Obiage Haul!

My first post-Christmas kimono purchase is a set of obiage - brightly colored, might I add! I have been really pleased with the coordinations by 着物屋くるり (Kimonoya Kururi). They ooze Tokyo style, and mostly involve very subtle kimono and obi but with bolder obiage and obijime. I have been playing on this idea somewhat myself for a little while, but I am lacking in certain colors, so I am happy to have found many along the right lines at one shop. I would love to purchase direct from Kururi (you can do so here if you are an English speaker), but the prices are often a little rich for me. Finding the raspberry tone in the exact same shade as their かきつばたいろ ("kakitsubata") color has been near impossible, but I believe I have come close enough with this obiage.

It also came with a lovely round obijime, so no arguments there! There were two photographs the seller posted that show the obiage under different lights. The other photo (not posted here) shows a more purplish tone, but I believe that either way, it captures nearly the same effect. I would much prefer chirimen like the Kururi product, as I feel it ties and sits better, but for the price, I went ahead and bought this rinzu one.

The other obiage I chose were a bright green and a sky blue:

Both are lively colors that I hope to use in coordinations in the coming months. 

Green Kikyou Hikizuri

For anyone who has been collecting kimono for sometime, you've likely had a "this-is-too-good-to-be-true" moment. That is exactly what happened with this hikizuri, and I didn't dare post about it until I had it in my hands. Not only am I in love with the color and design (kikyou!!!), but it's a generous 210cm long with a 145cm wingspan. I have a couple taller hikizuri, but this one is the best fitting by far. I'd venture to guess that this was a dance piece, for several reasons: 

1. It has double padded hem and padded sleeves. Since kikyou is a September motif, those kimono would typically be hitoe, sometimes ro/sha. 

2. It has been greatly lengthened. Not that this is never done to geiko hiki, but it is much rarer.

3. It has a faux red sleeves sewn into the actual sleeves.

4. The date-eri is sewn down, and the fabric matches the lining.