All I need are the wee little boots

[chamekke]

As some of you know, I study Japanese tea ceremony. This hobby requires me to wear kimono. Also, obi - that wide "sash" you see worn around the waist although IMHO a better descriptor would be waist trimming sauna belt, those suckers are HOT.

Anyway! Ichiroya is a second-hand online kimono and obi shop in Japan, and a good place to find affordable

Comments

[draycevixen]

So Margaret Keane was popular in Japan as well? *g*

I've never been lucky enough to try one on but I find Kimonos beautiful and fascinating. Do you have a favourite?

[chamekke]

It is very Keane-esque, isn't it? *pets it cautiously*

My favourite kimono... hard to pick (and I don't have photos yet uploaded of all of them), but I like this blue-purple one very much. It shows kaioke baskets - kaioke was a shell-matching game that was be played in the New Year during the Heian period:

[draycevixen]

The blue-purple one has a gorgeous background texture in it too and I love the sparrows. *g*

The last one now makes me want a remake of Rambo with really pissed off Geishas. Hey, let's make a Kickstarter campaign. :D

As to the Godzilla one, I remember deeply craving it when you first posted it. I'm trying to decide what the matching Obi might have on it. Mothra? The twins? Planes?

[chamekke]

There are a lot of kimono I love for different reasons. Sometimes it's the background texture alone, where the kimono is made with rinzu (silk jacquard). For example, this "plain" kimono:

[thesmallhobbit]

Those kimonos are gorgeous. I love it when historical items have been sympathetically brought up to date - it's the blend of old and new.

[chamekke]

Most kimonos have traditional patterns or motifs - although every so often you get something a bit different, e.g. a traditional subject rendered in a modernistic fashion, or something completely new and weird (Godzilla!).

To me the older designs are most appealing, though. Not only are they visually striking, they're a door into Japanese culture.

However, the tricky bit about wearing kimono is rules, rules, rules! Some motifs are strictly seasonal and "shouldn't" be worn outside their season (or month). Then there are even MORE rules about fabric, colour, presence or absence of lining, sleeve length, and so on. These various factors (in combination) play into what time of year the item can be worn, who can wear it (young unmarried women vs. married ones), the formality of the occasion, etc

[thesmallhobbit]

That is fascinating. And those wedding kimonos are absolutely gorgeous. I can see a trip to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London next time I'm up there with time to spare.

It's the sort of subject that really appeals to me - very visual and yet with significant history attached.