Steampunk Inspired Kimono Hime

The Middle Tennessee Anime Convention is coming up in only one month now, and it's definitely the highlight of my year! I have been trying to come up with three kimono ensembles to wear for the weekend, and I decided to do one kimono hime at the request of some of my friends. I have some vintage-look items hanging around, so I made a steampunk inspired ensemble. I used my brown yukata and brown floral obi, as well as my brown and red obijime and dark red obiage, and of course, Victorian style boots! I added some accessories, and well, here it is...

Cherry Blossoms in Collierville Town Square

My parents and I made a quick trip to the town square yesterday. No matter what the time of year, it always look so nice there. I took some pictures of the cherry trees, red buds, and tulips. What a way to welcome spring!

Ro Ensemble - All Put Together =)

Despite the fact that it is still only March, it's already 80˚F (27˚C)! Since I finally got my ro ensemble finished, I took pictures outside. Some of the photos are "accidentally artistic". Despite two of them being blurry, the look was still very neat, so I've included them anyway.

Ro Ensemble

I finally got the ro obi I ordered, so my ro ensemble is finally complete! The only piece I'm concerned about is the obiage, as it kind of blends with the light color of the obi. I'm considering dyeing the obiage and obijime bright red to match the red leaves on the kimono.

RIP Sugar

My hamster Sugar passed away today. She was the sweetest hamster ever, and I miss her so much. She is completely irreplaceable. Rest in peace, my sweet darling.

Keep Japan In Your Thoughts

The earthquakes and tsunamis that have hit Japan are proving to be highly devastating. Please keep the people of Japan in your thoughts and prayers during this disastrous time. Many websites, such as CNN are providing updates.

Keep your hopes up that the missing will be found, the injured will be healed, and the devastated areas will rebuild.

(image from Kimono Tsuki)

Kofurisode to Komon

After yesterday's success in turning my sakura kofurisode into a houmongi, I decided to also shorten the sleeves on my purple kofurisode. Because of its pattern, this made it a komon, which is much more practical. I also did kitsuke with this one, pairing it with my pink striped hitoe obi, a green obiage, and a cream and mint obijime. I think the combo worked out nicely! ^_^

Kofurisode to Houmongi

I decided to shorten the sleeves of my sakura kofurisode. I'm almost too old for furisode, kofurisode has few uses (most of which I am too old for, once again), and I have no juban to fit a kofurisode. The sleeves are now 49.5 cm long, and the kimono is now a houmongi. I plan on wearing this houmongi at the Middle Tennessee Anime Convention in April when I do my yukata and geisha panels.

BEFORE

AFTER

Now, I just need to figure out what I'm going to do with the extra fabric. Kanzashi perhaps?

And of course, I had to practice kitsuke with it:

Plum Blossoms

There are 3 main types of trees that flower first in Memphis, Tennessee: plum, pear, and red bud. The plum is by far my favorite, and the rarest of the three. Plums often don't grow well here because we usually don't have cold enough winters for plums, but these little trees at a gas station close to my house have been alive and well for several years now. When my boyfriend and I stopped to get something yesterday, I took the opportunity to take a few photos of the blossoms before they fall.

Red Obiage

Red obiage often seem to be ubiquitous in wafuku, especially in the ensembles of geiko and maiko. I have a few kimono and obi that would look nice with a red obiage, so I purchased one today from Shinei with the last of my birthday money:


I had them send it AirMail, so hopefully it will arrive fairly quickly so I can post some pics with some other new items I have received as of late!