Cute and Affordable, Japanese Brand Swimmer Is Back!

If you can't get enough of everything kawaii, you'll probably love Swimmer. This Japanese brand is known for its variety goods, or "zakka" (雑貨) as they might say in Japan, featuring pastel colors, cutesy characters, and designs featuring hearts, fruit, animals, and everything adorable. Very cute, and very insta-bae. Swimmer was founded back in 1987 in Daikanyama, an extra-fashionable part of Tokyo, and for years their accessories, home goods, and stationery brought smiles to the faces of kawaii-lovers all over Japan. Swimmer even gained a little bit of extra fame as a particular favorite of pop singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, whose aesthetic fit in nicely with the colorful, cutesy designs. Unfortunately, despite the popularity of the brand and locations across Japan, Swimmer was unable to combat economic conditions and closed in 2018. Fans mourned all the cute items they no longer had access to.

A trip to a Swimmer store made us all feel a little more in touch with our inner child.

Fans were saddened, that is, until fall 2020, when Swimmer announced its return to business! While fans of the brand are excited to get their hands on fresh new goodies, Swimmer is taking its time with this comeback. Instead of reopening its old shop locations, Swimmer is starting with online sales (from Oct. 26), and then beginning to sell Swimmer goods via other retailers (see the list here) in mid-November.

It may still be a while yet until we can experience the childlike joy of walking into a colorful Swimmer specialty shop, but for now it's exciting that the brand is back. Plus, to celebrate the occasion, Swimmer is releasing a special "Lucky Bag" (full of mystery items!), an intriguing option for diehard fans and newcomers alike. We're excited to see where Swimmer goes from here!

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