Tag: modern

Book Review – Kimono Now

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Kimono Now
 by Manami Ozaki
Language: English
ISBN: 978-3791349497
Amazon.com Listing
GoodReads Page

Kimono Now is an absolutely wonderful English-language resource about modern kimono culture. I’ve had it for quite a while but wanted to give my thoughts time to settle before writing this review. I absolutely loved it and wanted to make sure I wasn’t jumping the gun with my opinions.

It’s a big, lush book that looks as good on a coffee table as it does in your bookshelf. It’s broken down into logical and easy to read segments, from the craftsmanship and artistry involved in kimono to interviews and featurettes on modern designers, famous kimono style icons, people remaking kimono into new fashion, and artists working in other mediums who have been inspired by kimono. While most of the people discussed and interviewed are Japanese, the book also takes into account the kimono’s influence on the rest of the world and has features involving non-Japanese artisans and collectors, which is very refreshing. It’s chock full of gorgeous colour plates and plenty of detailed information that never feels dry. It covers a little bit of everything without feeling like a textbook, which is no mean feat. It’s definitely not a how-to guide, but if you’re already familiar with how to wear kimono traditionally and just want ideas and inspiration, it’s a must-have. If I have any one criticism, it’s that someone along the line (possibly the editor or publisher) decided to go with the western standard of pluralising kimono into kimonos, which has always been a bit of a peeve of mine. It’s a very minor nitpick though.

 

 

I would recommend this book for:


-People interested in modern kimono culture
-People looking to learn more about kimono designers, models, etc
-Anyone searching for inspiration and ideas to develop their personal style

I would not recommend this book for:


-Beginners looking for how-to-dress guides
-People interested only in traditional kitsuke

 

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Outfit of the Whenever: Sugar & Spice

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I have accepted that calling this feature Outfit of the Week is unrealistic. I will try to continue posting at minimum once a month; we’ll see how that goes 😉

I’ve been wanting to do an outfit using a blouse in lieu of juban for quite some time now, but never really found inspiration until now. The other day I found this ruffled, high-necked, almost Victorian-inspired black blouse and everything fell right into place. I went with a very simple colour scheme, just using black and dusty pink. The kimono is an iromuji with a really lush, textured silk weave. The obi is actually my lobster tsuke obi wrapped backwards so it’s just solid black. I realised as I was dressing Tsukiko that it was coming across as a very pretty, demure, sort of outfit so I ramped that up with my pearls and an ume kanzashi from GirLinKimono on Etsy used as an obidome. It seemed very fitting for Valentine’s Day.

I love how soft and simple this coordination is, without being remotely boring. I also really like how the blouse-as-undergarment turned out, and I may end up having to try this out on myself sometime in the near future. It seems like it would be easier and more comfortable than worrying about juban and everything.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you all! May it be filled with love and chocolate or whatever else makes you happy.

Items used in this coordination

Outfit of the Week: Pretty Poppies

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I really should rename this feature to Outfit of the Whenever I Have Time, but I digress. You may or may not know this, but my mother’s name is Poppy. Because of this, we have a lot of poppy-themed stuff in our house, and for the longest time I had made it a goal of mine to find a kimono with poppies on it. When I found this one, I knew I had to have it. I love the slightly abstract, retro style of the dye-work. I actually did dress my mother in this once, but nobody managed to take photos, so I decided to put it on Tsukiko. I went with a simple red tsuke-obi to highlight the lovely red of the poppies, and a brown and green obijime to echo the khaki green in the hem. I also used a green haneri to reinforce that green accent. The obiage is actually a much darker, richer purple, closer to the eggplant colour of the kimono, but no matter what I tried, it photographed as this bright electric indigo. Oh well!

Items used in this coordination

Liz in Bunny Kimono!

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I’ve often said that being my friend is dangerous, and coming to visit me generally results in the guest being subjected to kitsuke. I decided to level things up this time, and when I went to Baltimore to visit my friend Elizabeth a few weeks back, I brought a kimono with me. She chose the bunny komon based on the photos of my collection, and I brought a selection of accessories that I thought would coordinate well with it and be easy to tie without too many accessories. We ended up choosing the taupe arabesque hanhaba obi, a hot pink obijime, and spade obidome.

For someone who has never worn kimono before, Liz took to it like a pro! Next time, maybe she’ll come up here to visit me and I’ll put her in something really elaborate.

I have to admit, this kimono fits her much better than it fits me. Oh, to have a shorter wingspan!

Items used in this coordination

Art Gallery – Sherlock Fan Artwork

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This is a bit of a departure from my usual content in this section. Typically, the Art Gallery posts are reserved for traditional art or art I’ve received of myself in kimono and you’ve probably noticed this is neither 😉

One thing you may not know about me is that I am a huge fan of Sherlock, the BBC’s modern Sherlock Holmes remake. A while ago, a fan group I’m in arranged a challenge to re-imagine the main characters in a different time or cultural setting, so I did both. I had fun trying to keep the general feel and colour scheme of their clothing without making it feel overly anachronistic. And of course John Watson’s Sig Sauer P226R has been replaced with a set of swords.

And yes, that is my tumblr URL along the side. Feel free to follow me, but it’s a very incoherent blend of personal posts, fandom things, cute animals, and food posts. Nothing remotely like this blog.