Hello Dolly, Goodbye Dolly

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When Dolly Parton passed a few weeks back, it hit me hard. She was a (literal) shining beacon of hope in these dark times. Even if it felt like nobody else out there loved you, you knew Dolly loved you whether she’d met you or not. She was a voice for the voiceless, and damn, what a voice that was. She stood for the smallest, the most downtrodden, the most overlooked of humanity with a smile and a sparkle, and the world is a lot dimmer without her rhinestones and glitter and kind, loving voice.

Even if you didn’t like her music style, there’s at least one Dolly Parton song you probably loved. Whether it was Jolene, Nine to Five, or I Will Always Love You, her music was at the forefront of pop culture regardless of how niche, dated, or “cringe” country music might be.

My original plan was to do a tribute to her as soon as possible, but I was swamped and not in a great state physically and was having trouble motivating myself. So when folks online began suggesting September 25th as Dolly Parton day (9/25 – Nine To Five) I knew it would be the right time to pull something together.

My original thought was pink, pink, pink, to go with her colourful, bubbly, and feminine style, but then I remembered this furisode with butterflies. Dolly identified with butterflies for most of her life, and they became something of a personal emblem for her. That, combined with the colour scheme of this kimono, which feels a bit like autumn in the Great Smoky Mountains, made this feel like the perfect choice. I draped it hikizuri-style and left it trailing dramatically, because that felt right for such a flashy stage performer.

I went with a similar palette for the obi and tied it in a great, fluffy, ornate sort of musubi. The obiage might look a little incongruous but I had to include a rainbow for her longstanding love and support of the LGBTQ+ community. Also, it ties in nicely with the uchikake.

While the uchikake itself isn’t exactly suitable or a great match for this outfit and it’s certainly a lot flashier than the one in the song, I couldn’t leave out my own personal coat of many colours, now could I?

In honour of Dolly, I encourage you to do something kind and positive for yourself and for your community. Personally, I will be making a small donation to the Imagination Library.

Items used in this coordination

Birthstone Ensembles – September – Sapphire

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Another middle of the month, another birthstone. This time we have the beautiful rich hues of September’s birthstone, the regal sapphire. Funny that my brain went to some of the most casual pieces in my collection for this one! But come on, if anything I own looks like a faceted blue gem, it’s this modern synthetic komon.

I did try to dress it up a little by improvising a sort of 💎-shaped musubi, but I’m not sure I was particularly effective. It’s cute but doesn’t convey a cut stone the way I was hoping for. I have to say though, this obi is a shockingly exact match for the light accents on this kimono, and both pieces are quite large and easy to wear, so maybe one day I can put this combination on myself or a friend.

It’s been a bit of a quiet month, I apologise. I’ve been busy with work as well as getting ready to head back down to California, but I’ve got a couple of very flashy coordinations lined up, plus more birthstone outfits and a couple of reviews so please bear with me and stick around. I really appreciate it!

Items used in this coordination

Omusubi, Onegai! (feat. Sample by Matsuda)

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I came across this omusubi zipper pouch from Sample by Matsuda on Instagram a while back and fell completely in love. Every item in the shop, referred to and catalogued as Articles, are incredibly clever and well-designed, but this one captured my heart. I knew I wanted to build an outfit around it, and red, white, and black was a no-brainer. I went for something very casual, wool kimono and hanhaba obi, and styled the pouch a bit like an inro would have been worn. Wouldn’t this be cute for someone working at a restaurant that served onigiri? I chose deep teal-ish accessories (the “obiage”  is actually a fabric drape left over from my wedding but it works!) to call back to the impossibly blackish deep green of an onigiri’s nori wrapper, and I like the unexpected colour play against the red quite a bit.

Sample by Matsuda also offers a huge variety of very cool velcro-backed embroidered patches. Since this kimono is wool the omusubi patch just stuck on the back perfectly, emulating a cartoonish, oversized kamon. It wouldn’t hold up to actual wear like this, but on the mannequin I think it was the perfect finishing touch.

The Omusubi Article itself is so incredibly well-made; the finishes are all thought out and no detail is overlooked. From the rice-like texture of the sturdy fabric to the custom engraved zipper pull and item tag, you can tell there is so much thought behind every choice made here. The patch is much simple but no less charming, but the pouch is definitely the stand-out. I will definitely be getting a ton of use out of the pouch, especially when travelling frequently between Montreal and Banning.

