately noticed was how clean cut the labels inside and on the sleeve wear. Like the logo on the sleeve edge and then the tags on the inside of the neck, there sides were so clean cut and crisp and popping. Usually regular clothes has tags that are kinda scraggly or bent. These were popping up right at me and super clean cut. I was weirded out that it was one of the first things I noticed as I was checking sizes.FitSpeaking of sizes, if you go to the store and don’t know your size for a shirt, they don’t let you try on the shirts in the store. Probably because they don’t want to mess up their stock with sweaty tourists popping shirts on and off. You can try the hoodies on no problem, just not on your nude bod. I copped a large because large usually fits me pretty well in America. However, the cut and sizing is not exactly the same. In America I could get away with some mediums but if I were to cop a BAPE medium, I don’t think it would fit me as well as a Large. So go your size, but if you are kind borderline, it’d recommend doing a size up.The fit itself was great though. With regular shirts, it feels as though the fit is [ ] that shape, if you were to imagine looking through your shirt on the bottom before you put it on. With BAPE, it felt as though it was instead a more conical ( ) shape and thus sat a little tighter but by no means overbearingly so. It was as though it was unintentionally a fitted t-shirt, but not as tight.CostWas about 7600 Yennies, which is about 76$. So a decent amount cheaper than the 120$ that I saw the shirt going for new stateside.Overall ImpressionsTo me, it seems that with BAPE I was paying more for the experience of shopping at one of their stores and for the brand rather than the quality of the item. It is absolutely the best shirt I own in terms of quality, make no mistake in that sense. However, I think a lot of what sets it apart physically from other shirts that I have is somewhat negligible regarding my decision in buying it when simultaneously considering the price. The fact that the shirt used is such a nice quality, the fit is great, the print is great and the tags are great does not warrant spending 120$ on it, nor 76$ imo.However, what does warrant those prices are how much I like the brand and the design along with the fact that I bought it at the store with service that I enjoyed. I’m a student traveling on internship money so I don’t have a shit-ton to throw around anyways but I don’t regret the purchase at all especially since I can say I’ve bought BAPE in Japan, which to me is pretty cool for what its worth.I suppose that’s the case for most higher end brands though, the fact that after a point you aren’t necessarily paying for quality but rather moreso the brand and creativity/exclusivity of a piece. Yeah some can argue that the APE head and text aren’t all that creative but I don’t want to get into that here.Overall, if I get the chance to go back to Japan, I’ll probably hit up another BAPE store and get another piece. But I don’t think I’ll be buying anything from them stateside anytime soon. via /r/streetwear http://ift.tt/2a69Y0G
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