Some clothes are useful. Some clothes look nice. And then some clothes have a samurai cat on the front and instantly make your day a bit better when you put them on.
That’s very much the energy at Tokyo Tiger.
The brand is packed with bold, fun, and eye catching designs inspired by Japanese culture, food, animals, art, and internet humour.
So you might find a dramatic tiger standing on crashing waves one minute, then scroll a little further and land on a goose that’s apparently got far too silly.
And honestly, that mix is part of the fun.
If your wardrobe could do with a little more personality, Tokyo Tiger’s range of Japanese style clothing gives you lots of ways to add it.
Cats, ramen, samurai, and everything in between
Graphic tees are probably the easiest place to start, mainly because you can throw one on with jeans and trainers and you’re done.
But easy doesn’t have to mean boring.
Take the Retro Samurai Cat washed tee. It combines a cat with samurai styling, which is already considerably more interesting than another plain black tee.
The washed finish gives it a slightly worn in look too, and it’s made from 100% cotton with a unisex fit.
Then there’s the Cute Black Cat Eating Ramen washed tee, which pretty much sells itself based on the name alone.
It has a black cat. It has ramen. What more do you really need?
That one is also part of the brand’s japanese washed shirts range, with the same relaxed washed look and a choice of colours including black, beige, army green, grey, blue, purple, coffee, and pink.
And that’s what makes browsing Tokyo Tiger’s Japanese t shirts so much fun.
You can go for something inspired by more traditional Japanese imagery, pick a design built around ramen or koi, or just choose whichever one makes you smile first.
There really doesn’t need to be more logic to it than that.
Give the mesh jerseys a go
If a graphic tee still feels a little too safe, the mesh jerseys are where Tokyo Tiger really starts to mix things up.
The collection is huge, with designs featuring frogs, raccoons, cats, tigers, octopuses, koi, and plenty of geese too.
The Got Too Silly Goose Mesh Jersey is probably the obvious place to start.
It’s a silly goose jersey that fully commits to the playful design, and sometimes that’s exactly what you want from a piece of clothing. Not every top needs to be plain or understated. Some are just there to be fun.
If you fancy something with a different feel, there’s also the Retro Raccoon Samurai mesh jersey, which combines a raccoon with samurai inspired artwork in a way that’s pretty random but also bold and full of character.
Or you could go for the Drunken Octopus mesh jersey, another design that blends Japanese inspired artwork with a more playful twist.
That’s really what Tokyo Tiger does well.
There are loads of recognisable Japanese influences throughout the range, including samurai, koi, waves, ramen, kanji, and traditional style artwork, but they’re mixed with cats, frogs, raccoons, geese, and a sense of humour that keeps everything feeling light and fun.
So you can choose something bold and artistic, something playful, or something that manages to be both at once.
And when most of us already own enough plain T shirts to last a lifetime, adding a samurai cat or a fun goose design to the rotation feels like a very good idea.
Disclosure: this is a collaborative post