Friday, September 30, 2011

Tsubame Komon

I've had this light grey-blue tsubame komon for several months now, but with the weather being so hot during the summers here, I didn't dare even try an awase kimono on, even in the house! So now that the weather is FINALLY starting to be reasonable (still 85˚F during the day though...), I decided to finally try it on. I put it with an obi I hadn't used before - a black tsumugi nagoya obi with tsuta. I used a dark red obiage and goldenrod yellow obijime. I also tried "flattening" and padding the boobies a little better than I have been previously. So what do you think?



My obi's a little crooked =(


And my pale green zori =)

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Two Subdued Hanhaba Obi and "The Case of the Sakiori Obi"

I went on more of a buying binge last night, but I got each of these hanhaba obi for 99¢, $5.50, and $7.50 - a super steal for mint or brand new items! They're all subdued colors, which I seem to favor lately, so I was super pleased to win these!

The first in a brand new striped cotton hanahaba:


Next we have an ochre grid design cotton hanhaba:


Last is an hanhaba width sakiori obi that appears to be tsukuri in style, but I'm really unsure of how to wear it properly. It has two shorter pieces, one of which has obijime-like ties; the other piece has no fittings. One suggestion was to tie it in karuta or kai no kuchi musubi, but I'm unsure if it can support itself alone (well, maybe in karuta musubi it can), so I'm still asking around to see if anyone knows. Please tell me if you know how to wear this!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Selling My Stuff on eBay!!! Plus, New Zori and Tsukuri Obi!

I just moved into my new house a week and a half ago, and in moving, I saw that there were a lot of kimono and kitsuke items that I either did not use or the style no longer suits my tastes. So I listed many things on eBay. You can view them here.

I also decided to buy some nicer zori that I found on sale on Rakuten for 1500¥. It was one of those love at first sight moments, so I hope I have something to match!



I also picked up this faux shibori tsukuri obi for 500¥. It's simple in design and will be easy to put on in a time crunch, so I'm satisfied ^_^.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Purple Shioze Blue Bird Obi

I have been on the hunt for a purple and a dyed obi, but after not finding any (especially the color purple) at the right price, I decided to splurge a little on this beauty:



It blew my whole kimono budget for a while, but I was so smitten with it when I saw it. The perfect color, simplicity, and a beautiful image of a graceful bird... I can't wait to try it on! I will post pictures when it arrives!