Is anyone else craving a jelly donut real bad?

Items used in this coordination

Birthstone Ensembles – August – Peridot

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I’ve been trying to post these in the middle of the month, but It’s still August. I’m not late yet! Honestly, it’s been a heck of a month and I haven’t been in a good state physically or mentally. Thankfully I’m working through it and starting to feel a lot better now that the weather is starting to cool down and dry out. I have a lot of outfits and some neat collabs and reviews lined up so hopefully there won’t be a quiet period like this for a while.

August’s birthstone is peridot, another green stone but more subdued and warm than May’s emerald. This iromuji, which I believe is the second or third kimono I ever purchased, is just the right shade of yellowed green, and the obi was a no-brainer. I pulled in a few more shades of green in the accessories and then I realised the central rhinestones in this new brooch I bought to use as an obidome was absolutely perfect. It’s clearly not a real gem of any sort, but it’s the exact colour of a peridot as well as adding the little hint of sparkle this outfit needed.

Items used in this coordination

Media Review – Sparks of Tomorrow (Nijuuseiki Denki Mokuroku – 二十世紀電氣目録-ユーレカ・エヴリカ-)

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Originally, I had planned to do a larger post reviewing several alternate/fantastic historial anime that have come out recently. That post is still in the works, but I’ve been so smitten with Sparks of Tomorrow that I knew I had to give it a little feature before it finishes airing!

The Japanese title (Nijuuseiki Denki Mokuroku – 二十世紀電氣目録-ユーレカ・エヴリカ-) actually translates to 20th Century Electricity Catalog Eureka Evrika but oof, what a mouthful! Sparks of Tomorrow feels much catchier to my ear and is far easier to type, so that’s how I will be referring to it from here on out.

The official website has a great summary, so I will be helpfully borrowing from it.

──A little while ago.
Kyoto in the early 20th century, having evolved differently from the history we know today. In a world where only steam engines had advanced, the city was shrouded in smoke.
With challenging art backgrounds reminiscent of Impressionist paintings and intricate animation, it depicts the dreams of boys and girls shining in an era of upheaval and innovation.

In a nutshell, it’s the story of Sakamoto Kihachi and his attempts to bring his older brother Seiroku’s vision of a modern electrical world to Japan. There’s the mystery of what’s happened to his brother, but I don’t want to delve to deeply into that and spoil anything. There might potentially be a budding romance between Kihachi and Inako, but right now there’s more focus on friendship, discovery, and some general slice-of-life situations. But everything comes back to electricity and the promise of the future.

I shared the primary character designs on Instagram and Facebook a while back, but they’re absolutely worth sharing again because they’re so cool. I love how distinctly Meiji-era they feel, but with enough funky steampunk vibes — especially on the male characters — to remind us that this is definitely an alternate history and not accurate. I’m quite inspired to try reproducing some of these outfits, honestly.

 

I really appreciate all the little bits of Meiji-era life in Kyoto and the details that are included in not only the main characters, but also the backgrounds. Whether it be the sake brewery Inako’s family owns, bolts of yuzen-dyed fabric drying high above the shopping street, or the girls sharing anpan at lunch, these little glimpses add so much richness for any fan of (recent) historical Japan. Addo in the fact that Inako has multiple kimono that we see throughout the show’s progression so far and it all comes together to make me very happy. I hope we’ll get to see more variety on the other girls too, aside from their school uniforms!

 

Another neat feature I’m really enjoying is the use of alternate art styles to help evoke eras or feelings. When Kihachi is imagining the hopeful future that electricity will bring, everything looks like Taisho or early Showa advertising paintings, and when we’re getting a bit of backstory about some characters, the style shifts to looking like nearly woodblock prints. I have my fingers crossed we’ll see more stylistic choices like this as the series evolves.

If you’re a fan of steampunk, mystery, science, Meiji-era fashion, alternate history, friendship, and adventure all rolled up together I can’t recommend Sparks of Tomorrow enough! I can only hope it keeps being as engaging as the first few episodes were!

Watch Sparks of Tomorrow on Netflix here!