If I have used your images without crediting you, I offer my sincere apology. It will not happen again.

1. How did you discover and get into kimono?
2. Your dearest kimono item(s).
3. Your most used kimono item(s) (not counting juban, datejime etc.).
4. Your least used kimono item(s).
5. Your favourite coordination(s) so far.
6. What do you like and don’t like about kimono.
7. Kimono confessions. Did you know that…
8. Your dream kitsuke items (or at least items you really really want but can’t get for whatever reason).
9. Your biggest kimono fears.
10. Your biggest kimono inspiration.
11. Your kimono collection.
12. The evolution of your kitsuke.
13. Your special kimono memory.

This challenge post is very easy! While all my kimono items have special significance to me, there are two in particular that hold a special place in my heart. Both were pieces that I wanted very badly but thought for sure I had lost, only to be surprised to find that my husband had purchased them for me!

The first piece, the jewel of my collection, is my peacock tomesode. It was actually my first silk piece, and the second kimono to enter my collection after my yukata. I had told my friend Kerry that I really wanted a black kimono with a large peacock on it, and a few days later, she sent me an e-bay link to this kimono. How badly I wanted it! It was very much out of my price range. I checked the auction every day with heavy heart until it finally sold.

Then came Sweetest Day. My husband and I don’t usually celebrate these silly hallmark holidays, but this time he surprised me with two packages; the first being a kabuki themed bento box. When he gave me the second and I felt the weight of it, I immediately knew what it was. “You didn’t!!” I remember exclaiming as I tore the package open. And there it was, the kimono I thought would only ever be a dream!

It is fully formal; double lined with a padded hem. It is so heavy I cannot dress in it by myself. The peacock is fully embroidered with blue, white, and silver threads. It is a luxurious piece. I have only gotten to wear it once (and then I lacked the proper accessories), though I hope another opportunity will soon present itself.

The second piece is my mandarin duck obi. It is a very similar story to the tomesode. I found this obi on Ichiroya and immediately fell in love with the adorable pair of ducks. Being drawn to bird themes, I felt I had to have this obi, but something always came up and I didn’t have the funds to purchase it. Around Christmas, I pulled the link back up and found the obi was still available. I swore that it would be my Christmas present to myself after my family’s gifts were purchased.

Then, it sold.

It was the most heartbroken I’ve ever been over a kimono item; I had wanted that obi so badly. Both my husband and mother told me a sad shake of their heads that they did not buy the obi for me. While a few friends gave me links to other mandarin duck obi available for purchase, none of them were nearly as cute.

As it turns out, my husband knew what he was getting for Christmas from me and it came early. He said that in exchange for his gift, I could open one of mine. And that gift happened to be the duck obi!

The ducks are embroidered. I hope to one day get a soft blue or light green iromuji to pair with it, but for now I pair it with my peachy keen houmongi.

There is one other piece in my collection that is very special, and that is my furisode. It was a complete surprise; my husband picked it out himself. It will probably be the only furisode I ever own. (Unless another very special one presents itself!)

What is your dearest kimono item?

 Also making their first appearances were my new false collar, white obiage with rainbow stripes, and white obijime. Here is the whole ensemble!

This is the obi I paired with it:

I tried to tie my obi in a maiko style, but it was hard for me to do anything with it with my sleeves being so long. Next time I will have to try tying my obi in the front first as I am unaccustomed to wearing furisode.

And here is the group! We had two wearing kimono with corsets, one in a divine antique geisha susohiki with a dragon and samurai helmet theme, one in a komon, and myself in furisode. We were quite a hit at the museum! Many people peeked in to look at us.

Happy Year of the Dragon!!

The kimono questions are:

1. How did you discover and get into kimono?
2. Your dearest kimono item(s).
3. Your most used kimono item(s) (not counting juban, datejime etc.).
4. Your least used kimono item(s).
5. Your favourite coordination(s) so far.
6. What do you like and don’t like about kimono.
7. Kimono confessions. Did you know that…
8. Your dream kitsuke items (or at least items you really really want but can’t get for whatever reason).
9. Your biggest kimono fears.
10. Your biggest kimono inspiration.
11. Your kimono collection.
12. The evolution of your kitsuke.
13. Your special kimono memory.

How did I discover and get into kimono?

