New TOKYO Duffy Merchandise

[DuffyDaisuki]

I'm excited for Halloween! I hope all this stuff is still available then, too. If there's enough interest, I might be willing to go in August. But I'm not rallying the troops!

*Honestly, it just seems MUCH better for WishListers to wait a little and combine shipping in September when all the Halloween stuff is released. I don't think I'll do an August trip. Folks who get stuff in August are likely not to want to pay for shipping again in September (I don't blame you), and I don't want anybody to pass on Halloween cos of a technicality. I can't wait to find out more about the "Cape Cod Halloween Parade!"

[Danimated]

Pictures of the new merchandise on display.

[NRubus]

Am I the only one not liking the new designs for the totes? They just look very homely and hand made. And not in a good way. It's just very tacky. Everything else, of course, looks amazing! I gotta get my hands on those puppets!!

[MikkiMausu99]

Some more exciting merchandise news:

Get ready because on August 3rd, we have two brand new outfits for Duffy and ShellieMay.

Here it is:


Both are priced at ¥3,300.

(Duffy)

Consists of a white big brimmed sailor cap, a red shirt with the blue Duffy logo, and pair of black shorts with thin white stripes and a red Mickey Mark.

(ShellieMay)

Consists of a white sailor cap, a light pink shirt with the pink ShellieMay logo, and a pair of white shorts with blue stripes and a polka dotted Mickey Mark.

[DUFFY SHELLIE MAY]

OMG!!!!! i must have this clothes, they are so adorable !!!

[DCfan92]

I want those clothes they are so adorable. I wonder how much there gonna cost.

[TravisMT81]

honestly not a fan of outfits that have their names on it.

[madoka]

I am not a fan of the new outfits either. They make the bears look too "baby-like" for my taste, especially ShellieMay's light pink.

[DuffyDaisuki]

I want those clothes they are so adorable. I wonder how much there gonna cost.

As MikkiMausu posted, "Both are priced at ¥3,300."

honestly not a fan of outfits that have their names on it.

I am not a fan of the new outfits either. They make the bears look too "baby-like" for my taste, especially ShellieMay's light pink.

I agree with both of these sentiments, generally, especially about the big logos. It just seems (to me) to make them feel less like the original, imaginative characters they are and more like Disney-branded teddy bears when they use those big name logos. I it on stationery, bag straps and the beautifully stitched tags...not as much plastered on the front of the shirts. I vastly prefer the subtlety of the paw print, head silhouette, message bottle and heart cockle.

Also, I can kind of understand why these kinds of shirts would be great outside Japan, where Duffy and ShellieMay are still building awareness and becoming established as characters, such "my-name-is" branding seems to almost have the opposite effect of "genericizing" relative to the typical Japanese releases, at least for me. I think Duffy outfits establish their pedigree through design elements and construction quality, not just by slapping a logo on (ahem...Disney-style...ahem^^). This seems like a much more "for the masses" approach and I'm not for it, personally. To my eye, this is a backwards step. Honestly, it's made me a little nervous about Halloween.

All that said, I absolutely adore ShellieMay's hat!!! It's something I've been actually waiting for. And I Duffy's shorts - they will look PERFECT matched with the jacket from the original Cannery Clothing Co. release! Even the red Duffy Face/Mickey Mark on the hip is a great match for the red Duffy silhouette on the jacket's breast pocket! Fantastic "synergy!"^^

Unfortunately (and incomprehensibly) they decided to make Shellie's shorts white with light blue stripes instead of the navy that would have perfectly matched her CCC release, even down to the polka dots on her hip mark. Maybe it will still look great - and perhaps even better, more feminine - to have the slightly lighter color contrast on her outfit. I haven't decided it for sure it doesn't work, but I know it means ShellieMay's symmetry will be slightly different from Duffy's, which I'm not sure I like...although, it's possible that when I actually see it I may even prefer it.

In fact, when matched with the CCC jackets, I think I'm even okay with these shirts, as the jackets would lessen some of the impact and the color contrasts will probably create a well-balanced look. Duffy's red shirt will look particularly great with the CCC jacket, to the point that I think I just convinced myself to buy it. I'll probably pair it with the "captain" hat from the old red peacoat release, though. I'm with Madoka that this sailor hat is more "babyish" than my vision of Duffy as a character. (Which reminds me that I really do need to finish my Spring Voyage translations and final thoughts...) Fortunately, I already have many others to choose from. ShellieMay's hat, though, is just superb! It will even be great with the old Heartful Sailor costume, too. I really wish her shorts were navy, but I'll probably buy them anyway, for the hat and the complete set.

Another surprising - and disappointing - point for me is that they seem to have removed the new 2012 Regular Series Sailor costumes from the site. Since they're Regular Series, I really expected them to stay posted as long as they were on sale. I feel fairly confident that they are still available and will be for some time, but the fact that they're no longer on the site makes it difficult to include them in the Duffy Post.

