Tag: kitsuke

Kits-Mas Day 5 – Festive Florals

, , , , , , , , , 0

Today is sort of a double-whammy. I know I said I’d only commit to doing the first Fudangi Friday of each month, but I figured since I was doing this project anyway I may as well do something that’s applicable to both challenges. These casual but still festive florals fit the bill perfectly. I realised while I was plotting out coordinations that these two pieces I have both fit into the colour scheme I’ve got going for Christmas and have somewhat seasonally appropriate motifs. Kiku is generally a late fall/November flower, and ume is a late winter/February sort of thing, but since we’re sort of smack-dab in the middle of the season I feel like putting them together works out well.

The green haneri and obi help pull out the bits of green foliage in the haori, but red and creamy white still dominate this outfit, which is fine with me. The Christmassy aspect of this one feels much more subtle to me than yesterday’s, for example, but in the right context it feels no less thematic. This outfit wouldn’t feel out of place at a relaxed holiday gathering, but it also wouldn’t feel out of place at any other event during the winter, even if it’s not a holiday-specific thing. I like that. It’s versatile!

Also, I don’t know if anyone other than me noticed this but the poor mannequin has been progressively sinking lower and lower lately and I finally got fed up and tightened her up. Considering one of my primary considerations when buying kimono is my own height (newer readers who are mostly familiar with the mannequin and not photos of me might not be aware but I’m 179cm or 5’10” tall) so as she shrank, the kimono I was putting on her were getting longer and more unruly XD

Lastly, here’s a better photo of today’s furry guest star, since in the main ones he’s kind of hiding behind everything. Poor Vinnie, can’t catch a break!

Items used in this coordination

Kits-Mas Day 4 – Merry and Bright

, , , , , , , 2

How are you doing? It’s painfully cold here, but at least this outfit feels warm and happy! Maybe in tomorrow’s pictures there will be a roaring fire going on in the background. We’ll see.

Today’s outfit was built around a roll of gorgeous Christmas ribbon I found at the craft store. I admittedly bought it without anything specific in mind, I just really liked the texture of it. I’m glad I did though, because when I started this project I realised I could find a way to work it into an outfit.

The obi is actually one of my favourite old standbys, a red tsuke-obi with black flocking. I simply used temporary adhesive dots to cover the pattern on the otaiko with the blingy festive ribbon, and then added an accent on the waist segment too. It happened to be just the right width for the eri, so I used it for that as well to tie everything together. The kimono in shades of green and white makes me think of trees in snow, and of poinsettia leaves. Either way, it works well with the holiday theme! The gold accessories are technically too formal for the kimono itself, but this whole project is more about the overall mood of each outfit than about adhering to strict rules. I wanted to draw more attention to the gold in the ribbon, and this felt like the most effective way to do so.

I love how fun and merry and bright this coordination worked out to be. It’s definitely festive and it makes me happy. I’m so glad I bought that ribbon!

Items used in this coordination

Kits-Mas Day 3 – Pretty Package

, , , , , , , , 0

First I did something thematic colour-wise, then I did something thematic subject-wise, so today I thought I’d do a little bit of both. I love the graphic visual punch of both yabane and hakata motifs, and thought they’d make pretty fantastic wrapping paper. So here’s my attempt at a giftwrap-inspired outfit!

I honestly don’t have a ton to say about this outfit. I kept the accessories very simple and tied a very fluffy bow-style knot for the obi. My cute little maneki neko netsuke added a final little accent of red and a bell for that perfect finishing touch. Jingle all the way!

There’s really not much more to say about today’s coordination. I think the simplicity of this outfit is what makes it so effective. Tomorrow’s will be more fun and vibrant though, so be sure to check back!

Items used in this coordination

Kits-Mas Day 2 – Oh Christmas Tree!

, , , , 0

Yesterday I went with a classic holiday-inspired colour scheme, so today I wanted to do something a little more fun and modern. I bought this hanhaba obi a few weeks back and while it was listed as “geometrical trick art” but it totally made me think of pine needles, which of course made me think of a Christmas tree!

I realise purple is a bit of an unexpected accent colour, but it was already in the obi and coordinates so nicely with the warm green so I decided to run for it. I also added some little sparkly gems to the haneri to make it feel more festive and improvised an obi musubi to look like a tree! I’m not sure how well I succeeded there, but I think it’s cute enough. A few more sparkly gems to emulate ornaments on a tree, and this outfit just came together perfectly.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, those of you that celebrate. Did you receive any awesome kimono or related things as gifts? If so, I would love to see! As for me, I got some great books I’d been wanting; the 25th Anniversary update of Liza Dalby’s Geisha and a lovely little reference called Kimono Design  and I’ll be posting reviews of both when my life settles down a bit.

Items used in this coordination

Disney Princess Kitsuke Project! Complete!

, , , , 0

You guys! It’s done! While part of me is excited to work on other things, I admit that I’ve had so much fun doing these that I am a little bit sad to see it end. I’m thinking of occasionally doing one-off other Disney ladies now and then (Alice, Kida, Esmeralda, Megara, etc). If you would like to see those, please let me know!

This has been a really interesting project for me, working with different styles and trying to make sure the spirit of each Princess comes through without being overly “costumey”. I think I’ve succeed quite well in the end. Seeing them all together like this is very satisfying! It’s also pretty neat to me to see how different the living room looks in different weather/lighting/etc.

For full details of each outfit, as well as my thought processes and any meaning in the textiles or designs, please check out the individual post for each princess.

If you’re looking for beautiful, classy Disney jewellery to accent your own Princess (or Villain!) kitsuke, Diamond Treats has a fabulous collection that would be the perfect finishing touch for any of these outfits. Read about how they brought it to life here!

This has been an amazingly fun project. It encouraged me to think out of the box while still technically adhering to the rules in most cases. It’s been a blast, but I am also happy to be finished. I’ve got a few simpler things in the works – something fun for Halloween and a little surprise for my Facebook followers. However my work schedule is about to get hellish. Not only are the holidays closer than they seem, by the first week of October I will be the only employee in the store, which means I’ll have to be in there all day every day six days a week. I will do my best to keep a semi-regular content schedule, but things will be sparse for a bit. Thanks in advance for understanding! 💖

If you’ve enjoyed this project and would like to see more things like this in the future, or would just like to encourage me in general, please consider dropping a few dollars in my PayPal account or support me on Patreon.