Tag: kitsuke

Stepping out of my comfort zone

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In the more than two decades I’ve been studying, collecting, and coordinating kimono and Japanese arts and aesthetics, one thing I still find myself struggling with is Japanese colour palettes. I studied graphic design before I fell into this little rabbit hole, and my colour sensibilities are innately Western.

 

It’s possible you’ve seen this adorable little A Dictionary Of Color Combinations book on some fashion and personal style social media accounts lately, it’s gone somewhat viral, and for good reason. It’s less a book and more a collection of colour palettes that appeal to the Japanese aesthetic. If you’re ever stuck for inspiration, it’s a fantastic place to start. You can either open a random page and go from there, or if you have a piece in your collection you’re unsure of what to do with, there’s a handy index at the back. Find the swatch closest to your piece and then view all the options! That’s what I ended up doing here, with this gorgeous early-Showa komon I picked up at the Palm Springs vintage market a few months back.

 

 

I found this palette with the colour “Eugenia red”, which was about as close as I could find to the kimono. The complementary options were “Sulphine yellow”, “Green Blue”, and “Raw Sienna.” The obi is nearly spot-on for the sulphine yellow, and the other two colours show up in the obi motifs quite nicely. Would I normally have paired a red kimono with mustard and green accessories? Not in a million years! Was it successful? That’s for you to decide. I think it works, but it’s definitely not my favourite thing I’ve ever put together. I will definitely keep trying combos from this book though

Also if you’re curious about my manicure in the book pics, it’s Zoya Midori stamped with this Maniology sashiko plate. I was going for “matcha latte” vibes.

 

Items used in this coordination

 

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Dearest Gentle Readers…

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Tonight, the ton gathers to celebrate that most esteemed of events, the second half of season four of Bridgerton. Yes, I fully admit it — I am addicted to that fluffy, frivolous, historically-inaccurate fantasy. Waiting for Benedict to get his head out of his perky little posterior has been driving me batty!

I decided to mark this most auspicious of television evenings by doing a coordination inspired by Lady Violet Bridgerton and her delicate, tasteful pastel colour palette. Ideally I would have had some blue in there but nothing in my extant collection quite fit the bill. I think mint and lavender do quite nicely though. I also think that the very textured, nearly sculptural feel of the kimono and the shimmering silver in the obi are very reminiscent of a lot of the brocades and lush fabrics used by the show’s costume department. All together, this does feel like something she would wear in a different imagining of the series, does it not?

Wisteria is a motif I’ve always wanted but I don’t currently have anything that really features it front and centre. It would have been the perfect choice, due to the huge boughs covering the front of Bridgerton House, alas. I did debate this multi-floral obi, but the colours were too bold and the wisteria isn’t exactly the star of the show, so I decided to stick to my original pastel vision. I did, however, tie the obijime in a fuji musubi to at least call back to it. With the outfit being as simple as it is, I made sure my kitsuke was as impeccable as possible, to let the elegance and subtlety shine, but I feel like that was the one slightly more “fun” touch that finished things off nicely.

How about you, gentle reader? Are you a fan of Bridgerton?

Items used in this coordination

Kabuki Glamour

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For today’s outfit I was inspired by the lush decadence and pure kabuki glamour of the costuming in Kokuho, which I reviewed earlier this week. This astonishingly big and heavy stage hikizuri was the perfect base, and for once I’m actually in season with it. I waffled between my black and white hakata tsuke-obi and this green short han-darari style, but in the end the bling and the drama of the darari won out. I also really like how it picks up the green in the ume branches of the kimono. They feel very theatrical together, don’t they?

Colour-wise, there was already more than enough going on so I figured white accessories with a lot of rich texture would be the best accent, and I’m glad I didn’t add in anything else. I went with my tried-and-true textured kiku haneri, the white and silver maruguke obijime from one  of my bridal sets, and my white obiage with red shibori clouds. I think they make an excellent combo!

This kimono is so big, and the obi so easy to put on, that I am seriously debating wearing this entire outfit myself and going to take photos in the snow before it melts. We’ll see if I end up finding the time and energy. (ed note: Don’t get your hopes up, the writer is tired)

Also one fun note about this kimono, there are still trace of oshiroi smudged onto the red inner layer. I should have taken a close up, now that I think about it.

 

Modern Valentine

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Pink, orange, and black may not be the most expected Valentine’s Day combination, but this is what happens when I’m thousands of miles away from my husband on a day to celebrate love, I guess. No, I kid! I was actually inspired by the incredible modern styling of aedam_furisode on Instagram to pull out a ruffled juban and a big loud furisode. Since the only ruffled juban I own is black, the rest of the outfit had to be built around that. I brought out this bright salmon-pink gosho-guruma (royal cart) furisode, since I knew it had some stark black outlines on it, and then grabbed my trusty orange hakata chuuya obi because it matches the peonies on this kimono so well. If I’m being honest, any excuse to use this obi is a good one.

To break up the tonal similarities of the salmon kimono and orange obi, as well as reinforce the non-traditional vibe and aedam style, I used black cotton lace as a sort of obiage and shigoki-obi, as well as running it through the obi-musubi. It also makes the black ruffles feel more cohesive I think, and brings more attention to the stark black outline of the gosho-guruma motif on the kimono. Without the lace I think this would have just felt confusing and the exposed juban more like an afterthought or an accident, but with the punches of black accessories it pulls everything together. A black obijime tied in a modified kokoro-musubi was the final touch. It’s too short to do a normal one, but if you’re looking for instructions I made a tutorial years ago which you can find here.

Are you doing anything special for valentine’s day? Since I’m so far from Keith, I’m going out for bbq chicken with my folks later tonight. Ahhh, middle age. So romantic. But hey, at least I don’t have to buy him honmei-choco this year!

 

Art Gallery – Spy X Family X Kimono

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What’s this? I drew an actual male character in male kitsuke for once? Alert the presses! I was in the mood to draw more comfy anime kimono fanart, and ended up with these three perfect precious idiots. Very capable idiots,  but idiots nonetheless.

My original plan for this was just to draw Anya because I love her so much. But as I started on it, I realised it would be even cuter if it I took a riff on a traditional family portrait. I like to think they’re celebrating Anya’s shichigosan (even though we don’t know exactly how old she is, we know she’s in the right range).

Once I had that in mind, their outfits sort of fell into place. Anya’s in a bright and cheerful pink furisode (which admittedly I should have tucked at the sleeves as well as the shoulders, but I realised it too late) with a cosmos pattern. She’s holding them in the first season closing credits, and they fit the pink theme well. They’re also said to represent pure and innocent love, which is what Anya feels for her family. If you look closely at her obi and zori, what initially looks like a fairly traditional black and gold obi with a geometric design is actually a tessellation of her favourite snack; peanuts!

Yor had to be red and gold with a rose motif, of course. Nothing less for our Briar Rose Princess. Her updo hairstyle already suits kimono so well, she was possibly the most natural fit for this picture. I gave her a yabane motif obi as a nod to her secret life as an assassin; I know she doesn’t use a bow and arrow, but I wanted something a bit less literal. Maybe she’s got some daggers tucked into her obi?

Loid was a bit more of a challenge, since he’s such a blank slate. In the end, I stuck to the usual colours of his clothing and think it works well. He provides a nice neutral counterpoint to Yor’s elegance and Anya’s vibrancy. Of course, as much as I don’t condone piercing holes in your kimono, I had to include his WISE lapel pin.