Tag: red

Art Gallery – Mystery “Geisha” Doll

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I have mentioned it before (and I’ll likely mention it again), but I am a sucker for any sort of gacha/mystery/blind-box situation, so you know darn well when I found this listing on Etsy for a 3D-printed “mystery geisha doll” from NoirVibe Studio I had to snatch one up. I figured it was high time to share some beautiful original art that wasn’t my own silly fanart, so here she is!

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first – this lovely lady is more of a kitsune miko than a geisha. However, I don’t blame them for the name, this one is much more likely to attract attention and for the average Etsy shopper.

How these work is you purchase the listing, and you can request specific parts for the shop to mix-and-match, or you can be surprised. I told Nikolett I liked the black okobo and red hakama, but wanted a surprise for the face and hair. I’m very happy with the one I got! There only seems to be one option for the kitsune, but I absolutely love how it’s detachable and functions as a fun little fidget toy!

The quality is lovely, she’s very solid and well-assembled, and the 3D-printed parts all fit perfectly together. There are, of course, some print lines — but this is to be expected and doesn’t detract from the figure at all. The quality is good enough that they’re only visible if you’re very close, and I actually find it adds an interesting texture to things like her hair and the large red mon-like dot on the back of the kimono.

Overall I am very happy with this purchase, and am considering buying another though, in a black and white outfit and the skull face.

 

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.

 

Poppies and Promises

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Those of you who’ve been around for a while know I make a point of keeping an eye out for items with a poppy motif, since my mother’s name is Poppy. They’re doubly special to me now since orange poppies are also the state flower of California, my new home. I got this kimono from Sasa and I’ve had it for quite a while and I knew I wanted to coordinate it before I headed back to California in a few weeks. My kitsuke skills are a little rusty, since it’s been over a year but once I got into it muscle memory took over and I think I did alright, all things considered.

In person this houmongi a gorgeous pale minty colour that’s basically impossible to capture digitally. My mobile phone actually did a better job so that’s where these photos are from, but it’s still not quite accurate. It really makes the red, orange, and yellow poppies… well… pop. I used my beloved orange hakata chuya obi since it’s such a perfect match to the flowers, and the green obijime is almost the exact same bright mint as the kimono so that was a no-brainer.

I had to take these photos in a different spot in our living room due to things still being upside-down from the fire I mentioned a while back, but I think it works for now. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to do another mannequin coordination since I head back to California in a few weeks, but I’ve got lots of fun DIY projects, reviews, and little field trips in the works so hopefully those will tide us all over for a bit 🙂

Items used in this coordination

Life, the Universe and Everything

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This is one of those coordinations I’ve wanted to do from the very moment I got this kimono, and have just been putting off for one reason or another for years. It was high time I fixed that! This past Thursday was my 42nd birthday, and this coordinate has auspicious motifs of hayama and kagami (arrows and mirrors) and my favourite colour (teal) so I decided it was finally time to do it.

This kimono is definitely interesting – it’s brighter and more bold than most kurotomesode of the era, and it’s definitely very long for its age. The hem has a slight roll to it, so it’s a bit heavier than the rest of the fabric. This, along with the length, lead me to suspect it was a hikizuri, meant to be worn trailing. I’d like to think it may have been a geisha’s piece, worn at the new year, but this is just a suspicion of mine and I have no way to verify it. Whatever it is, I absolutely love it and should coordinate it more often.

The cool afternoon lighting in my living room makes the teal look bluer in these photos, but it definitely sits right between green and blue in person. I decided to use reds and blues in the accessories to emphasize how bold and punchy this piece is, and to sort of reinforce the geisha-adjacent feel of it. I also decided to let it drape, hikizuri style, to show off the beautiful flow of it, and tied the obi wider than normal to match. The collars are a bit wonky, but sometimes I just cannot get them to cooperate due to the shape of the mannequin. Alas.

This birthday has been a good one and I have very upbeat feelings about this coming loop around the sun. I hope I can share lots of new content and great news with you all soon!

Items used in this coordination

Delightful dolls, delayed

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Hina-matsuri (雛祭り, doll’s day) was this past Thursday. In the past, I’ve made my own dolls for display but this year I just didn’t have the time to do much of anything, since I work all week now. However, I did want to do a little something, even if it’s technically too late.

I knew I wanted to use this ningyo obi, despite the type of doll not being the typical dolls used for this festival. One day I will find a piece with proper hina dolls on it and I will use that, but until that happens this is what I’ve got.

This kimono may have seemed like an odd choice, but if you look closely there’s bright red accents in the beautiful embroidery. They actually coordinate quite well, I think. Also I think the pink, pastels, and adorable bunny are all ideal for a holiday that celebrates girls.

It’s been a long time since I’ve used my beloved blue and red shibori obiage or my mint and reddish-orange obijime so I was thrilled to have an excuse to pull them out again. A pretty floral haneri in shades of pink with turquoise foliage was a nice finishing touch. As well as featuring dolls, this outfit feels like a great bridge from winter to spring, perfect for early March.