Category: Ensembles

Montreal Japanese Language Centre Spring Matsuri

, , , , , , , 7

Today I went to the Montreal Japanese Language Centre Spring Matsuri. Of course, I used the opportunity to wear kimono. I decided to pair up my new dusty pink iromuji with a gorgeous burnt-orange obi with irridescent pastel flowers Naomi gave me. The flowers feel like tulips to me, so it seemed appropriately spring-like. I know they’re probably something else, but shush! It was a little too warm for a haori, but too chilly for nothing, so I borrowed a cute shawl from my mother. I think I look like a dope in these, and a little rumpled, but they’re the only full shots of my outfit, so there you go.

I told my friend Nick, who I mentioned in this entry about it, and he came to meet me there along with several other friends. He wore his yukata again, and looked snazzy as always.

While there, I ran into Akane, a lovely young woman I met last summer at the O-Bon Matsuri. She’s always wearing beautiful, feminine outfits and always looks elegant and effortless. She actually remembered meeting me before, and I was quite chuffed about that! Isn’t she photogenic? Also, check out those great red high-top Chucks in the corner!

Here’s the photos of her from last summer – they were taken before I started this blog.

I also met a lovely woman named Serene and we chatted kimono for a bit. She had on a lovely komon and had a great personal style. She made her own obi, and it was adorable applique-work and I wish I’d thought to take a photo of it!

The festival itself was more like a garage sale than anything! Lots of tables with cute little things for sale. Sadly, no kimono or related items, but I did pick up a little fiction book with no relation to anything Japanese and a little handmade bag with a fish on it that I’ll probably wear with a kimono later. I also had a delicious hamburger bento, some umeboshi onigiri, and the most delicious strawberry mochi I’ve ever had, with half a fresh strawberry inside it!

Aside from the vendors, there was a great performance by Arashi Daiko and demonstrations of Aikido and Nunjutsu.

I tried to capture a video of the performance, but my phone is miserable. Watch at your own risk!

And a few photos.

Purple Net Tsukesage/Komon – a.k.a The Town Bicycle.

, , , , , , , , , 2

Courtesy of UrbanDictionary (link potentially not safe for work, do not click if in public, or easily offended)

A girl that is like a bike that belongs to the town – everybody gets a ride

You’re probably wondering what that quote could possibly have to do with kimono. I promise, I have not gone off the deep end. I use the term to refer to a kimono or obi that goes with nearly everything. Sort of a surefire go-to piece when you’ve got a particularly busy or awkward item you want to wear. It gets a lot of use, but never complains, never gets worn out, and is always up to the task. When it comes to kimono, my “town bicycle” has to be my purple tsukesage-komon with the woven fishnet pattern.

When I found it online, the photos were not the best. It looked like a solid, dove-grey kimono with an interesting design on the front okumi panel and the sleeves. I still thought it was lovely and versatile, so I bought it. Imagine my shock when I opened the package to find a beautiful ivory kimono with woven deep plum patterns, flecked with silver.

It’s much prettier in person than I ever would have guessed, but from a distance it still reads as a neutral, and a solid colour. This makes it amazingly versatile. It’s non-seasonal (though it’s lined, so not something I could pull off in the summer), has just enough sparkle and drama to be able to dress it up, but is simple enough to be dressed down too. It also makes a great “frame” for particularly special obi that I want to highlight.

Paired with my koinobori obi and mint-green accessories, at a toy convention organized by my work.

Paired with my spider obi and dark purple accessories.

Happy Accidents

, , , , , 5

At this point I have enough kimono and obi that when I buy new items, I try to justify them by pairing them with an item I already own. Lately though, I’ve been making ridiculous impulse purchases with no real forethought about coordination. The first such purchase was a purple komon with silver lamé designs of nadeshiko (pinks), hagi (bush clover), and waves. These are all typically high-summer designs but the kimono is thick and fully-lined, so it’s likely for winter, to evoke the warm feeling of summer.

