Tag: canada

Home and Native Land

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Yes, I am in the process of getting a US green card. Yes, I plan to move to southern California full-time once that happens. However, I am Canadian through and through and nothing will ever change that. I don’t have blood, I have maple syrup in my veins.

Since today is Canada Day I decided to celebrate with a thematic outfit. I’ve done red and white before, so today I’m thinking outside the box. I’ve said before that this houmongi reminds me of Canadian landscape paintings done by the Group of Seven, so what better place to start? Of course, I had to work in maple leaves again so I got out my beloved momiji/hakata chuuya obi.

To amp up the maple, I used a burgundy haneri with momiji print and then used similar-coloured accents for the obiage and obijime. I tried to tie a tsunodashi musubi but it’s been eons since I did and I’m a little rusty. Everything else just fell perfectly into place and was a pleasure to do, which is always a great feeling. I love how the whole thing turned out, and while it doesn’t scream Canada, it definitely murmurs it, like the wind through trees or waves lapping up on a rocky shoreline.

Maybe in the future I’ll end up doing a stars-and-stripes themed coordinate in July to celebrate. Not for a few years yet, though…

Items used in this coordination

Oh, Canada!

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Today is Canada Day! It is the anniversary of the first unifications of British colonies into the country we now call home. Since then, though, it has become much more. To me, it’s a celebration of all things Canadian, of our heritage, our cultures, the beautiful tapestry that makes us who we are, our country as a whole.

I knew I wanted to do a Canadian-themed kitsuke, but at first I wasn’t sure where to start. All I knew is that it had to include red, white, and maple leaves! My kiku houmongi, with its gorgeous red background and bold white flowers, seemed like a logical jumping-off point. I pulled out a vintage obi with maple leaves and a maple haneri. The obidome is a poppy, hand-beaded by a friend of a friend in a nearby Mohawk community. To me, it represents remembrance and appreciation of the First Nations people who were here first.

I wasn’t sure how this would look all together, I was worried the orange of the obi would clash with the kimono, but I was really happy seeing it all come together. I even like how the orange of the obi picks up on the salmon lining of the kimono, and the purple in the obi is echoed subtly in the haneri. The outfit is entirely inappropriate, seasonally, but thematically I think I’m spot-on.

Items used in this coordination