In 2009 Michael Jackson was last seen on stage rehearsing for his upcoming This Is It shows. With the King of Pop’s untimely passing, a movie, entitled This Is It, was released to pay homage to MJ’s vision for this show. Footage of the last rehearsal were a large part of the movie and photographs from that day were used as the artwork for the This Is It Music CD. Michael Jackson spent much of that rehearsal wearing a red button front shirt with a Lion design, large letter M and rhinestone accents on it.
The shirt Michael was wearing that day was the Red Lion shirt by Los Angeles based Mission Clothing. It is easy to guess what attracted him to the shirt. Mr. Jackson was known to be fond of the color red, the Lion is seen as “the King” and the shirt had a large M on it. The M actually stood for the brand Mission Clothing but all these things factored into making it a shirt that was perfect for the King of Pop.
After Michael Jackson passed away retailers including, Perpetual Vogue – Tattoo Apparel who carried the Mission Clothing brand fielded requests from MJ fans worldwide who wanted to purchase the shirt. Retailers saw their existing stock sell out quickly. At the same time some unscrupulous clothing manufacturers in China started making low quality fake versions of the shirt, essentially stealing the design and making counterfeit versions of the shirt. To maintain the integrity of their brand and their design Mission chose to retire the design at that time so as to not be affiliated in any way with the fake shirts being made.
Much time has passed yet Michael Jackson fans continue to request access to the real version of this shirt. They want the real deal, the hand embellished shirt that is made in Los Angeles by Mission Clothing, just like what Michael wore. Mission Clothing has now re-released the shirt so it is available again to Michael Jackson fans to purchase. In order to control the authenticity of the shirt so that fans will know that they are receiving the real shirt, Mission has decided to only offer the shirt for sale through the Perpetual Vogue Store and the Perpetual Vogue online sales venues. The shirt may, in the future, be available at tribute shows but as of now the only place to purchase the authentic Mission Lion Shirt in store is at the Perpetual Vogue Shop in La Habra California and online at web sites and online venues that are part of Perpetual Vogue such as http://www.TattooApparel.com.
The Mission Lion shirt is a trademarked design by Mission Clothing Los Angeles. It is red cotton button front shirt with a touch of spandex for stretch. Each shirt has been individually printed and hand detailed. The shirt is a very slim fitting men’s shirt. Most gentlemen go up a size for the best fit. Since it is slim fitting it was also very popular with ladies who like to wear it over leggings. The shirt care label recommends dry cleaning.
Michael Jackson can be seen wearing the shirt in the This Is It movie trailer and other videos from the This Is It rehearsal. There are also photos in the CD case and many photos online and on fan web sites.
This is the ultimate Michael Jackson fan collectible. It can be worn, saved as part of a collection or framed. The actual shirt design, just like what Michael himself wore is the perfect MJ fan collectible. Fans of the King of Pop can own the same shirt design that Michael himself owned and wore. Available again now for a limited time at TattooApparel.com
The Perpetual Vogue Store and TattooApparel.com have been in business for over ten years. They have carried the Mission Clothing line for many years. Perpetual Vogue – Tattoo Apparel carries clothing and accessories that appeal to musicians and rock stars. They have many musicians among their customers and occasionally style bands for music video shoots. The Perpetual Vogue store is located in Southern California. The store is normally open to the public Tuesday – Saturday. Customers can also shop online 24/7 at TattooApparel.com. They ship worldwide.