The auction photos made it look like a fairly soft, dusty purple with some faint silver patterns, so imagine my shock when it arrived and was a bright, vivid, grape soda colour with incredibly reflective and irridescent designs all over! My first thought was “Wow!” My second thought, however, was “what on earth am I going to wear this with?!” Thankfully, one of my other recent impulse purchases was a vivid, fire-engine red reversible hakata obi. It arrived yesterday and today, after a horribly long and harrowing work-week involving threats at my store, the police, and my grandmother being hospitalized, I decided it was high time to relax with kimono.

I paired them up with my blue and red shibori obiage and a blue, red, and pink hakata obijime. A red vintage juban with a white and silver haneri and silver zori and some glittery red lipstick and nail polish completed the ridiculously metallic outfit. One thing I did not bother doing was binding my breasts, so I apologize for the less-than-smooth line. I was only wearing this outfit as a test run, not actually going out, and I’m currently experiencing some… um… time-of-the-month tenderness that makes binding somewhat uncomfortable.

It was very windy in the yard today!

I am very pleased with how these play off each other. They’re both dramatic enough to hold their own but not so busy that they clash. I’d never intended to pair them up, but it was serendipity that they arrived so close together.

My first furisode – because being a girl both rocks and sucks sometimes.

, , , , , , 8

I was already in my early twenties when I started collecting kimono, and in my mid-twenties when I became serious about it. I’d always told myself I would never buy a furisode, particularly an expensive one, because I was already borderline too old for them, and I don’t go to dressy enough events to justify one. It’s funny how things change.

I’ve already mentioned Vintage Kimono in Boulder in another entry, but that was actually not my first trip there. I go to Boulder with some frequency, as my best friend lives there. The first time I went, I insisted he take me to “this place that sells kimono”, and he was kind enough to come with me.

I’d promised myself I was not going to go overboard, and asked him to help me with some restraint. I tried on a few things, put them back, found a haori I’d decided I was going to get, and thought I was done. And then I saw this:

Until this point I hadn’t even found a furisode that interested me – most of them were too gaudy, too youthful, or too colourful. This one drew me in from the moment I saw it. The muted, dusty colours, the relatively (by furisode standards) subdued layout, the gorgeous ruffly peonies. I figured I’d just throw it over my shoulders and imagine myself in it, and be done with it.

So I carefully took it off the rack, and draped it over my shoulders. I looked at my friend. At this point I should probably explain that while he is my best friend and confidant, I am also very much in love with him. I know it’s entirely possible for a man and a woman to be just friends but unfortunately I was not that lucky, and this is where being a girl sucks sometimes. When I posed for him while wearing it, he made this goofy half-smile and said “It looks nice on you” and my heart just melted into a pile of hormonal goo. I knew it was coming home with me, no matter that I had no place to wear it, and could barely afford it. To this day, it’s still one of my favourite pieces, both for its appearance, and because of the memories I have of purchasing it. I’ve only tried it on a few times, since dressing myself in furisode is more complicated and convoluted than it’s worth, but I vow that I will wear it out to an event or party at least once before I turn thirty. I will also wear it better than I did here – these photos were taken before I started properly binding my bust, and I know I folded the hem way too short.

Vintage vibe, modern fit!

, , , , , , , , , 4

Last week I managed to snag an amazing deal. In this entry I mentioned that the best thing a big girl like myself can do is to buy items that fit. Imagine my shock when I found a brand new, synthetic, washable komon that fits me quite well, and has a great vintage vibe to it. Not only that, but it was marked down to $9.85! It arrived in a week, which is even more awesome.

 

I decided to pair it up with my spider obi – I’d forgotten what a pain in the butt that thing is to tie. Thankfully, my father is patient, kind, and always willing to lend a hand or two when I’m having trouble with my obi. I realized that the mauve on my new embroidred obiage tied into the stripes very nicely, so I decided to use that too.

My dad helped me align my obi so there are three awesome, adorable spiders visible. The tare is a bit long, but that was an intentional decision for optimum spiderosity. Yes, spiderosity is totally a word.

Overall, I’m quite pleased with this outfit. I think maybe an embroidred haneri of some sort might increase the vintage feel, but the white works fine for the time being.

Bonus: I had to kick someone out of “his” chair before taking the pictures. He was not amused.

Items used in this coordination