As spring came to a close, we now move into summer- a divisive season many either love or hate. I’m 50/50 on the season because it gets so hot in the Sacramento area this time of year, but the festivities have to be my favorite part. Anyways, without further delay here are the pickups for May and June that feature a lot of t-shirts ready to be worn, tank tops to show the arms, one of my favorite game series, and much more! Also, apologies about the late post life has been busy, and as always: thank you for reading!
🐸🛸👕 SGT Frog Tee
SGT Frog, or Keroro Gunso is my favorite anime by far and getting lots of toys and stickers from the series is always on my list! One day I was window shopping on eBay like I always do and I came across this tee with the whole platoon and it was only 20$!! You know I had to hit that buy now button and now this tee has to be my favorite in the collection. I wish I knew when it was manufactured but my guess is around 2008 when the English dub was published under Funimation due to the neck tag being an older blank. I’ll always tell anime watchers to check it out if you enjoy an over the top slice of life series!
🗽👕 Willy Chavarria Tees
One of my new favorite designers has to be Willy Chavarria! The Fresno Born designer located in New York City Willy Chavarria has a design language that’s very much work wear/streetwear inspired, but takes his direction towards the Hispanic lifestyle and community that he grew up with and it hits close to me-coming from a hispanic household with many friends and family of the same background. A lot of his collections feature exaggerated silhouettes of everyday items like the t-shirt, denim jacket, or pants, but can also include some beautiful suits and formal wear that are manufactured in Peru with quality and sustainability in mind.
The three tees are titled “The Buffalo T-shirt” and feature long sleeves, a boxy width and length that give the wearer the big shirt look, but more modernized. The first tee with the New York graphic is heavier than the other two and is a size medium, so it’s more cropped and the sleeves aren’t as long, but are still long compared to your usual tee. The other two tees are both an XL and come in a washed black and blue color. The sleeves are well passed my elbows and the length is slightly cropped- giving it an interesting shape to play with!
I’ll include his Autumn/Winter 2023 “Kangaroo” runway show here so you can see some of the formal wear I was discussing about if you’re interested.
💪👕 Stussy x Martine Rose Tee
Another designer I’ve enjoyed lately is British-Jamaican designer Martine Rose! Her designs that come from her experiences and interests centered around rave/punk/hip-hop culture are loved by many! I especially love her take on footwear like her square toe and cutout loafers. The unisex vision of her brand that plays with masculinity and femininity is great to see and I love all of her work I’ve seen so far.
This tee was for her collaboration with Stussy that featured many items geared toward “the art of racing” that included air fresheners, car mats, steering wheel covers, driving gloves and windshield covers. I enjoyed this collaboration because it brought back memories of being with friends who loved cars and car culture and it was fun being a part of it- still feeling the love of seeing cars I’d dream of having! I didn’t purchase this upon its release, but snagged it at Worlds Worst Expo- a monthly event where many vendors sell their wares and I happened to be selling in June! my next door booth mate of the same name had this one for sale and I took the opportunity to buy it from him. I love the front and back graphic of this tee and her take on the famous rendition of the Stussy graphic. I’m really stocking up on t-shirts for the warm months ahead and all the shirts I’ve picked up thus far have been some of my favorites!
I wanted to include a video of her Spring/Summer 2024 collection to give you guys a taste of what her design ethos is and I also just love the location’s she uses for her shows!
🖤🎽Hanes Black 2-Pack of Tank Tops
Weather has been heating up lately and I think it’s ready to show off a little shoulder to combat the sun! I’ve used a white ribbed tank-mostly for undershirts, but I wanted to try the black version for versatility. I’ve also been wearing a lot more black, so these will be part of my summer uniform. I just have to remember to use sunscreen!
⚔️📚Bravely Second End Layer Artbook
Back in April, I picked up the Bravely Default artbook, which was the first game in the series and I happened to stumble across the artbook for the sequel “Bravely Second End Layer” at the same Half Price Books! I’ve talked about how much I love the art style and direction of the first game, so it’s a given that the sequel brings even more to the table. The book features the same hand drawn art style I love so much- referring back to both art books for drawing inspiration when I’m in a slump. Also included are new costumes for main cast as well as level designs, enemy and boss designs with their inspirations behind them, promotional art, and even more sketches of the world. I’ll get back to playing the first game eventually, but for now I’ll admire the series through it’s art books!
🌈👑We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie
Oh how I love this simple game of rolling up objects bigger than life! The cult classic Katamari series Is something I hold close and I was overjoyed when the first game “Katamari Damacy” was remade to modern consoles. As I finished the game years ago, I had a sad realization that the sequel may not be remade as the first was, but 5 years later, we FINALLY were served the reroll in the form of “We Love Katamari REROLL + Royal Reverie”! Not only do we get the remake, but we also get additional levels that connect to the story of the king’s childhood memories and trauma- going deeper into the cutscenes from the original! The game is starightforward- complete people’s tasks that involve rolling objects big and small with your Katamari ball - all while taking In the wacky environment around you and listening to THE most audibly infectious soundtrack in any video game. The game is short, sweet and is always a blast replaying when I want to sit down and play this very comfy and enjoyable experience. PLEASE, play either Katamari game they are both equally as enjoyable.
🎸🐵Random Bits (Lammy Pic,Bape pins)
There’s nothing like a good plastic/metal trinket to add to your accessories! I purchased a couple things from Anne Hero World that caught my nostalgic eye that included two vintage metal “A Bathing Ape” pins and a “Um Jammer Lammy” promo guitar pick I had my gf turn into a necklace. I added my pins to my designated pin hat and added the Lammy necklace to my daily rotation. I love subtly adding pins and small items into my wardrobe that mesh effortlessly with my outfits and show things I hold close!