More October-November Purchases

Bad me bought more things...

But at least they're not just for me this time! I found two more kimono for my husband. He has been begging for grey and brown, and I found them on the cheap in his size.

Here's the two I found for myself:

The first is a gigantic synthetic ro komon. It's 175cm long and has a 148cm wingpsan! I think this may be the first time I have put on a kimono and the hip size was too big! I can adjust that more easily though, so I'm not worried.

The second piece is a hitoe tsukesage with a house-in-the-woods motif. I'll need to take a close-up photo because I can't seem to find the seller's photos (other than this one) at the moment. It's 167cm long and has 144cm wingspan, but the hips are little tight on this one. I'll have to look into letting it out at some point. But the fabric on this one is amazing. It has a super soft touch!

MTAC 2013 - Geisha henshin and more!

The last weekend of March was MTAC 13 - Devil's Dozen in Nashville. I applied for and was accepted to do a panel on geisha. We had a prime slot at 7pm on Saturday. That was the highlight, but I also did a little cosplay and kimono hime on the other days. I have a lot of pictures to share!

Friday
I did a cosplay for Yuko Ichihara from xxxHolic. I wore a black butterfly yukata as a kimono with my black neko tsukuri obi. The hair gave me so much trouble because of the length, so I ended up braiding it. I had a Mokona and a kiseru as my props. We also got autographs from Jamie Marchi and Monica Rial! That evening was also the Grand Galloping Gala formal, so I borrowed my sister's Princess Celestia costume for that.

Saturday

Saturday was our geisha panel. My geisha henshin group - Tsuki no Ie Okiya - did the presentation. I did the majority of the talking, but "Tsukiuma" (maiko henshin) and "Mitsurutsuki" (taiko mochi henshin)were very wonderful as well! Tsukiuma and I ("Tsukiko" - geiko henshin) had our pictures done by a professional photographer. We were complimented by many people on the authenticity of our outfits. ^_^

Sunday

Sunday was good-bye day =(. I did some kimono hime to round out the week. It was an improvement on the kimono hime I did for Mid-South Con.

Sakura Kitsuke

Josh and I had another one of our casual "basic" tea ceremonies this weekend. We usually have one once a month that our sensei does not attend (he lives in Ohio and flies down once a month), and it's more for introducing the public to the basics of tea ceremony. They are super casual, so I usually use the chance to wear more casual kimono instead of the more plain iromuji for our other classes.

Today, I took advantage of the chic tea ceremony principle of wearing motifs slightly early. I chose a pink komon with stripes and sakura, a green gingham obi, a peach obiage, a cream sanbuhimo, and a pink rose obidome (made by me). The green and the peach colors were chosen to bring out those tones in the design.

Also wore this new double sakura kanzashi I got from Kimonomachi. Just an extra touch of spring! =D

 Josh wore his light blue kimono and black hakama, and modernized it a bit with a neat hat. I love it!!

 Silly picture of Josh "praising" the moon. He's a night person lol XD

Japanese Bon Festival 2012 (and surprise engagement!)

September 7 and 8 was the Japanese Bon Festival here in Memphis. Friday night was a reception for the festival and a local Japanese teacher who put in over 35 years of service. I only have one photo that someone snapped of Josh, my dance teacher, and me. We were trying to decide what type of animal the "Candyman" from Epcot had made. We think it may be a pegasus?

The second day was very busy for me. Josh and I started the day helping with tea ceremony.

Higashi and fukusa

I was the assistant. Here I am bringing the sweets to the main guest.

Patti is trying to show our friend Jason how to enter the tea room. He looks so serious!

Another couple and Josh and I are the "beginner" members. Sensei is telling us what we need to do for the demonstration.

 After tea ceremony, I hurried off to ready my models for a short kimono presentation.

The three female models. 

Dressing Becka

Becka in a fall ensemble. Cecilia in a spring one.

  What I didn't know was that I was in for a huge surprise at the end of the kimono presentation. Josh took the mic and proposed. I cried so hard! Of course I said yes!! And our friends caught the pics.

I had to play the shamisen right after the proposal. Despite being choked up, I did well for my first public performance!

At the end of the day, our dance group performed a modern-style dance and then four different bon odori dances. 

Performing "Tanko Bushi"

Everyone in yukata!

We made uchiwa. Our kanji is so bad!!

Going home. A long, exciting day is done. =)

2 New Men's Yukata, Matcha Hitoe Iromuji, and Polka Dot Hanhaba Obi

More buys to share! Josh keeps complaining that when we go to our tea ceremony lessons, he has to wear the same thing every time. Whether or not he admits it, he has the kimono bug! We got him two yukata. The first is an off white cotton hemp blend that, honestly, once you put a juban underneath and hakama on top, no one will know it isn't a summer weight kimono.

The second item I have to share is a really neat navy blue yukata with water, bubble, and koi pattern. I am honestly jealous that this isn't a women's kimono! He was especially excited about this one, so I cannot wait for him to try it on.

Next, the women's pieces. The first is a matcha green hitoe iromuji. Being the color of matcha and washable, this will be a great piece to wear for my tea ceremony lessons. =) Unlike all of my recent TL size pieces, this one is a 2L, BUT it has 140cm wingspan, so I can deal with 165 cm height (instead of 172 cm, but I can make a decent ohashori out of any kimono greater than 163 cm tall).

The last piece I have to share is a cute hanhaba obi. It's rose pink on one side with silver polka dots, and the other side is magenta with an asanoha pattern. I love the pop of color, as many of my items are of safer hues.

Daffodil(?) Tsukesage, Men's Odori Yukata

Tonight's cheap eBay wins! Every thing was less than $2 XD

Pink Daffodil[?] Tsukesage - This one confuses me. It appears to have a design of daffodils, but they're on branches. Can anyone tell me if this is correct?

Men's Odori Yukata with Ougi and Yanagi - I bought this for Josh, but I'm pretty sure it will be too small for him. If that's the case, I'm going to find another use for it.

Four Kumihimo (two pink, one green, and one leather) - I really bought this for the 1st one on the left. I wanted a new light pink one =D