Well, it’s a long story. It begins with Pokémon. Yes, those little pocket monster playing cards and video games had a hand in all this. I was in the right age group for Pokémon when it was introduced to the U.S. (I was 10 or 11 at the time.) No pre-teen girl can resist cute little yellow mice that shoot lighting bolts, so I was instantly hooked (I played a mean fire deck, too.) It didn’t take me long to figure out that “hey, Pokémon is cool and it’s from Japan; there must be other cool things from Japan!”

After that, I started collecting books, pottery, dolls, etc that were Japanese in nature. My favorite topic was the geisha. But while the kimono is such an integral part of the geisha’s lifestyle, I never thought it was actually a culture I could get in to. I though kimono were super-rare, super-expensive, and would only be good for display purposes. I did have a costume kimono of red brocade that was made for me, but the pattern wasn’t authentic and with its red dragon brocade (pretty as it was), and velcro obi, it really was just a costume for a 13-year-old girl. And I thought it was the closest I would get to the real thing.

I didn’t learn differently until I went to Japan, where I purchased my first yukata set. [Yukata, by the way, is an excellent starter piece for anyone wanting to get into kimono, and I highly recommend it if you're looking to start a collection. Very easy and comfortable to wear.] It really was not expensive at all; for the yukata, obi, zori, 2 koshihimo, and an obijime, we spent about $100 USD on the set. But then again, I thought, we’re in Japan, and kimono are common here!

A year later, I became acquainted with Kerry of Ohio Kimono. Wait, someone in my area who is familiar with and imports kimono? Too good to be true! Again, I was floored by the reasonable prices, and by the fact that no, kimono aren’t super-rare. I purchased a few haori from here, and it was the start of a true kimono collection.

I have now been actively collecting kimono for nearly two years. In that time, I have acquired 3 haori (one was given away in a trade),  seven kimono, six obi, and various accessories. I wear kimono at least once a month (more, if I can manage it), and I truly enjoy this beautiful fashion as both an art form and as an escape from the somewhat ho-hum drive that is every day life in the Midwest.

Not everyone understands this infatuation; after all, kimono does seem to those that don’t know better to be complicated and expensive. But to those of us that do no better, we can’t imagine our lives without this tradition in it.

My first kimono set: a yukata. Taken in Nikko, Japan. August, 2008.

“Sakura Matsuri Kimono Fashion Show”
When: Saturday, April 28th, 2012 at 1:00 PM
Where: Bedford Branch Library, Temperance, MI
What to expect: Right now, a parade of pretty kimono! Possible refreshments if the library allows.

I will keep you updated on the details as they progress!!

Did you get anything kimono-related for Christmas?

Wishing you a very happy 2012! It is the Year of the Dragon!

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A furisode!!

It’s a lovely blush pink piece with blue, purple, and silver peacocks. I’m usually iffy about furisode (the reason why I haven’t picked one up yet) because I find many of them to simply be too busy, some of them eye-bleedingly so. But this one is gorgeous. It’s eye catching and youthful without being over-the-top, plus it features my favorite theme!

I paired this furisode with my white and purple peacock feather obi. I swear I heard angels singing. Match made in kimono heaven!

My husband always does a good job with Christmas but he really outdid himself this year between the duckie obi I really wanted and this furisode!! Let’s hear it for my man!!!

(To top the day off, I broke my first board and earned my yellow belt in my mixed-martial arts class tonight. It’s been a great day!!)

Oh, and if anyone wanted to see the duckie obi in action, I was able to wear it Friday night when some of my kimono friends and I went out for dinner. I paired it with my peach houmongi. I like the combo but I still would like a blue or green kimono to go with it.

Firstly, we ate at Tensuke Express, a Japanese-style fast food noodle shop. I didn’t care much for their gyoza, but I really enjoyed my large, steaming bowl of tempura udon! The menu had a variety, including both udon and soba, yakiudon, curry, and unagi don. Everything was very affordable and delicious, too! The inside was also really nice with a large aquarium that you could sit at, and it also had TVs playing Japanese game shows. There were a lot of Japanese people in there, so it reminded me of being back in Japan, where we ate at many fast-food noodle joints!

