Tag: gothic

Spookybana

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Welcome to ~spooooky weeeek~. I originally intended it to be spooky month, but unfortunately life got in the way as it so often does. Instead, you’ll get lots of Halloween-themed content leading up to the weekend!

First up, Keith found this incredible stoneware hidden at the very back of a shelf at HomeGoods and it was the perfect vessel for a creepy arrangement. I knew I had some gnarled driftwood branches I fished out of Lytle Creek over the summer. Then I found these deep red-black sunflowers and a matching dahlia and the stage was set.

Typically I aim for natural lighting as much as possible to focus on the natural beauty of the flowers I’m working with, and normally I would never leave dropped petals in the photo, but in this case the high contrast and dramatic shadows work so much better than sunlight would have. The arrangement calls for it.

Stay tuned for more eerie offerings in the coming days!

Gothic Elegance

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Monochrome outfits that focus on texture and light have always caught my attention, but pieces like that don’t tend to show up on the secondary market very often. I decided I would just go ahead and work with what I’ve got, and I’m very glad I did! It was a bear to take photos of, and they don’t show the depth and richness of all these blacks and textures combined, but hopefully the close-ups help a bit.

I started with my juban with the black ruffle trim, which pretty much determined the colour of my outfit. I have to admit, it made my inner goth very happy. The mofuku kimono is smooth and solid, but it’s such a rich silk that it has an almost reflective quality which brings in another layer of tones and textures. I also added a black lace collar underneath everything, which adds to that gothic Victorian vibe and works so well. I really love the look of a lace collar under kimono and I’m glad I’ve invested in a black one now.

I bought a roll of eyelet lace and temporarily affixed it to a mofuku obi for another layer of lacy texture, and I could not love how it turned out more. I want to do it to a bunch of other obi now where it’s more visible. Black obiage and obijime finish off the outfit.

I’m not thrilled with how poofy the ohashori is here, because there’s so much excess fabric from the hiked-up hem of the kimono, but aside from that everything turned out exactly how I’d pictured it in my mind!

Items used in this coordination

Gothic Wa-Lolita Inspiration

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I’ve done some wa-lolita coordinations before, to varying levels of success, but somehow it wasn’t until I got a solid black mofuku kimono that it occurred to me to do something using this skirt! I found this incredible Alexander Henry Midnight Pastoral skeleton toile fabric a few years back, and Naomi was kind enough to make it into a skirt for me. 💖

I decided to stick to the sort of gothic/Victorian vibe the fabric brought in and paired the solid black kimono with a high-collared white blouse and a black lace choker with a skull cameo on it. In lieu of an obi, I used a wide studded leather belt which worked alright out but I think next time I’d prefer something with a little more volume in the back. As it is, the front of this outfit has much more interest, and feels a little unbalanced because of it.

This didn’t start out as a memorial outfit, but as I was working on it I realised I had Rick Genest/Zombie Boy on my mind. He was certainly not as much of a household name as David Bowie or Anthony Bourdain, but he was a true original and a Montreal native, as well as being an artistic muse to so many misfits and creatives. The repeated skeleton motifs in this particular outfit, as well as the use of the mofuku kimono, seem like a fitting tribute for yet another flame snuffed out too soon.

Spookitsuke – Getting Gothic!

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It’s October, and that means it’s time for a new month-long feature here on Kimono Tsuki – Spookitsuke! (If you’ll pardon my silly portmanteau of spooky kitsuke). By now, we all know that kimono in and of themselves do not a costume make. However, that doesn’t mean that there’s no room for overlap! Every Sunday this month, I will be putting a thematically appropriate outfit on the mannequin. From creepy motifs to an outfit lifted straight out of one of my favourite comic books, every one of these coordinations would fit right in at the scariest costume party! If you’re thinking of wearing kimono to a Halloween event, whether it be just a thematic outfit or detailed costume, I hope you find a bit of inspiration in the coming weeks.

This first week’s is a straightforward outfit using my tried-and-true gothic landscape houmongi. This piece is one of my favourites, due to the unique motif. It’s a great modern piece and a pleasure to work with, since the silk is heavy and textured and the collar is already sewn in half. I paired it with this shiny tsuke-obi I bought on a whim a few months back, and I’m so happy with how well they work together! I used pale blue accessories to draw attention to the foggy mist on the kimono. Overall, it’s a perfectly “normal” outfit, until you look at the hem of the kimono. Victorian-style lanterns, wrought iron railings, and even a hill with tiny cross grave markers all evoke a creepy, crawly, wonderfully Halloween feeling.

Spookitsuke October 2016

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Why being my friend is dangerous, the sequel!

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My dear friend Elise (whom I have known since kindergarten!) was back in town and spent a few days at my house recently, and I forcibly subjected her to kitsuke, as I have done with other friends in the past. I asked if she had a preference for a particular kimono, and she told me she really liked the gothic landscape houmongi, so I decided to just pair it with the obi that it was bundled with when I bought it.

It’s not the most adventurous outfit I’ve ever put together, but it works well and suits her, so I am happy. Her kitsuke is not fabulous, but for such a slim girl, she’s surprisingly curvy (tiiiiny little waist!) and I didn’t want to subject someone who had never worn kimono before to really tight himo and tons of padding, especially not in the murderous heat we’ve been dealing with lately. So everything is a little bit shifty, but since we weren’t actually going anywhere I was not too concerned.

Items used in this coordination