Tag: Kimono

Birthday splurging.

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Several weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to go visit my dearest friend in Boulder, Colorado. Aside from being a beautiful city with a firm grip on my soul, Boulder is also home to a rather unexpected Vintage Kimono Showroom. Janine, the lovely owner, was kind enough to give me an early start on her holiday sale, since I was only going to be in town for a week. I went on my birthday, of all days, since my friend was stuck at work.

I managed to snag some really awesome pieces. I did my best to not go overboard, buying only things that I found really special. One piece in particular was so special that it’s going to get its own entry soon, I am just waiting on an obi to coordinate it with. In the meantime, here are the other things I picked up, behind the cut!

First up, a great little vintage yabane komon.

Based on the colours and sleeve length, I’d guesstimate it at early Showa. The sleeves are lined in red, but just by a few inches, I think someone may have added it in on their own. The fabric on this one is quite odd, it feels almost like a cotton-silk blend. It’s nice and airy, despite being fully lined, and I feel as though I could almost wear it year-round.

I also snagged two gorgeous haori, including my first-ever vintage one. The modern one is lovely, a thick black silk with karabana (fantasy flowers) in soft pastels. The way it’s dyed gives it a great artsy feel.

I actually wore this out to my birthday dinner, along with a green cowl-neck sweater and jeans, as well as the lovely pearl necklace I got from my friend. No photos of the outfit, but feel free to enjoy a blurry shot of my ugly mug enjoying a stuffed scallop!

The other haori is amazing. It’s a lush, crisp taffeta silk in a great teal, red, black and white stripe. The sleeves are deliciously long, it’s nice to finally have a haori I can wear with my vintage kimono.

The other great thing about vintage haori is the lining fabric they used to use. Often times they were much more vivid and crazy than the haori themselves.

My last addition were two obijime.

A cute, straightforward two-sided red and black casual obijime

And an adorable vivid fluorescent red-orange obijime with pastel hakata detail. I’m really loving these hakata obiage I keep finding. Another great thing about this one is that I can wear obidome with it 😀

Overall, I’m really happy with everything I got, and I am looking forward to sharing the other special piece soon!

Going Bananas!

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I’d been trying to abstain from buying anything new, honestly! I was just idly browsing ebay when I found this beauty. I need to learn not to Windows-shop, it just leads to me spending money I don’t have!

Basho, or banana leaf, is a bit of a weird motif. I’d associate it with summer – tropical muggy climates and whatnot, but since it’s not native to Japan I keep getting conflicting information about seasonality. It’s lined, so definitely between fall and spring. I plan to just wear the hell out if it whenever.

The leaves are yuzen-dyed in vivid shades of pink – from a deep raspberry to a pale cotton candy, with some icy blue accents, all highlighted subtly in gold. The sleeves are deliciously long, almost two feet. Taisho length, but it’s definitely a more modern piece. The lining is pale cream, with dark pink around the edges.

I’ve got no idea what I am going to pair it up with yet, but you can bet there will be photos when I figure it out!

Cream Temple and Mountain Houmongi

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No bad puns today, nothing remotely good was coming to mind. You can thank me later. 😉

I bought this one on a whim. The listing showed a few serious stains, but they’re all on the inside panel and are hidden when it’s worn. Also, because of the stains, I got it for a steal. It’s a little small on me (story of my life), but it’s so detailed and beautiful that I don’t mind.

It’s got a gorgeous temple and mountain design, with water around the hem, and flowers, glorious flowers! Every time I look, I find something new and interesting. So far I’ve found multitudinous grasses, plum, chrysanthemum, iris, pines, peonies, bamboo, pawlonia, maple.. well, you get the point!

I paired it up with an equally festive and floral orange nagoya obi, and blue and green accessories to bring out the water around the hem. Also, say hi to my kitty, Tribble. She also wears white tabi!

Since I no longer own this kimono, there is no catalogue photo of it, unfortunately.

Items used in this coordination

Bingata-style blue komon

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This was a gift from the ever-lovely Naomi. I’d been meaning to wear it for a while, and had planned this outfit for a work event last weekend, but unfortunately I was sick as a dog, and ended up not leaving the house. Today the weather was nice and I had some time, so I figured I’d give the outfit some air, even if I wasn’t going anywhere.

The kimono is beautiful – deep rich indigo-type blue with patterns of woven fences and flowers. It’s new, but has a very vintage feel with the long sleeves. It’s also deliciously large, it gives me nearly a full wingspan, wraps well around my hips, and is long enough to get a great ohashori.

I paired it up with my red hakata hanhaba obi and a green sayagata (key/swastika motif) haneri, plain white tabi, and my black ukon geta with green hanao. Wearing them made me realize how urgently I need to adjust the straps, after a few minutes they were digging into my feet and causing hideous pain. I’d put the red headband on to keep my overly-long bangs out of my face while doing my makeup, but realized the red lips and red satin hairband gave the whole outfit a really cute retro feel.

A huge thank you to my lovely neighbour Tom taking the pictures in his yard. 🙂

Items used in this coordination

The one that started it all…

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Have you ever bought something on somewhat of an impulse that you both cherish and regret? I sure as hell have! I love this piece to bits and I’m so proud I snagged it before I knew what I was doing, but my wallet still holds it partially responsible for this habit hobby.

Back in 2003, I’d toyed with the idea of buying a kimono for some time, due most likely to my paternal grandmother’s appreciation of Asian antiques and textiles. She’s not been with us for a very long time, but I’m sure she would heartily encourage this silly hobby. But I digress..

As I mentioned, I’d waffled with the idea but did essentially no research. A smart person would have probably started with a yukata or something, but I honestly had no idea of types, formality, eras, motifs, etc. I just saw this beast and fell head over heels. I had to have it.

It’s a gorgeous early-Showa era houmongi. The silk is thick and rich and delicious, and the design is sweeping streams of spider-style kiku in white with faint black and gold accents. The dramatic, graphic contrast is what drew me to it in the first place. The sleeves are long, not quite Taisho-era, but still elegant and draping, and the lining is a vivid red. I love the subtle black to grey yuzen dyeing on the leaves so much.

I’ve paired it up with a black, red, and gold formal obi, but I’d like to try it with a softer, more vintage style at some point. Though, I have to say I love how it looks with the contrast of black, and how the red makes my skin and hair look. Is that conceited? XD

Items used in this coordination