Then there was the market itself. Jam-packed with Japanese groceries, snacks, kitchen ware, seafood, and even bento supplies, it was a Japanophile’s dream. When you wandered over to the gift shop, they stocked Japanese magazines, tea and sake sets, music, books, and even a few kimono supplies. We spent a good chunk of time wandering around and spending money. Here is what I walked away with:

(Orange choco-creme pocky, an industrial size box of Koala yummies, a cute kimono girl coffee mug, sakura and bunny tabi, and bunny chopsticks.)

After checking out the market, we found a cute little Euro-Japanese style bakery. (which I know from my trip to Japan are all the rage in places like Tokyo and Kyoto.) We opted to have dessert there. I had a delicious green-tea cake with sweet green tea frosting and sweet bean filling. Very traditional flavors! It was yummy.

I would highly recommend Tensuke Market and Tensuke Express to anyone traveling to Columbus. Give yourself a few hours for everything; you will probably have to wait for a table at Tensuke Express! Also take a lot of money with you because if you are like me, you’ll want to by the whole place!

One group will follow every kitsuke rule to the letter, and one with either bend or buck the rules as they see fit.

Is either group wrong?

In my opinion, no. Absolutely not.

As both a person who has dabbled in a variety of arts and who has something of an Irish temperament, I hate hearing “no, you can’t do that” when referring to an art. And both kimono and kimono wearing are an art to me. I have collected and studied kimono for over two years now. I KNOW the rules. I KNOW that certain obi types go with certain kimono types. I KNOW what accessories should be used. I KNOW in what situations certain formalities are appropriate.

Does that mean I always follow the rules? No. And there are a few reasons for this. One is that I do lack a few of the proper accessories, a wearable juban being one of them. I’m not going to let that stop me from enjoying kimono!  Another reason is that I enjoy experimentation and, as an artist, I like to see how certain colors, patterns, and textures will pair together. To me, kimono is fashion, and fashion is fluid. If everyone followed every fashion rule every day, chances are good that we would still be wearing corsets or powdered wigs. The same is true for kimono. The kimono worn today are not the same kimono that were worn 500 or 100 or even 50 years ago. Fashion is for having fun with and for playing with. It’s about making you feel good.

I find it very unfortunate that some people find this more casual attitude towards kimono to be disrespectful to the Japanese culture. It also enrages me to be accused of this. There is no culture that I appreciate more than Japanese culture. If I didn’t respect or appreciate it, I would not have studied it since I was 10, and I would not have chosen to go there on my honeymoon. I wouldn’t care about kimono, and I wouldn’t have my entire bedroom done up with Japanese-style furniture and art. I would paint things that aren’t Japanese-related, and I wouldn’t go out every month with friends who also love kimono and Japanese culture.

I also find it unfortunate that so many of us who are in the “kimono for fun” rather than the “kimono for tradition” group find ourselves at the brunt of negativity from sticklers. (I imagine this is how Romantic artists like Delecroix and Gericault felt at the French art Academie while being told that “only Classicist works count as art”. ) Negativity, not to mention the words “no” and “you can’t” are not nurturing. They certainly don’t make people want to learn and explore more.  For myself, receiving negative criticism that is not balanced by positive or friendly advice makes me want to quit whatever it is I’m trying my hand at.

This is part of the reason why I, with the help of some friends, started the Northwest Ohio Kimono Society. It is a group for people who want to learn but who want to have fun and who want to express themselves while being free of criticism or judgment. I do not allow the words “you can’t do that” on our facebook page. I prefer it when people say “traditionally, it’s done this way” or “the Japanese don’t always do it that way, but…” The Japanese themselves don’t always wear kimono according to kitsuke-school rules. And of course, if I was wearing kimono in Japan, you can bet I would follow kitsuke rules 110%. But I’m not wearing kimono in Japan. I am wearing kimono in Ohio, where most people don’t know an obi from an orangutan. I will wear what makes me happy. God is not going to kill a kitten if I go out without a juban or if I don’t have tabi on my feet. (And YES, I KNOW that juban and tabi are normally required.)

After all, the kimono, as beautiful and culturally rich as it is, is a thing. It is a hobby. It is something to be enjoyed. I really am not going to offend an entire culture if I don’t wear my kimono 100% accurately, just as artists like Delecroix and Gericault didn’t cause France to be destroyed by painting in a non-Classical style.

[As a final note, I bet those of you who aren't kimono wearers had no idea that kimono was such a complicated thing!]