
Does my lady desire assistance in coordinating an outfit?
Swallowtail, located in the Ikebukuro neighborhood, is one of Tokyo’s most popular butler cafes, where handsome, smartly dressed men offer suave service to customers as they sip their herbal tea and dine on finger sandwiches and delicate pastries.
▼ Swallowtail butler cafe
However, a truly cultured lady knows that a butler’s role is not just to provide attentive assistance during high tea, but also while putting together an outfit of appropriate elegance for excursions to the theater, symphony, or doujinshi fan event. It’s for that purpose that Swallowtail has partnered with apparel brand Axes Femme, so that it can offer not only a butler cafe, but a butler shopping service as well.
The collaborative partners call these events “Secret Shopping.” Held at Axes Femme retail stores, participants are accompanied by a butler who offers advice and feedback in coordinating an outfit that suits her personal style and lets her shine her brightest. The aim is to create an atmosphere of sifting through the extensive wardrobe you keep at your mansion, one so large that you can benefit from a servant’s help to thoroughly navigate it.
Shopping sessions are roughly an hour and 10 minutes long, with advance reservations a must, ensuring that your butler is ready to help you from the first second of your appointed time. Swallowtail and Axes Femme have held Secret Shopping events in Tokyo a handful of times, but it wasn’t until this summer that they had their first in Osaka, taking place at Axes Femme’s store in the Hep Five shopping center in Osaka’s Umeda district.
▼ Some Secret Shopping events also include refreshments.
The Osaka event was so popular that there were roughly four times as many applicants as available reservation slots, even with a service charge of 20,000 yen (US$148) for the 24 women who made use of the butlers’ services while the store was closed to other shoppers, so odds are Axes Femme and Swallowtail are looking to expand the program to other cities as well.
Source, images: PR Times
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!







Our ladylike, solo visit to the handsome butler cafe of Tokyo’s Ikebukuro neighborhood【Photos】
A chivalrous afternoon out with one of Tokyo’s rental butlers
Tokyo cheerleader cafe adds male cheerleader service
Crossdressing support subscription service launches in Japan with clothing delivery, tutorials
Japanese company offers a “little sister rental” service, and our reporter just tried it out
We revisited Sweets Paradise after a decade to see if Japan’s dessert buffet still delivers
7-Eleven Japan starts new temporary luggage storage service in over 300 branches
One Piece devil fruit ice cream coming back to Baskin-Robbins Japan
Japanese group to hold fashion show of colostomy bags and other stoma equipment in Paris
Hey, Japanese taxi driver! Take us to the best Turkish rice restaurant in Nagasaki!
How to speak Japanese like a gyaru【2024 edition】
The best Starbucks Japan Frappuccinos we want to drink again in 2026
Japan has a bondage bunny character with its own line of kinky cute merchandise
The mystery of the phantom “sake pass card” at Japanese alcohol vending machines
TIL: Table tennis tables are blue because of a Japanese comedian’s random comment
Starbucks Japan ready to get Year of the Horse started with adorable drinkware and plushies【Pics】
Cyberpunk anime meets traditional culture in Ghost in the Shell gold leaf Japanese changing screens
7 great places to see Mt. Fuji from without having to climb it
Hello Kitty Choco Egg figures are an adorable trip through three periods of Japanese pop culture【Pics】
7-Eleven Japan’s ramen-cooking robot whipped us up a bowl of noodles【Taste test】
We found possibly the quietest Japanese-style hotel in Tokyo’s bustling Shinjuku district
Japan’s otoshidama tradition of giving kids money at New Year’s gets a social welfare upgrade
Sumo Sanrio! Hello Kitty and pals team up with Japan Sumo Association for new merch【Pics】
More Than a Capsule Stay: Why Solo Travelers Choose “global cabin Yokohama Chinatown”
Japan’s oldest largetooth sawfish in captivity back on display in Mie Prefecture
Disillusionment at Tsukiji’s tourist-target prices led us to a great ramen restaurant in Tokyo
Starbucks teams up with 166-year-old Kyoto doll maker for Year of the Horse decorations【Photos】
Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed area
Tokyo’s Tsukiji sushi neighborhood asks tour groups to stay away for the rest of the month
Tokyo event lets you travel back in time, for free, to celebrate 100 years since Showa era start
Sanrio theme park in Japan announces plans to expand into a Sanrio resort
Japan may add Japanese language proficiency, lifestyle classes to permanent foreign resident requirements
Stamina-destroying “Paralysis Noodles” are Tokyo’s newest over-the-top ramen innovation
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Japan’s deadliest food claims more victims, but why do people keep eating it for New Year’s?
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
Updated cherry blossom forecast shows extra-long sakura season for Japan this year
Leave a Reply