Navy Shippou Komon and Cream Kiku Hiraki Nagoya Obi

Oops... bought another kimono with that tax refund money... ;P

Kimonomachi always seems to take my money, but they do offer more TL sizes than anyone else and for a good price. They have a cotton komon collection, and it's a little more expensive than I was willing to spend for a while. Also, my tastes in the past were bolder than they are now. It may seem silly, but I feel like being married and has calmed me down a little (at least as far as kimono designs go anyway). I also have come to terms with the fact that while there are tons of gorgeous kimono out there, most of those I like are semi-formal to formal and I have no occasion to wear those. Komon and iromuji, however, seem to get more use - and especially the more sedate ones. It's so much easier to dress them up or down and to not feel out of place by being too formal.

The komon I purchased today is a newer addition to the cotton kimono collection. It's a very dark navy color with a faint shippou pattern.

I opted for the option with a hikari nagoya obi and chose this cream one with a bright kiku lozenge pattern.

It goes very nicely with the above komon, but I also thought it matched nicely with the butterfly komon I just received. I am going for a look that's youthful but also a little mature and overall, clean.

I'm going to give my opinion here, so hold tight! So many kimono wearers are going for wild and what they think will pack a punch with viewers. In the beginning, style like that got my attention; but I think I have really started to value the beauty in a greater degree of subtlety. I'm not talking about dressing like obaachan. The Japanese have a word called iki. It could be defined as "expression of simplicity, sophistication, spontaneity, and originality...ephemeral, romantic, straightforward, measured, audacious, smart, and unselfconscious. Iki is not overly refined, pretentious, complicated, showy, slick, coquettish, or, generally, cute. At the same time, iki may exhibit any of those traits in a smart, direct, and unabashed manner" (from Wikipedia).

I'm not saying that other more outlandish kimono styles are not cool. There are people who pull it off amazingly like I never could. They can put 20 different accessories together and make it look fantastic. For me, the more items I try to incorporate, the worse my outfit tends to look. I'd say it looks "busy", but not necessarily fashionable. Since I am not the type of person to pull this look off, I'm just going to continue to try to do the basics really well. Maybe someday, you all will consider me to be iki!