Konnichiwa, recessionistas. This week, Forever 21 officially launches its ‘Shibuya Mon Amour’ collection of tanks and tees, allegedly inspired by the “cool kids of Paris and Tokyo.” Looking at what’s available to purchase online, it may be safe to say that the “cool kids” are rocking the animals. Forever 21’s perception of what the “cool kids” are wearing may be debatable—I don’t recall any Parisian or Shibuyan “cool kid” trends surfacing the fashion blogosphere, nor can I distinguish anything remarkably Parisian or Shibuyan. My guess is they went with Shibuya, due to Gwen Stefani’s claim on Harajuku. Or, I’m just totally not in the loop and Japan’s fashion epicenter has moved from Harajuku to Shinjuku.

The collection is designed by Satine Boutique owner Jeannie Lee, one of very few LA-based recession-unfriendly boutiques still standing today. Shibuya Mon Amour prices range from $13.80-15.80, a far cry from the Alexander Wang, Tsumori Chisato and Jason Wu pieces she sells in her store. (Sidenote: Michelle Obama’s inaugural ball dress? Totally designed by Jason Wu. Jason, consider yourself an “it” designer of 2009.) While I don’t understand the necessity of creating a separate line and am slightly underwhelmed (with good reason: it’s cheap!), I’ve got my eye on the deer shirt. That says a lot, I usually don’t do graphics on t-shirts. Here’s your first pounce on Shibuya Mon Amour: