FamilyMart’s Convenience Wear: Bringing "konbini fashion" to a new level
Let’s be honest—we were all amazed by Japan’s konbini (コンビニ convenience stores) at some point in our lives. Located in virtually every nook and cranny in Japan, konbini chains such as 7-Eleven, LAWSON, and FamilyMart (ファミリーマート) offer customers a wide variety of products and services.
Konbini, a safe haven in Japan
(Image credit: Koji Horaguchi / CC BY 2.0)
To both the everyday person living and the wide-eyed tourist in Japan, konbini is a safe haven for one to grab a midnight snack or make some last-minute purchases on daily essentials before starting your day. Most importantly, konbini actually live up to their name of being convenience stores—they are open 24 hours daily.
Oh, you can buy clothes in konbini too! Basic clothes and undergarments are a regular sight in many Japanese convenience stores, but behold—there’s a new contender in town.
Get fashionable with FamilyMart’s new clothing line “Convenience Wear”
(Image credit: JR Times / Sue Lynn)
Who would have thought that a trip to the konbini could get you a pretty stylish ‘fit? Well, with FamilyMart’s new clothing line “Convenience Wear” (コンビニエンス ウェア) featuring in 16,600 stores nationwide, you can!
In celebration of FamilyMart’s 40th anniversary, the konbini chain released a 「40のいいこと！？」 (40 no iikoto, which translates to ‘40 nice things’) campaign featuring 40 promotions that will be taking place this year. One of the iikoto in question is “Convenience Wear”, launched in collaboration with Ochiai Hiromichi (落合宏理), the designer and creative director of subculture fashion brand FACETASM (ファセッタズム), and company Asahi Kasei Corporation (旭化成株式会社) in late March 2021.
(Image credit: JR Times / Sue Lynn)
As one of Japan’s three major konbini chains, FamilyMart’s has clearly taken the lead in “convenient fashion” with its ensemble of 68 items—ranging from t-shirts, camisoles, and boxer briefs, to accessories like towels and eco-bags—all available within an affordable price range of ¥390–¥990 (excluding tax), stylishly packed in transparent and reusable zip-lock packaging. The colours of the clothes are kept to the minimal, offering neutral tones that easily fit in every wardrobe. Talk about revolutionising fashion with convenience and functionality!
My “Convenience Wear” haul! (Image credit: JR Times / Sue Lynn)
As a die-hard FamiMa fan, I had to snag a couple of items from this cool and exclusive collection for myself! My partner and I managed to get our hands on two eco-bags (¥490) as well as an Imabari Towel (¥490)—which comes in 10 other designs—and pairs of socks (¥390) and comfy boxer briefs (¥590).
Making it a habit to use less plastic bags with our new foldable and handy “Convenience Wear” eco-bags. (Image credit: JR Times / Sue Lynn)
The range of the items differ according to the size of the FamilyMart, but most of them carry the more popular items like the eco-bags, as well as t-shirts and camisoles which are made with the “Paircool” material which optimises breathability—just in time for Japan’s upcoming summer.
(Image credit: JR Times / Sue Lynn)
If I had to choose the one item I’m most excited about from the “Convenience Wear” line, it would be the Line Socks. I mean, how often do you get to rock FamilyMart’s iconic colourway as part of your outfit? Even Designer Ochiai himself revealed that the Line Socks was his favourite item, as well as the first design he made for this line.
There’s no certainty as to when this promotion will be held until, but by the looks of it, “Convenience Wear” will be on FamilyMart's shelves for a long time to come. Hopefully we’ll be able to get our hands on these fashionable items on our next konbini run in Japan soon!
Header image credit: Koji Horaguchi / CC BY 2.0 & JR Times / Sue Lynn
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