Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Black MonoKimono - Non-Mofuku

I finally was able to do my long-time dream ensemble! An all black non-mofuku kitsuke!

I have struggled for years with how to make this kitsuke a reality. I debated whether or not to alter mofuku items to fit the theme or to hunt out specifically black but non-mofuku items. I decided on the latter. Truly, the kimono itself was the most challenging part. Most black kimono are kuromontsuki and are far too formal what I had in mind. Other mostly black items have very bright patterns that detract from the aesthetic I was aiming for. This komon that I used for the ensemble was one that I had custom made (due to my "larger than average Japanese size"... that would be a US L typically...). It took several months for it to be tailored, so while it is awase, and it is now long past awase season where I live, I figured I could give it a go in my well air-conditioned apartment. 

This was the final result:


Admittedly, some of the pieces are a little less black than the others, and I wore white tabi because I’m not a fan of black or patterned tabi usually. The hardest thing to see may be the obijime as it actually has small red threads throughout. 


The obi might be mistaken as having metallic threads, but it is actually cleverly woven to trick the eye into thinking that. It is actually just black and grey. It is one of two authentic Nishijin-ori nagoya obi in my collection that I had made-to-order, and it is one of my favorites.

The only plain black item is the haneri, but as white haneri are typically worn with mofuku, this should not be mistaken for funeral wear. 

I’m really happy with the ensemble, and I can’t wait to wear it again!

Saturday, March 17, 2018

March Fudangi Friday with Sakura

๐ŸŒธ๐ŸŒธ๐ŸŒธ Belated Fudangi Friday with blooming sakura ๐ŸŒธ๐ŸŒธ๐ŸŒธ

This is a cotton kimono with a lace overlay share fukuro obi, mint green obiage, and brown obijime. The sakura are blooming here so I wanted to do an ode to them (pink, green, and brown for petals, leaves, and branches) without outshining them.

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Hakama as Skirt

Not full kimono, but I wore pink hakama as a skirt for a concert tonight. 



Sunday, January 28, 2018

Fudangi Friday - January Edition

Ever since the first one, I keep missing Fudangi Friday! ๐Ÿ˜… So here’s the belated Sunday addition! 


I wore a light purple yuki komon, yuki obiage, brown wool heko obi, and pink obijime. There are a lot of “errors” here but that’s ok! It’s meant to be very casual. ๐Ÿ™‚ I love using heko obi for this because their soft texture will always make the musubi a little “imperfect”.


This obi musubi is called "wano"(ใƒฏใƒŽ). It came from one of my favorite casual obi musubi books, 「ใƒ•ใ‚กใƒ–ใƒชใƒƒใ‚ฏใƒ–ใƒฉใƒณใƒ‰ใฎๆœฌ」. If you love women's heko obi, you should pick up a copy from Kimonoya Kururi (can be ordered via Rakuten or Amazon JP). The ISBN is 978-4-309-28459-0. 


Saturday, January 20, 2018

Oishii Japan 2018

I wore kimono for tea ceremony presentation at a local event today. I chose a purple iromuji, cream taiko gara fukuro obi with karabana design, pink obijime, dark purple and blue obiage, and pink zori. (I've been playing with a new selfie stick/tripod/bluetooth remote, so the posing isn't quite on point yet.)


More photos of the event were captured by Frank Chin, a talented local photographer. There's a few of us performing tea ceremony during the event. Please click here to see them!

Thursday, January 4, 2018

My Portrait!

This lovely portrait of me was made by the talented Merrie Go Art - Melanie Georgiou! I'm just awestruck! ๐Ÿคฉ
image copyright Melanie Georgiou
๐Ÿคฉ

Sunday, December 31, 2017

NYE Tea Ceremony

I got invited to a last-minute New Year's Eve tea ceremony at a dear friend's house. It was a casual affair, and since a few of us have babies, they were invited as well. :) They both behaved surprisingly well for the most part (although they both got a little fussy during usucha). It was such a lovely time, and I hope I get more opportunities like this in the future.