October 31 marked the last day the clothing chain was in business in Japan.
On Halloween, clothing retail giant Forever 21 closed all 14 of its Japan locations permanently. The chain had been churning out sale after sale since news of the impending closings surfaced approximately two months ago, but this day marked the absolute final time fans could step foot inside one of the stores.
Our intrepid reporter and pusher-of-fashion-boundaries Mr. Sato had always been a fan of the chain and was sad to see it go. He had duly taken advantage of many of the closing sales (incidentally dressing himself like a famous Japanese comedian in the process), but suddenly, faced with the finality of this last day, he decided to pay his local Shinjuku branch one last visit for nostalgia’s sake.
In true Sato-style, he furthered challenged himself to coordinate an outfit using only 50 yen (US$0.46), which was the going price for all items according to a sign out front. Upon closer inspection inside, he noticed that not every item was actually listed at that bargain price, but it did encompass women’s swimsuits (bottom halves only), headbands, and socks–no other accessories were left. Even so, he noted the long line snaking from the registers.
Mr. Sato supposed people had been buying things as souvenirs or tokens of remembrance for the disappearing chain. Every customer that he could see was buying up bundles of 10 ir 20 things. It was an incredible steal, after all–ten items were only 500 yen, and twenty were only 1,000 yen.
Now for his self-imposed challenge. He located and purchased one thick knit headband for 50 yen. Since he’d already taken advantage of previous sales over the past two months, he felt more than satisfied with this single grab. It would be his one last memory of Forever 21 in Japan.
Now to try it on…he thought it suited himself quite well!
For any puzzled readers, in case you were wondering, Mr. Sato had neglected to specify that he was going to coordinate an outfit for the upper half of his body only. Scroll down to see the finished product.
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Ah, just as a warning, please note that the following photos may be NSFW. With that in mind, keep scrolling if you’re clear.
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Tada! The finished “outfit.” Relax, relax. He’s totally got coverage down there.
▼ “Voluntary restraint”
As he was overcome by a wave of nostalgia, Mr. Sato realized that his affiliation with Forever 21 went back to 2015 when he had coordinated an outfit using 10,000 yen.
He never could have dreamed that four years later he would be styling himself at the same store using only a measly 50 yen.
▼ The headband turned out to be multi-functional as well–it could also serve as a snug scarf in the cold weather.
▼ “Sayonara, Forever 21! Come back to Japan someday.”
And just like that, Mr. Sato finished the pages of another chapter in his fashion life.
All images © SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]