Available here is an excellent shirt from Japanese label Rats. The brand has a kind of interesting story, where they got their start around 2004, closely allied with the Tenderloin and Wtaps/FPAR labels. At this point I think Rats is more firmly in Tenderloin’s territory, where they make a lot of American/vintage inspired pieces, although they definitely put their own spin on them. They also still have a pretty strong graphic component that recalls Wtaps and FPAR (they used to do some of the shirts for those labels), but I think the emphasis is more on just slightly tweaked classics here. Also reminds me a lot of the Neighborhood label in that sense.
Associations aside, what you have here is a vintage style plaid work shirt. Design and silhouette strongly evoke clean 1960s style to me, where everything is sharp and clean. Fabric is a 65% polyester / 35% cotton mix – this is typical of work wear, where the polyester gives the fabric a very soft feel while at the same time keeping it pretty resilient. Buttons are all vegetable ivory, the hem is flat allowing the shirt to be worn tucked or untucked, and a subtle label tag is included on the chest pocket.
Rats is definitely one of those labels that has yet to break it big outside of Japan, with distribution limited to just a handful of stores in Australia (and one in Russia) outside of Japan. They’ve been getting more exposure lately though (and rightfully so), and will very likely be expanding very soon. This is definitely a good chance to see what they’re doing at a reasonable price. These shirts go for about $150 in Japan and around $200 abroad, although this style is now totally sold out. Get it here while you can.
Size is labeled a medium and fits a bit slim. I measure the chest at 19.5”, shoulders at 17.5”, length at 25.5” and sleeves at 24”. The shirt comes in lightly used, very good shape with no holes, tears, stains or obvious signs of wear. Made in Japan.
Shipping from Japan to anywhere will be $24.