Kimono Archives - 着物月 Kimono Tsuki

Poppies and Promises

Diane Thursday, July 24th, 2025 Thursday, July 24th, 2025Mannequin Coordinations 0

Those of you who’ve been around for a while know I make a point of keeping an eye out for items with a poppy motif, since my mother’s name is Poppy. They’re doubly special to me now since orange poppies are also the state flower of California, my new home. I got this kimono from Sasa and I’ve had it for quite a while and I knew I wanted to coordinate it before I headed back to California in a few weeks. My kitsuke skills are a little rusty, since it’s been over a year but once I got into it muscle memory took over and I think I did alright, all things considered.

In person this houmongi a gorgeous pale minty colour that’s basically impossible to capture digitally. My mobile phone actually did a better job so that’s where these photos are from, but it’s still not quite accurate. It really makes the red, orange, and yellow poppies… well… pop. I used my beloved orange hakata chuya obi since it’s such a perfect match to the flowers, and the green obijime is almost the exact same bright mint as the kimono so that was a no-brainer.

I had to take these photos in a different spot in our living room due to things still being upside-down from the fire I mentioned a while back, but I think it works for now. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to do another mannequin coordination since I head back to California in a few weeks, but I’ve got lots of fun DIY projects, reviews, and little field trips in the works so hopefully those will tide us all over for a bit 🙂

Items used in this coordination

: Mustard Shibori

: Momiji side 2

: Mint with Gold

Rock Lady no wafuku fanart

Diane Sunday, July 13th, 2025 Sunday, July 13th, 2025Art Gallery 0

Oh look, I’m back on my nonsense of putting queer or queer-coded female characters in wafuku! If you’re not sure what I mean, feel free to check out my old Sailor Uranus/Sailor Neptune or Steven Universe kimono fanart…

Keith and I recently watched Rock is a Lady’s Modesty (ロックは淑女レディの嗜みでして, Rokku wa Redi no Tashinami deshite), which is a huge mouthful and is usually referred to as simply Rock Lady. It’s about four very proper, lady-like private-school girls who secretly get together and form a hardcore instrumental rock band, and it is absolutely fantastic. If you like music-related anime, do check it out.

Two of the characters, Lilisa (blonde) and Shiraya (lavender) are both in their school’s respective tea ceremony clubs and as soon as I saw them in kimono I knew I had to draw this. Of course, the kimono they wear in the show are very subdued iromuji, but I wanted to express their “real” personalities through their ensembles. Throughout the show, each one is represented by a flower so of course those motifs carried through, and then I referenced each of their instruments in one way or another by their motifs; Shiraya the bassist has a repeating pick shape on her obi, Otoha the drummer is holding drumsticks and has a tsuzumi on her hakama, Lilisa the guitarist has a fret and string design on her obi, and Tina the keyboardist has a repeated keyboard motif on her obi and hakama hem. Of course, I had to put them on a stage too.

I really enjoyed doing this, and I hope you like it as well!

Montreal JCCC Fashion Show 2023

Diane Monday, July 7th, 2025 Monday, July 7th, 2025Ensembles, Events, Fun stuff 0

Ooof. No, that year in the title is not a typo. I’m just three tanukis in a michiyuki when it comes to following up on things.

In the spring of 2023, I was invited to participate as a stylist and vendor in Everyone Can Kimono!, a fashion show and event put on by the Japanese-Canadian Cultural Centre here in Montreal. It aimed to encourage a love of kimono and show that it really is for anyone who is passionate about it! Being a giant awkward white woman, I was humbled and honoured to be considered. And yes, I stuck out like a sore thumb in the dressing areas, but I was welcomed openly and encouraged by all the other stylists, which was so lovely.

Sasa and Yurie did an incredible job organising everything, and helped me find some absolutely fantastic and gorgeous models to show off the ensembles I put together. I got to feature some of my favourite vintage pieces, including a few I’d never been able to use before on a person or mannequin. My models were all so gracious and enthusiastic and dressing them all was an absolutely dream.

Here are my lovely models. Due to the casual vintage nature of most of these coordinates as well as their unfamiliarity with kimono, I went with a looser and less restricted style of kitsuke, which I think worked perfectly. Don’t get me wrong, I love the tight, padded, nearly-regimented style of the modern kimono-school variety, but there’s something so effortless about more relaxed dressing that helps remind us that these used to be everyday garments.

Don’t they all look amazing and poised, and like they’ve been wearing kimono for years? They were so good!

Of course, there were plenty of other stylists who are all way more skilled and visionary than I am, and it was humbling to be included in such a talented group. Here’s a gallery of all the other fantastic outfits. It was an incredible blend of traditional, modern, and totally alternative stylings.

There was also a Q&A session at the end of the show, and I got roped into helping answer a few questions, particularly about vintage kitsuke. Some of the medication I’m on makes me particularly susceptible to heat, so behold me in all my fat sweaty glory. Yes, that is a tenugui with lemons on my head. It’s called fashion, look it up.

