A lot can happen in a year, it seems. Last summer when we were here, the baby and kid-related stuff at Muji was pretty sparse and unremarkable. But this year it's out of control. This here weblog is destined to become such a Muji-burg, I might have to change my name to Sirajul just to keep up. [Go ahead, figure it out. I'll wait.]
Anyway, the splash page on the online store features some upcoming products you can reserve [Muji shoppers are apparently as compulsive as Gymboree's, who knew?] in advance of their mid-August launch: fabric super-bibs and smocks for keeping the food off. There's a bib with armstraps and, for more complete coverage, a bib with sleeves. They're water-resistant, and the little food pocket keeps its shape with the help of a sewn-in wire.
The site explains how they were designed with the help and advice of parents [OK, it actually says "mama's"] from the Muji Community. So Muji's not only well-designed, highly functional, minimalist, and economical, they're responsive, too? Fine. Even if I can't imagine dressing the kid for dinner, I, for one, welcome our Muji overlords.
O-Shokuji Apron, 924 and 1,029 yen at Muji [muji.net]
If you're Sirajul, I'll be Mujibur.
(Think anyone else will get it? Might just be a NY thing. By the way, are they still around?)
Hey, we get Letterman on the other side of the continent too...
And as for obsessive shopping behaviour, I know from our circle of Japanese-mom friends that the "must-have" impulse is alive and well on that side of the pacific... we actually know people who get all their infant food and clothing sent over from the grandparents in Japan.
I miss Muji; their clothes never fit me well (obviously 6'4" is outside the curve for Japanese sizes) but I always thought if I had kids that their plain practical stuff would be great... I have some great unbleached terrycloth pillow cases from there that I brought back with me when I left Japan.
All right, tell me where I can get these in the States, or someone give me advice on what to do with a 1 year old little girl who insists on pulling off her velcro bibs who has a father who hates pulling the head hole-only bibs over her head because either (a) her head is too big, or (b) the head hole is too small...
It took me a few seconds of repeating the names to finally realize the Letterman reference! It's not an NY thing, BTW. I got it down here in DC...
Kaz, do you have the homemade-style one-piece bibs with the stretchy head-holes (the bibs themselves are usually made out of towels)? Or is that a midwestern thing?