Tag: kitsuke

Montreal JCCC Fashion Show 2023

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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

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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

T is for Tachibana

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Tachibana, 橘, mandarin orange

I somehow didn’t realise how many tachibana items I have in my collection until just now! It makes sense though, it’s a motif I love. I have lots of kimono I could have used for today’s coordination, but I thought I’d give this obi some love instead. It’s not in the best shape, but it’s so soft and sweet that I’m able to look past the smudges.

It’s a fukuro obi, so arguably too formal for this komon, but because it’s got an evenly-spread all-over woven pattern with no metallic and no embroidery it reads as very casual to me. On first glance, I think most people would assume it was a nagoya obi.

I decided to keep things very soft and genteel with this muted kimono. The peach accessories were already out from a previous coord (and my utter inability to put things away when I’m done using them), but I realised that not only does the peach look lovely, but the obiage actually has a motif of tachibana as well!

I’m not sure this outfit really features and focuses on tachibana but I do like how it turned out nonetheless.

Items used in this coordination

G is for Gosho-Guruma

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Gosho-guruma, 御所車図, Imperial Carts

Confession time: these representations of the carts used by imperial nobles are quite possibly one of my least-favourite kimono motifs. To me they look like deformed marshmallows. Because of that, using gosho-guruma as today’s word for the letter G didn’t even occur to me at first. But then I remembered I have this one kimono I love, despite the motifs. I guess the fact that they’re partially hidden behind lovely flowers helps a lot!

I’ve been wanting to see how this kimono looks with this particular orange obi ever since I bought it. I think it’s perfect for this particular coordination, since it’s very low-contrast against the kimono, which helps make the cart motifs the main feature. I pulled out accessory colours from the floral arrangements in front of the carts. I’m not sure how well this particular obijime works, but I don’t hate it. I just think it might have been better with a more muted one to match the low-contrast feel of the rest of the ensemble.

Overall I think I did a good job of featuring a motif I am not fond of! That’s the important part.

Items used in this coordination

E is for Ebi

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Ebi, 海老 , shrimp, lobster, or other long-tailed crustacean

Quite possibly one of my favourite motifs! I love all sea-creature motifs, but I seem to have a soft spot for the goofy-looking rock lobsters often found on wafuku. I had several choices to work with for today’s coordination (you can see them all below) but in the end this pente lobster tsuke-obi won out. I just love it so much.

I paired it with this gorgeous soft brown Taisho-era houmongi. I love how the black pops against the muted brown, and the beige clouds on the kimono echo the shells on the back of the obi. Red accessories draw further attention to the ebi itself and anchor the red sleeve lining. The finishing touch was a brown obijime tied in a way to faintly evoke a lobster trap or net.

As much as I love this obi I tend to forget how long it’s pre-tied in the back. It would suit a taller person (like me, hello!) much better than the mannequin, I think. I don’t mind though, I still love the finished outfit to bits.

So far these are all the items I have with ebi motif in one form or another, but I’ll never say no to more!

Items used in this coordination