That’s some shocking shit. Pull up some bourbon and pour yourself a sit down. It’s a shirt yeah, but, get this, the pockets are in a slightly different place than they usually are. Take a moment, and get your mind round that brotherman. But, like, who in seven hell’s sanctioned this foolishness?

It’s by a brand called EEL. Japanese – check. Pretty expensive – check. Never heard of them outside their listing on Blue Button Shop – Check. The name stands for Easy Earl Life and you can grab a peek into their vibe here, although as usual, Japanland speakers will have a better time of it.

On Blue Button, it’s priced at 249 Canadian Dollars. Is that a lot? Does anyone buy anything in Canadian? Dunno. I’m not even sure it’s a real place. I thought it was in Westeros. Turns out that on the realness, these Canada Rupees are worth 136.25 in Her Queen’s money. Which is a bit more sobering, but still, this garm qualifies for free international postage, so it’s not a total fuckstorm. It’s a no-nonsense, obscuro, Japanese streetwear piece and come barbeque day, it’ll certainly signal your hype status amongst a gathering of Fred Perrys and Ben Shermans.

I’m drawn to pieces that through a simplistic tweak to the form, manage to evoke a completely different feel. If this shirt had regular patch pockets, it’d just be an under-blazer standard. But by simply applying apron style pockets, it transforms into the purest example of shirt as jacket. I’m not saying shifting pockets about is up there with the discovery of life on Mars, or finding a resident of Stoke-on-Trent who doesn’t eat chips every day. But, you know, it’s still pretty interesting.