Category: Mannequin Coordinations

Kits-Mas Day 3 – Pretty Package

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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!

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Kits-Mas Day 2 – Oh Christmas Tree!

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Yesterday I went with a classic holiday-inspired colour scheme, so today I wanted to do something a little more fun and modern. I bought this hanhaba obi a few weeks back and while it was listed as “geometrical trick art” but it totally made me think of pine needles, which of course made me think of a Christmas tree!

I realise purple is a bit of an unexpected accent colour, but it was already in the obi and coordinates so nicely with the warm green so I decided to run for it. I also added some little sparkly gems to the haneri to make it feel more festive and improvised an obi musubi to look like a tree! I’m not sure how well I succeeded there, but I think it’s cute enough. A few more sparkly gems to emulate ornaments on a tree, and this outfit just came together perfectly.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, those of you that celebrate. Did you receive any awesome kimono or related things as gifts? If so, I would love to see! As for me, I got some great books I’d been wanting; the 25th Anniversary update of Liza Dalby’s Geisha and a lovely little reference called Kimono Design  and I’ll be posting reviews of both when my life settles down a bit.

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The Twelve Days of Kits-Mas

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Merry Christmas to any and all celebrating today! You might remember me mentioning recently that I had a silly ambitious project in the works, Well, here it is!

Today is the first day of Christmastide, or what is often referred to as the Twelve Days of Christmas. A lot of folks seem to think it’s the twelve days leading up to Christmas, but that’s because over time it’s become sort of merged with Advent. In reality, Christmastide runs from December twenty-fifth to Epiphany on January sixth. My plan is to do one themed outfit per day, mostly revolving around the traditional colours of red, green, and gold, but with some variations. Kits-mas is a combination of the words kitsuke and Christmas, because I’m a sucker for a terrible portmanteau.

For the first day I went very simple and traditional; my favourite vintage houmongi in a rich red, paired with a green and gold hakata obi and metallic accessories. I wanted something classic that just screamed “Christmas” for today, and I definitely accomplished that! I also decided to change the mannequin’s usual position to show off our tree and decorations. It seemed fitting.

Be sure to check back every day for a new coordination until January 6th. 🙂

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Warm Pink on a Cold Day

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This warm pink beauty made her debut as Aurora‘s outfit in the Disney Princess Kimono Project, but while I was working on that I saw these two pieces together and knew I had to coordinate them at some point. Since winter has finally hit in full force here in Montreal, I was in the mood for something happy and pleasant-feeling, and this seemed like the perfect thing.

The gold tones of the gorgeous Tokaido obi are offset by small hints of a dusty rose-raspberry colour (visible on the roofs in the back view photo) that is nearly identical to the kimono itself. There are also areas of pale blue on the obi, similar to the details in the kimono motif. Simple pink and metallic accessories pulled everything together; even the leaves on the haneri are gold. This makes for a very classic and cohesive outfit that wouldn’t be out of place at a wedding or formal event. I like how it came together very much and could easily see myself (or nearly anyone, really) wearing it at some point in the future if I could get it to fit properly.

This will probably be the last mannequin coordination for a little while; I’ve got something silly and quite possibly over-ambitious in the works for the next few weeks. There will still be updates and plenty of reasons to visit, but I just wanted to assure you all that this is still the primary focus of my blog, even though it may not look like it as the holidays creep up on us all. There will be outfits to make up for it soon enough.

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Rusty and Warm

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Talk about sliding in under the wire! I thought doing Fudangi Friday once a month would be achievable but here I am, only the second month in, posting at the end of a very long day. I worked tonight and then ran some errands afterwards, so it was quite late when I got in. Thankfully, part of the beauty of this challenge is to encourage comfortable, relaxed kitsuke and try to break ourselves of the habit of insisting on overly formal, overly rigid style.

I grabbed my rusty wool komon because it felt warm and seasonal and perfect for this sort of a challenge, and realised that the mustard yellow reverse side of my Tokaido hanhaba obi would be the perfect complement. I can’t believe I’ve never paired these two up before! I really love the peek of red in the musubi that echoes the kimono so well. I made a point of fluffing the bow out to make sure it was visible.

A yellow haneri that matches the obi helped cozy things up further, and I pulled out a thin white and green obijime to echo the faint pattern in the kimono. It wasn’t necessary to hold the obi in place, but I like the finishing touch it gives to the whole outfit. I can definitely see myself wearing this exactly as it is at some point, and being incredibly comfortable and relaxed while doing so.

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