Tag: formal

Tokaido Kurotomesode

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I actually received this quite some time ago. I purchased it on eBay and had it sent to my friend Jamie in NYC because Canada Post was on strike at the time and I was concerned about it getting lost. I picked it up when I was visiting her over a month ago, but I’ve either been busy or not in the mindset to blog lately, unfortunately. However, since I’m back in the mood now, I thought this would be a lovely piece to share with you all.

While kurotomesode are really the last thing I could really justify, and this thing is techincally too small for me to wear, I couldn’t pass it up due to the Tokaido motifs, as well as the non-standard design on the sleeve, much like my chidori and matsu kurotomesode.

The stations are woven onto patches of soft white bokashi-style dyeing so they stand out better, and it gives a really nice cohesive feel to the whole kimono. I also love that there’s a station on the sleeve, which is not standard for kurotomesode. It feels a bit more youthful this way. I also really like that the kimono artist took slight liberties with the design, sometimes moving things around, removing people from the scenes, etc. It makes it a bit more unique.

Tokaido Kurotomesode

Station 16 – Yui (reversed from original)
Tokaido Kurotomesode

Station 35 – Goyu (people removed)
Tokaido Kurotomesode

Station 46 – Kameyama
Tokaido Kurotomesode

Station 38 – Okazaki (people removed)
Tokaido Kurotomesode

There are also small vignettes that are either very loose interpretations, something from another print edition, or simply original inspired designs by the kimono creator that included.

Tokaido Kurotomesode

Tokaido Kurotomesode

Tokaido Kurotomesode

Blue embroidered irotomesode.

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So recently I was informed that there are a couple of sellers on Yahoo Japan who ship internationally, and accept PayPal, rather than necessitating a deputy service. Needless to say, this was a pretty dangerous bit of information. I set to browsing and found a few pieces I was going to make an attempt on.

I stumbled across this beauty and was instantly charmed by the rich blue colour and the incredibly detailed embroidery. It’s fairly rare to find such lush hand-done embroidery on a modern piece, which this most definitely is. I tossed out a relatively extravagant bid and figured I’d lose it anyway, due to the level of work gone into it and the size (a reasonably long 167cm!). I was pretty astounded when the auction ended at 1100 yen (just under $15 USD currently). I wondered if I’d somehow missed a pertinent fact in the auction like a huge stain or a significant tear, but no. I was just incredibly lucky.

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I cannot begin to explain how amazing the embroidery is – it’s textured but still smooth, lush, and has a wonderful sheen to it without being tacky.

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I love that the red on the crane’s head is done in sagara (french knot) embroidery to give it a different texture than the rest of his feathers.
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I also love how derpy and charming the tortoise looks. He’s goofy and adorable.
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All in all, it’s a stunning piece with wonderfully auspicious motifs, and I can’t wait to find a suitable coordination and event to wear it.

Iran So Far

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I’m sorry, that was a terrible title. I don’t even like SNL that much but the title of that song got stuck in my head, so there you have it. I’d been itching to dress since I got back from my trip, but I’ve also been itching to wear my gorgeous mosque houmongi for a while now. I thought I’d try it out before the weather got too warm to wear awase (lined kimono), but clearly I mis-judged. I was SO HOT by the time I was finished getting dressed. I also want to apologize to the lovely kimono angel who anonymously sent me the moorish arches obi – I was totally going to wear it as well after I’d photographed it with the one here, but by the time I was done I was so insufferably hot and my cardiac issues were giving me grief, I was unable to. I promise though, I will wear them together at some point!

This kimono is so spectacular that I really wanted the focus all to remain on the hem. In that vein, I decided to go very subtle with all the accessories. I thought the gold obi brought out the desert tones in the hem really well, and I happened to have an obiage on hand that is virtually the exact same colour as the kimono. Finished it off with an off-white haneri with embroidery and a flat gold and green saga-nishiki obijime. I decided to emphasize the theme subtly by using my moon obidome, to honour the Islamic Crescent. I thought it was very appropriate without turning the outfit into an overly thematic costume.

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I also managed to tie one of the best nijuudaiko musubi I’ve ever tied. Unfortunately I somehow also managed to not take a single decent back photo of it XD Oops. I did get a few side views though. Yes, that is a little bow in there – I tied the ends of the obijime in a bow to get them out of the way and thought it looked cute.

Fukuro obi catalogue

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For dressier kimono or more formal events, sometimes you need a dressier obi. Something with a lot of bling, something you can tie a big ornate musubi with. Fukuro obi are generally blank on one side and patterned on the entire other side, or they may have a large blank area that gets wrapped around the waist to save on bulk and budget. They typically have bold, celebratory motifs and a lot of gold or silver embroidery or woven threads.

Gold pattern and kamon fukuro

This is a great obi to pair with kurotomesode, it’s a little mature and subdued, and the gold is warm and soft – not brassy or tacky looking.

Champagne and pastel fukuro

Another shiny obi, it’s soft and easy to tie and looks nice with furisode. It’s got rippling rivers and pockets of soft pastel flowers. Not typically to my tastes, but practical to have in any varied wardrobe.

Orange fukuro with gold grasses

I’m not going to lie – I bought this primarily because it reminded me of a creamsicle. It worked out well though – the peachy orange is a perfect match for the ume on my kurotomesode, and some of the tachibana on my indigo taisho houmongi. It screams Showa era, but it’s cute and fun and I still kind of love it.

Black, red, and gold celebratory fukuro

Another one that screams Showa Wonderful. These obis are incredibly typical of the late seventies through early nineties, and are still being produced, though not in quite as much volume. This one has red kiku and gold and silver cranes, and kikko (tortoishell). It’s a very loud, very auspicious obi.

Gunmetal paving stones fukuro

I’m not quite sure how to describe this one. It’s blue, it’s green, it’s purple. It’s irridescent and reminds me of oil on hot asphalt in the heat of summer. Because of the strange chameleon-like quality, it’s amazingly versatile and goes with a lot of things. It came bundled with a kimono, I bid on the kimono and go the obi as a bonus, and oddly enough I’ve worn the obi several times, and not yet worn the kimono once!

Red and black faux-shibori fukuro

I love this one so much. It originally belonged to my friend Amelie, and I coveted it. When she told me she was selling some items, I jumped on it. Why, then, have I not found anything to wear it with yet?! It’s separated into roughly thirds, with two thirds being bright tomato red with a dyed faux-shibori pattern, and the remaining third in black with a stylized chain of wisteria. I will wear it one day, I just need to find the right kimono to do it justice.