Tag: gold

Gryffindor Kitsuke

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You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;

This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while, and I finally hashed it all out. Over the next little while, I will be doing an outfit inspired by each of the houses at Hogwarts! Gryffindor seemed like the most logical place to start, even if it is not my House (you’ll find out which that is soon enough).

I knew the starting point would be the house colours for each outfit, so here we have the bold, firey red and gold of Gryffindor. I had to incorporate a lion, of course, but instead of just going for a typical lion-shaped brooch or something I thought I’d try to be a little more subtle, keeping these outfits looking more traditional. I thought on it for a while when it struck me – shishi, the protector lion-dogs!

After that got sorted, everything else fell into place. The bold red kimono, dramatic and attention-grabbing, seemed like the next logical step. I had to pull in the gold as well, so that was the accessories sorted. Unfortunately, this obi is incredibly short. So short I couldn’t even tie it around the mannequin, who is quite petite. I had to fake it with clips and extra cords and a helping hand from my dad. It looks good in the end, but man was it a hassle! The finishing touch was a golden snitch necklace I made years ago used as a sort of obi-kazari. I’m worried it gets a little bit lost against the obi, but I really wanted to include it.

All in all, I think this is a good start to this mini-project. It’s an outfit that could easily be worn anywhere without feeling costumey, but once you know the logic behind each choice the traits of Gryffindor come through clearly. I’m very much looking forward to the other three outfits in this set.

Items used in this coordination

Kits-Mas Day 7 – Midnight Bubbly

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The last day of the year is upon us! I think we can all agree that 2017 was a bit of a dumpster fire. I don’t know about you, but I’m certainly glad to see the end of it!

When I was younger, I enjoyed going out on New Year’s Eve, but the older I get, the more content I am to stay inside in a nice fuzzy pair of pyjamas. We’re also still in the depths of a record-breaking cold snap here, as is the rest of Canada and the eastern United States, so going out to watch fireworks at midnight was just not remotely appealing to me. Instead, I thought it would be fun to run with a New Year’s theme for the mannequin tonight.

I thought this gold-accented men’s odori kimono would be the ideal place to start, since it’s so bold and flashy. I considered of all the trappings of a really fun party; sparkling champagne, glitter, fireworks, laughter. The next logical step seemed like this fun hanhaba obi I bought recently with stars on it. It’s a little dull next to the kimono, so I pulled out some gorgeous silver ribbon to use as an accent and a haneri. I still don’t quite have the hang of using a men’s kimono like this, as a woman’s outfit, but all I can do is practice, right?

While the obi still feels a bit subdued against the kimono, I do think this is a bubbly, sparkly, fun outfit that seems like a fitting end to the year.

I am utterly terrible at keeping resolutions, so rather than enumerate things I will inevitably not complete, I am just going to head into the new year with an open mind, an open heart, and a wealth of unbridled enthusiasm. I hope the coming year brings you all sorts of amazing things!

Items used in this coordination

Kits-Mas Day 4 – Merry and Bright

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How are you doing? It’s painfully cold here, but at least this outfit feels warm and happy! Maybe in tomorrow’s pictures there will be a roaring fire going on in the background. We’ll see.

Today’s outfit was built around a roll of gorgeous Christmas ribbon I found at the craft store. I admittedly bought it without anything specific in mind, I just really liked the texture of it. I’m glad I did though, because when I started this project I realised I could find a way to work it into an outfit.

The obi is actually one of my favourite old standbys, a red tsuke-obi with black flocking. I simply used temporary adhesive dots to cover the pattern on the otaiko with the blingy festive ribbon, and then added an accent on the waist segment too. It happened to be just the right width for the eri, so I used it for that as well to tie everything together. The kimono in shades of green and white makes me think of trees in snow, and of poinsettia leaves. Either way, it works well with the holiday theme! The gold accessories are technically too formal for the kimono itself, but this whole project is more about the overall mood of each outfit than about adhering to strict rules. I wanted to draw more attention to the gold in the ribbon, and this felt like the most effective way to do so.

I love how fun and merry and bright this coordination worked out to be. It’s definitely festive and it makes me happy. I’m so glad I bought that ribbon!

Items used in this coordination

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. 🙂

Items used in this coordination

 

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.

Items used in this coordination