For fans of animation and video games who’ve formed a particularly strong attachment to their favorite fictional characters, there’s nothing quite like the escapist fun of cosplaying as one of the hobbies’ heroes or heroines. In the past we’ve seen college students, toddlers, and even dogs sporting creative getups, but what if you’re an adult human with a busy life?
Past a certain age, work and family start taking up the bulk of your time, and your schedule might not be able to accommodate a day of showing off your costuming skills at the local anime convention. Not to mention that if that’s the case, you’re probably too old to just dress up in costume at home without feeling silly. If only there was a practical cosplay outfit that you could wear around the house.
Actually, there is, in the form of the Sailor Moon apron.
Sold by toy manufacturer and merchandiser extraordinaire Bandai through its Premium Bandai online shop, from the front the 87-centimeter (34.3-inch) cotton apron looks just like the uniform of anime’s most popular magical girl.
▼ Front (left) and back (right)
As a side-view photo shows, though, this sailor suit is more appropriate for a trip to the kitchen than the Moon Kingdom.
Currently, there don’t seem to be any plans to offer the aprons in the colors of Sailor Moon’s cohorts, which is surprising given how often Sailor Jupiter’s cooking skills are lauded during the course of the series. Judged on its own merits, though, the Sailor Moon apron is a pretty impressive piece of work, as Bandai’s designers put a lot of thought into maintaining the illusion.
For starters, the apron strings are colored the same shade of red as the bow that sits on the small of Sailor Moon’s back. Even cleverer is the way the collar hangs down to the top of your shoulder blades, despite the fact that since it’s an apron, your back is left uncovered.
The apron sells for 6,480 yen (US $63.50), and can be ordered here. Bandai says customers can expect delivery sometime in August. We realize this is a long time to ask culinary-minded anime fans to wait, but on the plus side, this gives you plenty of time to research recipes for traditional Japanese dango dumplings, meatballs, or whatever else you feel like whipping up once your order arrives.
Source, images: Premium Bandai
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