And some lovely group shots of all the models, as well as the whole team of stylists, honoured guests, and JCCC staff! I managed to avoid being in these because I was setting up a booth to sell off parts of my collection it was time to say goodbye to. A few pieces found good homes, and I hope their new owners cherish them like I did.

This has gone on to be a yearly event, but I’ve been in California for the past two years and haven’t been able to participate or attend. If you’re ever in Montreal in the spring, keep an eye out for announcements and definitely try to come see the show if you can! Maybe one day the timing will work out and I’ll be able to be involved again, but either way I still urge you to support small local kimono initiatives like this whenever possible 🙂

Classy and Creepy

Diane Tuesday, October 31st, 2023 Tuesday, October 31st, 2023Mannequin Coordinations 0

Happy Halloween! An appropriate day to raise myself from the dead, I think. I’ve just been incredibly busy, travelling and working and whatnot, but I do have some stuff in the works for the next little while.

I knew I had to get this one up today, though. The “obi” is too perfect for a classy and creepy outfit. Funny thing is, it’s not an obi at all. It’s two table runners from Target! One wrapped twice around the body, and one for the musubi. I wanted to keep the rest of the outfit subtle but still halloween-y so my bat menuki obidome and spiderweb haneri, and then remembered I had this lovely piece of soft spiderweb mesh I found in a remnant bin at the fabric store. It makes the perfect shawl, doesn’t it?

I love how this outfit feels seasonal and creepy but totally wearable, and I also love how the two star pieces are both found items that have nothing to do with kimono. The orange accessories were the finishing touch, and they add just the right amount of pop.

Items used in this coordination

: Ivory

: Cute Cotton

: Orange Shibori

: Orange & White

: Bat Menuki

Picrew.Me Kimono Avatar Creators Part 4

Diane Friday, February 3rd, 2023 Friday, February 3rd, 2023Dolls & Miniatures, Fun stuff, Games & Apps 0

You guys really seem to enjoy these fun little posts, and I enjoy making them, so here’s a fresh batch of avatar creators from over on picrew.me that are either fully kimono-based or feature kimono options for you to play with! Life is hectic but good at the moment, California continues to be wonderful. My recent trip to Vegas was lovely and I hope to have a nice little post about Morimoto Las Vegas up soon, but in the meantime I hope you have a great time playing with these!

If you’re new here or need a quick reminder on how to use picrew.me and its Japanese interface options, there’s a detailed guide in the first of these posts, which you can check out right here!

	https://picrew.me/image_maker/46139 This one has a nice selection of differently-patterned kimono and coordinating juban/haneri to play with, as well as a ton of fun non-kimono accessories
	https://picrew.me/image_maker/1442555 This one is fantastic. It allows for customisation of every aspect of the kimono, obi, and accessories. There are a ton of colours and patterns available, as well as things like fur stoles, hakama, kappougi aprons, and other traditional "over top of kimono" items. It's probably my current favourite, because of all these options!
	https://picrew.me/image_maker/1407953 There is only one kimono in this one, available in blue or pink, but it's still quite charming and fun to poke around with!
	https://picrew.me/image_maker/41305 An elegant young lady creator, with a variety of kimono colours and a huge amount of avatar customisation! All the kimono have the same design, but oyu can add accessories and things to really make it your own.
	https://picrew.me/image_maker/1446612 Only two kimono options here, but a ton of options for the base avatar and some very lovely art. I think it's actually a "demon maker" but you can totally avoid any demonic-looking features, if you prefer.
	https://picrew.me/image_maker/1315158 Another cute one with limited kimono options but utterly adorable art. Look at that face!
	https://picrew.me/image_maker/707090 This one is listed as a dangerous woman/villain maker, but as you can see you can make some very charming and not-nasty avatars too! Again, not a ton of variety in kimono in this one but still amusing to play around with.
	https://picrew.me/image_maker/1272810 Only one not-entirely-accurate kimono in this one, with a few colour options.
	https://picrew.me/image_maker/1472643 This one is technically a Genshin Impact avatar creator. I fully admit I have never played Genshin Impact but there's some fun kimono and kimono-adjacent options here so it's worth checking out!
	https://picrew.me/image_maker/9971 This one has a really nice variety of kimono outfits, including a shiromuku wedding ensemble and this adorable hakama and kofurisode. There's no customisation for the outfits, but the variety and detail in them makes up for it!
	https://picrew.me/image_maker/602958 A sweet little princess maker. This one is fun because the top, bottom, and sleeves are all separate so you can make a reasonably accurate kimono with or without hakama, or you can go a very kimono-hime or wa-lolita route by adding a fluffy skirt, sheer sleeves, or other fun variations!
	https://picrew.me/image_maker/610761 A very steampunk-feeling literall "doll" maker. There's no pure accurate kimono options but there are some very clearly kimono and wa-lolita inspired combinations you can make, and the end results are really lovely.
	https://picrew.me/image_maker/84797/ This one is technically an "angel maker", with only one kimono you can't change the colours or design of, but the end results are just so pretty I thought it made a good way to end this post!