Written by Aesthel

For the January 2019 issue of Cosplay Realm Magazine, we had the honor of shooting with Sugoi Shirts! Sugoi Shirts specializes in Anime inspired streetwear.

“Sugoi Shirts is a New York based apparel brand uniting lovers of Japanese pop-culture through fashion since 2015. Our designs are completely original (meaning you won't find our t-shirts and  apparel anywhere else) and made completely in-house by people who are just as passionate about Japan, anime and fashion as you are. As a brand, our mission is to bring anime into the forefront of street fashion by filling a niche aesthetic of anime meets streetwear. All of our of high quality t-shirts and apparel are custom printed in Los Angeles, CA and shipped across the world.”

Sugoi Shirt’s unique designs were really fun to base looks around. We featured four items from them in our January 2019 fashion section. Our featured included one tee, two sweaters, and a beanie hat!  

It was such a nice day when we went out to shoot for Sugoi Shirts, we were so lucky to have the weather cooperating with us! It made it really comfortable to photograph tee shirts without really needing to layer with jackets and stuff. This meant we could show the products from Sugoi Shirts off in all their glory!

Emily styled her look based on the art in the Cyber Girl Hoodie. She wore a wig from Arda Wigs in the same color and style as the character in the art. The Cyber Girl Hoodie is “An anime hoodie that introduces a futuristic streetwear aesthetic meshed with cyberpunk anime girl vibes. The red Japanese katakana text literally translates to "Cyber Girl" in English.” She paired the hoodie with their UwU Knit Beanie in white. She matched the red in the cyber girl hoodie with the red camo pants and snow boots for a practical yet cute feel. Along with the look she also wore a black turtleneck, a black jacket, and a yellow Off White belt. Emily wanted an urban and slightly dystopian streetwear vibe to the shoot, with a focus on working with the environment around and making it work with the clothes.

Aesthel wore a dark look with her Oni [PREMIUM] Tee Shirt. This tee is a “Completely unique piece of Japanese streetwear blends ancient Japanese folklore with modern athletic street design to create a classic tee like none other.” Aesthel has a special love for Oni, as her Dungeons and Dragons character is an Oni. She was inspired by her character for this look, wearing a black bob wig, black beret, high waisted plaid red paints, black boots, and a black jacket. Being a student of History, she loved how the style of this top mixes ancient and modern imagery to create such a cool design.

Aesthel also modeled the Tonari Sweatshirt in Blue. The Tonari Sweatshirt “Meaning "Next Door" if you put the design and phrase together, you get "The Girl Next Door." This anime style hoodie is heavily inspired by colored manga strips and Japanese bubble text.” She wore the same outfit as she did with the Oni look, but removed the wig to give this sweatshirt a bit of a brighter look. The Tonari Sweatshirt has a really homey feel, looking at the image you almost know exactly how the girl in the picture feels. This sweatshirt is uniquely able to be styled in a lighter cute style or a darker style depending on the wearer’s mood.

We had so much fun creating looks inspired by anime, fandom, and streetfashion. We love how Sugoi Shirts has such a unique and original style while also feeling somehow familiar in their inspirations. All of the items from Sugoi Shirts were such high quality in their fabric and printing and we highly recommend you guys check them out if you’re looking for a good way to tie anime into your everyday fashion!

Check out Sugoi Shirts on their website! They can also be found on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!

Catch this shoot in print in Cosplay Realm No. 22 the Dystopian issue, available now!