Category: Obiage, Obijime, Komono

Montreal Kimono Bazaar Haul!

, , , , 0

It’s been a very, very long time since I’ve done a big haul show-off. I’ve been buying items one at a time and featuring them in outfits rather than writing up big posts. But yesterday I went to the Montreal JCCC‘s autumn kimono bazaar and made out like a bandit. I found some really gorgeous pieces at some fantastic prices. A few of them will likely end up being used in some of the Yokai Halloween entries, which makes me very happy!

Without further ado, here are my spoils of war.

A modern furisode, in an interesting coral-pink colour. It's funny, I don't particularly like gosho-guruma (Heian noble carts) as a motif, but something about this piece called to me. The fact that it's quite long and wide and was only $30 made it impossible to pass up. It's also got red juban sleeves sewn in place which will make dressing with it really quick and easy. I didn't even notice those until I got it home!
A beautiful, relatively modern ivory houmongi with bamboo on it. I've always wanted something with really graphic bamboo design like this, so when I saw it I snatched it up. The fact that it was my friend Sasa selling it helped too. It has a few tiny stains but not enough to make it unwearable.
This is an absolutely beautiful summer-weight komon that feels like Taisho or early Showa era to me. It's a gorgeous purple and I love the very stylised crane design on it. It's so vintage but so modern at the same time. Sadly, I'm pretty sure that no matter how much weight I tried to lose I'd never fit into this piece, but I couldn't resist giving it a good home. I can't wait to put it on the mannequin or even on a petite friend at some point.
This komon is, sadly, in pretty rough shape. The left sleeve is pulled almost entirely off the body and there's a hole on it that looks like it might be a cigarette burn. However, it was being sold as scrap fabric and an incredibly good price and I have plans in mind for it.
A super charming wool haori! The base of this is a really interesting indigo colour - in some lights it looks almost royal blue, in others it's definitely purple. And the flower motif is so sweet! I plan to wear this over a red dress at some point, as well as coordinating it with kimono.
I fell head-over-heels for the this obi before even seeing the motif. The colour is just too gorgeous. I can't even capture it properly in a photo, it's a nearly electric teal in person. The metallic mirror motifs are lovely too, so that worked out well, but for me it's all about THAT COLOUR!
Ningyo obi! I know I've been overusing the word charming in this post but ugggh, how charming is this obi? I really don't need any more red-toned nagoya obi but I couldn't resist this chubby little matryoshka-inspired doll! I think this obi will also look ridiculously cute with the wool haori I got.
Kitty hanhaba obi. Do I really need to elaborate? 😻😻😻
I was nearly positive I had a round red obijime, but after cataloguing everything I own it never turned up. So when I saw this pretty one for five bucks, it went into my haul. I love that it's got a bit more interest than just one solid red rope. Simple, but definitely fills a hole in my collection.
Last but most certainly not least is this gorgeous embroidered haneri. I have several pink ones already but I love how big and bold the design on this one is. It's modern, but it has a very vintage feel to it.

As my collection grows bigger and bigger, I am trying to be more selective when I buy things. I know at first glance that doesn’t seem particularly evident with this entry, but there were so many more beautiful things there that I loved but chose to leave behind.

Quick & Easy Obijime Tassel Storage Solution

, , , , , 0

Finding a practical storage solution for obijime is one of the great conundrums of kimono collecting. They get tangled, the tassels get ratty and frayed, and most of the storage options I’ve come across involve wrapping the tassels in paper which gets tedious and wasteful if you use them frequently and have to redo the wrappings every time.

I wanted to find a quicker and more practical way to store them that would also be affordable and easily accessible. After a couple of experiments, I think I’ve found the perfect solution and wanted to share it with you all – bubble tea straws! You can also find them listed as milkshake or smoothie straws, you just want to make sure they’re a wider width than typical drink straws. They’re available on Amazon as well as at nearly any grocery store, they’re very inexpensive, and they’re much more durable than paper.

To begin with, I steamed. combed, and trimmed the tassels on my obijime. For a really great and thorough tutorial on cleaning, steaming, and maintaining obijime tassels, please check out Naomi’s “Project Obijime” blog post. It’s really thorough and clear, and a great place to start.

After all your tassels are tidied up, what you need to do is cut a piece of the straw slightly longer than your tassel and then slit it up one side. Insert the body of the obijime in through the slit and then slide it down to protect the tassel. Then just store however works for you – mine are simply folded in half and then in half again and put into divided boxes by formality and shape. The great thing about using straws like this instead of paper or something else is that you can pull it off and slide it back on as many times as you’d like! No need to take the time to re-wrap them, and no waste.

The only time this feels like a less-than-perfect solution is with very wide and flat obijime, which are more common in vintage collections. Just be careful to make sure that you’ve pulled the straw down completely onto the tassel so it’s not causing the obijime itself to curl because they will stay that way and need steaming again to flatten out.

I hope you found this helpful! It’s such a simple little thing, but personally I think it makes a huge difference when it comes to storage and tidiness!

 This post contains affiliate link(s). If you choose to purchase, I receive a small rebate or commission which goes to the continued maintenance of this site. 

Some new komono

, , , , , 2

Nothing terribly exciting for today, I’m afraid. I’ve just been trying to focus on buying things I need, instead of things I just want. And right now, I need more accessories. Luckily, I’ve found some great deals on really cute things lately.

