After launching in Japan at the start of the year, Original Stitch has now released its line of custom-made Pokemon shirts in the US and UK, as well as France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand Some Pokemon fabrics are already selling out, so if you're interested, you might want to suit up soon.
Original Stitch has basically created the Build-a-Bear of Pokemon shirts. Its website lets you choose the style, fabric, and buttons of your shirt, from short-sleeved Hawaiian button-downs to long-sleeved business wear with an added front pocket. Sizes range from XXS to 4XL. Naturally, you can also choose between mens' and womens' styles, and from our testing, both come out to around the same price - between $100 and $120 depending on the design. It would take several Pokemon battles to earn that amount, but for a high-quality piece of wearable, custom-made merch, it's not too eye-watering.
The main draw of these shirts is the variety of Pokemon fabrics, featuring 151 designs based on the original generation of Pokemon (with 10 plain designs available in case you're feeling minimal). Some are understated like Bulbasaur and Lapras, while others like Beedrill and Fearow are downright loud. Likewise, while some designs use the Pokemon they're based on as a motif, others might use their color scheme or only their silhouette. There's a cool mix of designs, and pretty much all of them look great. They'll surely appeal to someone, just like the Pokemon they're based on.
In just a few minutes, I was able to cobble together a respectable mens' baby-blue Lapras shirt with blue Dratini lining, and a womens' Butterfree shirt with black-and-white Dragonair lining. And that's just two fabrics; you can select your base fabric, outer collar, inner collar, outer cuffs, inner cuffs, and pocket. The preview tool on Original Stitch's website is sharp and updates instantly, so it's easy to see how your chosen fabrics go together.
Oh, and if Pokemon's not your fandom, Original Stitch also has a healthy selection of Star Wars shirts available.
In other merch news, Baby Yoda merch is on the way and looks predictably adorable.
