11/22/2008

The ‘Bro’ is No. 1 on Japan’s largest online shopping site

For the past two weeks, this item has ranked first place on Rakuten, one of Japan’s largest online shopping malls, in the men’s miscellaneous undergarments section — the “Men’s Premium Brassiere“….

I don’t know which is more amusing, the idea of Japanese men needing to wear a bra, or the poor foreign model who was naively was posing for these photos of a “Bro” or “Manssiere” (Youtube).

Update: The keen-eyed 3Yen reader, “MARKed TRAIL,” sent this screenshot of the video that The Guardian has of the Manssiere in action!

Click to view.

Posted by Taro in Business News, General, Internet |

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1. Taro Says:
   November 22nd, 2008 at 11:04 am

   Bra update
   Oh damn, my friend Mulboyne already posted this Japanese news report….
   

   (machine translation of) ITmedia.co.jp - Nov. 19, 2008— … first place by the marketable goods ranking (early November) of the men’s inner “others” section…According to the website of the Rakuten marketplace “why is not there a men’s bra?” …the merit of wearing is that “can be easy” and “I can feel relieved.” …

2. MARKed TRAIL Says:
   November 22nd, 2008 at 3:50 pm

   Hey, The Guardian has a video of the mansier in action!
   
   Click to view.

   And after a wait if a few days even those lazy Reuters reporters finally got around to blogging about this…

   Bra for the boys an online bestseller in Japan
   Fri Nov 21, 2008 11:02am EST
   TOKYO (Reuters) - Who said bras are only for women? A Japanese online lingerie retailer is selling bras for cross-dressing men and they’ve quickly become one of its most popular items.
   Since launching two weeks ago on Rakuten, a major Japanese web shopping mall, the Wishroom shop has sold over 300 men’s bras for 2,800 yen ($30) each. The shop also stocks men’s panties, as well as lingerie for women.
   “I like this tight feeling. It feels good,” Wishroom representative Masayuki Tsuchiya told Reuters as he modeled the bra, which can be worn discreetly under men’s clothing.
   Wishroom Executive Director Akiko Okunomiya said she was surprised at the number of men who were looking for their inner woman.
   “I think more and more men are becoming interested in bras. Since we launched the men’s bra, we’ve been getting feedback from customers saying ‘wow, we’d been waiting for this for such a long time’,” she said.
   But the bra, available in black, pink and white, is not an easy sell for all men.
   The underwear has stirred a heated debate online with more than 8,000 people debating the merits of men wearing bras in one night on Mixi, Japan’s top social network website.

   http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE4AK20620081121

3. Rob Pongi Says:
   November 23rd, 2008 at 11:00 pm

   So Berry Sarie Taro-sama! Please forgive my UNWORTHY: But you need a bra.

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