Slava Ukraini! Heroiam slava!

Слава Україні! Героям слава!
Slava Ukraini! Heroiam slava!
Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!

This was not the outfit I’d planned for this weekend at all. But things changed dramatically earlier this week when a power-mad despot invaded a beautiful independent country full of brave people. If you’re a regular reader here, you know that I tend to deal with anxiety and grief by throwing myself into coordinating outfits. It’s a strange coping mechanism, but it helps me.

The Ukrainian flag seemed like an ideal jumping off point; in fact when I was sitting on the floor of the kimono room, feeling overwhelmed and re-thinking my entire coordination plan, my father came into the room and said “Do you have something in blue and yellow?” It was comforting to know his brain was on the exact same wavelength mine was.

I have several blue kimono, none of which are exactly the right shade, sadly. I chose this one because it’s my favourite and because the bokashi haze around the hem lightens the whole piece up, bringing it closer to the flag. Originally I’d had a gold obi in mind, but then I remembered the yellow side of this Tokaido hanhaba I own. Is it technically too casual for this kimono? Yes. Do I care? No. A matching haneri and a beaded obijime that’s the exact correct shade of blue complete the outfit. The formality is all over the place, but today that wasn’t my priority.

If you’re feeling as helpless as I am, I urge you to donate to either the UNHCR or the International Committee of the Red Cross to help assist in their efforts in helping people on the ground. Any funds generated by this blog (my two Patreon Patrons, I thank you!) will be donated to the UNHCR this month on my part.

Items used in this coordination