End of Summer Review

With today being the first day of autumn, I thought I'd look back and talk about my two favorite purchases this past summer.

In the early half of the summer, I finally found a shibori yukata that was large enough for me. It was even better that it was purple! I often find that I only wear an item once per season - if at all - but I wore this three times (which is saying something when you don't wear kimono every day)! The color is just fabulous, and the comfort level is incomparable. Though I spent more than I probably should have on a single piece, it will probably pay for itself just by the number of times I will wear it.

Image and product from Ichiroya

My other favorite purchase is probably a little unlikely. While I found many beautiful things over the summer, this is not one of them! In fact, you wouldn't see it at all when worn. 

Giving Life to Old Obi

For years, I have had these two tsukuri obi just sitting in my house. I bought them both for very little. The first is a rough brown one - likely cotton - and the other is a synthetic one with printed kanoko dots. They are plain and versatile, but pretty boring... I had an idea quite a long time ago to add appliqués, but I truly kept forgetting about it. While moving thing around the other day, I finally remember that idea. I found several cute designs, but the little orange and yellow owls were my favorite. I also picked up some flower appliqués of varying designs. These appliqués are iron-on type,

And these are the results!

Brown cotton obi with owl and flower appliqués