Kits-Mas Day 7 – Midnight Bubbly

The last day of the year is upon us! I think we can all agree that 2017 was a bit of a dumpster fire. I don’t know about you, but I’m certainly glad to see the end of it!

When I was younger, I enjoyed going out on New Year’s Eve, but the older I get, the more content I am to stay inside in a nice fuzzy pair of pyjamas. We’re also still in the depths of a record-breaking cold snap here, as is the rest of Canada and the eastern United States, so going out to watch fireworks at midnight was just not remotely appealing to me. Instead, I thought it would be fun to run with a New Year’s theme for the mannequin tonight.

I thought this gold-accented men’s odori kimono would be the ideal place to start, since it’s so bold and flashy. I considered of all the trappings of a really fun party; sparkling champagne, glitter, fireworks, laughter. The next logical step seemed like this fun hanhaba obi I bought recently with stars on it. It’s a little dull next to the kimono, so I pulled out some gorgeous silver ribbon to use as an accent and a haneri. I still don’t quite have the hang of using a men’s kimono like this, as a woman’s outfit, but all I can do is practice, right?

While the obi still feels a bit subdued against the kimono, I do think this is a bubbly, sparkly, fun outfit that seems like a fitting end to the year.

I am utterly terrible at keeping resolutions, so rather than enumerate things I will inevitably not complete, I am just going to head into the new year with an open mind, an open heart, and a wealth of unbridled enthusiasm. I hope the coming year brings you all sorts of amazing things!

Items used in this coordination

Kits-Mas Day 6 – Looking Forward

Goodness, it’s almost the end of the year! For today’s coordination, I wanted something that was still within the Christmas colour scheme but felt more spring-like. Looking forward to the new year, if you will. I love this green irotomesode, and it pairs so perfectly with my pink and white hakata obi. I brought a small bit of red in with the obiage, but still tried to it in the same desaturated and vintage-feeling colour scheme. The flowers and colours around the hem of the kimono have always felt like they had one foot in winter and one foot in spring. Considering how blisteringly cold it’s been lately here in Montreal, I need a reminder that this utterly miserable weather won’t be around forever.

This one may not scream “festive” in the way the previous ones have, but I’m still quite pleased with how it’s turned out. It’s a nice subdued coordination, a calming breath before the next few outfits I’ve got planned. Be sure to check back to see tomorrow’s!

Items used in this coordination

Kits-Mas Day 5 – Festive Florals

Today is sort of a double-whammy. I know I said I’d only commit to doing the first Fudangi Friday of each month, but I figured since I was doing this project anyway I may as well do something that’s applicable to both challenges. These casual but still festive florals fit the bill perfectly. I realised while I was plotting out coordinations that these two pieces I have both fit into the colour scheme I’ve got going for Christmas and have somewhat seasonally appropriate motifs. Kiku is generally a late fall/November flower, and ume is a late winter/February sort of thing, but since we’re sort of smack-dab in the middle of the season I feel like putting them together works out well.

The green haneri and obi help pull out the bits of green foliage in the haori, but red and creamy white still dominate this outfit, which is fine with me. The Christmassy aspect of this one feels much more subtle to me than yesterday’s, for example, but in the right context it feels no less thematic. This outfit wouldn’t feel out of place at a relaxed holiday gathering, but it also wouldn’t feel out of place at any other event during the winter, even if it’s not a holiday-specific thing. I like that. It’s versatile!

Also, I don’t know if anyone other than me noticed this but the poor mannequin has been progressively sinking lower and lower lately and I finally got fed up and tightened her up. Considering one of my primary considerations when buying kimono is my own height (newer readers who are mostly familiar with the mannequin and not photos of me might not be aware but I’m 179cm or 5’10” tall) so as she shrank, the kimono I was putting on her were getting longer and more unruly XD

Lastly, here’s a better photo of today’s furry guest star, since in the main ones he’s kind of hiding behind everything. Poor Vinnie, can’t catch a break!

Items used in this coordination

Kits-Mas Day 4 – Merry and Bright

How are you doing? It’s painfully cold here, but at least this outfit feels warm and happy! Maybe in tomorrow’s pictures there will be a roaring fire going on in the background. We’ll see.

Today’s outfit was built around a roll of gorgeous Christmas ribbon I found at the craft store. I admittedly bought it without anything specific in mind, I just really liked the texture of it. I’m glad I did though, because when I started this project I realised I could find a way to work it into an outfit.

The obi is actually one of my favourite old standbys, a red tsuke-obi with black flocking. I simply used temporary adhesive dots to cover the pattern on the otaiko with the blingy festive ribbon, and then added an accent on the waist segment too. It happened to be just the right width for the eri, so I used it for that as well to tie everything together. The kimono in shades of green and white makes me think of trees in snow, and of poinsettia leaves. Either way, it works well with the holiday theme! The gold accessories are technically too formal for the kimono itself, but this whole project is more about the overall mood of each outfit than about adhering to strict rules. I wanted to draw more attention to the gold in the ribbon, and this felt like the most effective way to do so.

I love how fun and merry and bright this coordination worked out to be. It’s definitely festive and it makes me happy. I’m so glad I bought that ribbon!

Items used in this coordination

Kits-Mas Day 3 – Pretty Package

First I did something thematic colour-wise, then I did something thematic subject-wise, so today I thought I’d do a little bit of both. I love the graphic visual punch of both yabane and hakata motifs, and thought they’d make pretty fantastic wrapping paper. So here’s my attempt at a giftwrap-inspired outfit!

I honestly don’t have a ton to say about this outfit. I kept the accessories very simple and tied a very fluffy bow-style knot for the obi. My cute little maneki neko netsuke added a final little accent of red and a bell for that perfect finishing touch. Jingle all the way!

There’s really not much more to say about today’s coordination. I think the simplicity of this outfit is what makes it so effective. Tomorrow’s will be more fun and vibrant though, so be sure to check back!

Items used in this coordination