It's just been that kind of day, I guess. Like The Dark Knight Rises​ (which finally released in Japan this morning), there are some things I am overwhelmingly impressed by here, and some choices that I find bafflingly frustrating.

[gurgi]

I feel the same way that you do, DuffyD, about the new costumes. The individual pieces have potential, especially the hats. How long have we wanted a sailor hat for ShellieMay? This is perfect for her.

Duffy's hat too, is good, because it's basically the same as the one that just came out, only white. This will go great with the 2012 sailor set...why they didn't make that set white...Don't know. But, this will be a good "mix-n-match" set.

Not a fan of the logos on the t-shirts. But, like you said, outside of Japan, it's great for getting word out about who these characters are. Still, they are kind of redundant ON the actual bears. On other merchandise, sure, but it's like going outside with your name on your shirt...unless you're mom did it to you when you were little, it just looks weird.

ShellieMay's shorts look a little too much like bloomers, but eh, they're still cute. And, the lighter blue should still compliment her CCC striped jacket. That hat is just so perfect though.

I'm also baffled about them removing the just released 2012 sailor costumes from the site. It's not like they couldn't do what they have for CCC and have a few shown. Although, they have never posted the original "regular series" costumes on the website either, so I suppose there is precedent...

[aimster]

I love Shellie May's hat but the rest... MEH.

[ZTRinZler]

I agree with the above sentiments. Duffy and ShellieMay’s hats are adorable, and for the most part, the outfits are cute for mixing and matching…except for ShellieMay’s bottoms which I agree, gurgi, do indeed look like bloomers! Even as a newbie to TDS standards, these costumes do seem generic compared to the other more amazing/spectacular costumes I have seen posted.

I will admit that if I were at Tokyo DisneySea Resort in August or September, I would most likely buy these outfits in addition to any CCC and/or Halloween releases. However, I would probably only pull out the shirts—but only for a day at most—when vacationing at the Disney World or Disney Land resorts so I could happily introduce people to Duffy and, in particular, ShellieMay. Furthermore, because they’re from TDS, I could pacify some of the Disney-brand-name-griping folks dead in their tracks, who would obviously complain that Disney only made Duffy to increase revenue, by explaining to them about the wonderful quality and thoughtfulness that goes into TDS merchandise. Who knows? I could maybe even “convert” (or sway, if you’d prefer) some people. So yeah, these outfits do seem to make more sense for foreign (i.e. outside of Japan) visitors to TDS because it would bring awareness. Although, upon further contemplation, I now realize that these outfits can still bring a great deal of awareness, to Duffy and ShellieMay, even from their more regular visitors when they travel to the states and presumably bring their own Duffy and ShellieMay bears on their travels.

It's just been that kind of day, I guess. Like The Dark Knight Rises​ (which finally released in Japan this morning), there are some things I am overwhelmingly impressed by here, and some choices that I find bafflingly frustrating.

P.S. DuffyD, a second viewing of The Dark Knight Rises may help resolve some of the more irksome points. After my road trip yesterday to Houston to see it on a true IMAX screen, I decided some of those irksome points really weren’t all that troubling after all and gave the movie a firm 9.2 rating on a scale of 1 to 10.

[Eeee-va]

I think I like all the pieces, but not necessarily together. Shellie May's shirt is cute (even if it is very logo-y) but it looks more like a sleepshirt to me...I would've preferred it fitted. It MIGHT even serve as a cute coverup for her CCC swimsuit. (It's so hot out here, a hoodie cover-up baffles me a bit. )

I'd love to see her shorts/bloomers with a tighter-fitted shirt like Duffy's, as I think it might be cute.

I think Duffy's shirt would look really GREAT with a pair of jeans...the shorts look a little odd with it for me. DuffyD did a great job envisioning the possibilities for the shorts; I just don't know about them with the T-shirt.

The hats are great, but I wouldn't have put them with those shirts. Duffy's would be a GREAT start for a classy Donald Duck costume.

Anyway, I think the set is excellent for folks who mix and match outfits, and it's very nice for people with "younger" Duffies (I can totally see it for MikkiMausu's Duffy!). It's not something I would have put together...but my bears would rather dress like pirates or something anyway.

[MikkiMausu99]

Anyway, I think the set is excellent for folks who mix and match outfits, and it's very nice for people with "younger" Duffies (I can totally see it for MikkiMausu's Duffy!).

I totally agree with you. These outfits are very great to mix and match with the other Tokyo DisneySea outfits because, if mixed together, they have a perfect blend of synergy and creativity.

And thank you Eeee-va for reffering my Duffy as a "younger" one. ^^ (Duffies that are dressed up as and have the mentality of a newborn/infant/toddler and/or a little kid).

[NRubus]

Meh, I don't like them, the hats are ok, but everything else is just meh. I wonder if this is to replace the regular series? If it's a permanent costume then I'd be more for it, but not really my taste. It feels kinda rushed and they just wanted to release one more set before halloween.