Purple and red obiage

Kansai_gal snagged these for me, and I’m very grateful. Admittedly, I thought the purple one would be blue, but I didn’t have a casual purple one yet so it’s not the end of the world. However, I still need a blue obiage. XD

Embroidered stretch tabi

With feet my size, it’s always exciting to find interesting tabi that fit and aren’t the knit sport type. These may be subtle, but they’re adorable nonetheless.

Purple tachibana haneri

I love purple, and I love tachibana. What else do I need to say here? XD

Gold saganishiki obijime

A nice, simple, dressy obijime. It’ll be good for kurotomesode kitsuke, I think.

Gold saganishiki obijime with red accents

Similar to the above, but with hits of red. Nice thing about these is that they’re all good for obidome.

Reversible gold and green obijime

I love the pop of acid green on the back of this, it contrasts so nicely with the fairly traditional gold and red on the front side.

Black and white check flat obijime

I love love love this obijime. So much. Like, I can’t even express it. It was part of a bundle, including all the subsequent ones in this entry, and I bid totally just to get this one. I love the adorable country charm of it, and it also works with obidome! I also love the weird chartreuse colour on the reverse side.

Pink, blue, and brown obijime

This one was a bit of a surprise. I thought it was simply cream, blue, and brown, but when it arrived I saw that the solid half of it is actually a really soft, charming pink.

Blue and sparkly obijime

This was another pleasant surprise – the blue side is very cute, accented with little bumps of darker blue, but the reverse is actually white with tiny metallic blue flecks!

Putrid yellow-green round obijime

This is… how can I put this delicately? This is definitely not my favourite one. It was part of the bundle and I’m sure I’ll find a use for it eventually, but it’s such an awkward, bilious colour. I might end up dyeing it, I don’t know. I can’t even imagine selling it alone, honestly.

New haneri

, , , , , , , 1

While I was visiting Naomi, I picked up a bunch of gorgeous haneri we’d bought together on YJA. Unfortunately, the selection was random so we didn’t get exactly the ones we were hoping for, but I am happy with the ones I ended up with.

Maroon with floral roundels
Maroon floral haneri
A beautiful rich colour with multi-seasonal flowers. For modern machine embroidery, this is surprisingly lush.

Taupe with floral roundels
Taupe floral haneri
Same as the previous one, but in a much more gentle colourway.

Ivory with sakura
Beige sakura haneri
I’m not usually one for sakura motifs, but the soft ivory background of this one and the variety in colour of the flowers makes it charming and versatile.

White with grapes
White grapevine haneri
I thought the little pastel grapes on this were very adorable, I couldn’t resist!

White with dramatic flowers
White floral haneri
Again, lots of sakura, but the ones in the background are abstract enough to look like botan or kiku with the right outfits. I also love the charming little yellow maple leaves.

Pinstripe haneri with ume
Pinstripe and flower haneri
This was actually a gift from Kansai_gal that I’ve had for quite a while now, but never got around to photographing. Apparently it was such a good price that she couldn’t pass it up, but she didn’t particularly like the design. Worked out well though, because I absolutely love it.

Playing cards
Playing card haneri
This adorable homemade haneri was a gift from Rubyminky. I am really looking forward to wearing it with my playing card kanzashi hairband and obidome.

Bunnies!
Bunny haneri
Also from Rubyminky, this is an adorable soft dusty pink with cavorting bunnies. What’s not to love?

Sock it to me!

, , , 0

As with everything else when it comes to kimono, “normal” accessories just aren’t good enough. 😉 Due to the thong-like nature of traditional zori shoes, a sock with a separated toe area is necessary. These socks are referred to as tabi, and are very much like conventional toe-socks but with the smaller toes all connected. Another apt comparison would be mittens for your feet.

Typical standard tabi are solid white. For formal events white tabi are a necessity, and there isn’t much room for experimentation. However, when it comes to more modern or casual ensembles, a pair of fun coloured tabi can make all the difference, much like coloured haneri. I have several pairs of white tabi in varying levels of formality, from stretch cotton to solid thick ones with the hooks up the back (known as kohaze), but really – white socks are white socks, right? It’s the fun ones that are worth sharing!

Formal black tabi with daschunds
Daschund tabi
Yet again, my friend Kansai_gal’s loss was my gain. She got these but they turned out to be too big for her so she sent them to me. They are perfectly at home on my freakishly large feet. They’re also a bit of an oddity in that they’re clearly goofy casual tabi, but they’re seamed hard cotton with four kohaze up the ankle, which is typical construction of formal white tabi.

Stretch tabi with multiple florals
Patterned stretch tabi
These are some adorable stretchy tabi with tons of flowers (fuji, kiku, tachibana). These are also nice and versatile, since the colours are so neutral.

Stretch tabi in solid colours with insert panels
Stretch tabi with inserts
These are some of my favourite tabi. I have a green pair *somewhere* but I have no idea where they are currently. I may just cave in and buy a new pair XD They go with almost everything, and I love how subtle they are. They work really well with very busy kimono, since they coordinate but don’t compete. I also apologize for the high volume of cat hair in this photo – these have a slightly brushed texture that attracts lint and hair like a magnet!

Pink lace stretch tabi
Pink lace tabi
These are sheer lace and they go great with my navy ro kimono with the pink flowers, but they’re also very useful for layering over top of the solid tabi posted above, for adding an extra soft girly touch. I did this when I wore my furisode recently.

I know I said earlier that I was going to focus more on special, rare items but I think I may have to splurge on some more tabi in the near future 😉