Black MonoKimono - Non-Mofuku

I finally was able to do my long-time dream ensemble! An all black non-mofuku kitsuke!

I have struggled for years with how to make this kitsuke a reality. I debated whether or not to alter mofuku items to fit the theme or to hunt out specifically black but non-mofuku items. I decided on the latter. Truly, the kimono itself was the most challenging part. Most black kimono are kuromontsuki and are far too formal what I had in mind. Other mostly black items have very bright patterns that detract from the aesthetic I was aiming for. This komon that I used for the ensemble was one that I had custom made (due to my "larger than average Japanese size"... that would be a US L typically...). It took several months for it to be tailored, so while it is awase, and it is now long past awase season where I live, I figured I could give it a go in my well air-conditioned apartment. 

This was the final result:

Admittedly, some of the pieces are a little less black than the others, and I wore white tabi because I’m not a fan of black or patterned tabi usually. The hardest thing to see may be the obijime as it actually has small red threads throughout. 

The obi might be mistaken as having metallic threads, but it is actually cleverly woven to trick the eye into thinking that. It is actually just black and grey. It is one of two authentic Nishijin-ori nagoya obi in my collection that I had made-to-order, and it is one of my favorites.

The only plain black item is the haneri, but as white haneri are typically worn with mofuku, this should not be mistaken for funeral wear. 

I’m really happy with the ensemble, and I can’t wait to wear it again!

First Fudangi Friday

Here is my first Fudangi Friday! I paired this purple momiji komon with a brown owl obi.

30 Weeks Pregnant Kitsuke

For most of my pregnancy, I have avoided doing any kitsuke - even for practice. With hormones making me generally not feel well for a good amount of the time and (of course) an ever-changing body to deal with, it just felt like too much. However, this past weekend, I had a good reason to try to get dressed in kimono. It was the annual local Japanese food event, "Oishii Japan", and my tea ceremony group was asked to do a short presentation. The outfit I ultimately ended up choosing was not something I would usually wear for tea, but I went with it considering it was a casual event, and I had a limited number of things that still fit and would be comfortable enough. 

Valentine's Day 2016

My husband and I never do much for Valentine's Day (hectic and too commercial), but I did want to wear kimono today. Today's outfit is a cotton kimono with grey ichimatsu pattern, pink chirimen obi with ume design, red chirimen haneri, red chirimen obiage with sparkly hearts, purple and white lace sanbuhimo, purple rose obidome, and purple tabi. The obiage is done in a style more like what one would wear with furisode, but I really wanted to show off the hearts!

No pictures of my face or hair because it all looked terrible, haha!

First Post-Surgery Kitsuke!

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to wear kimono for the first time since my surgery back in December. Because I was working in the dealer's room at our local anime convention, I wanted to wear something comfortable. I chose the red denim kimono with the cream kitty hanhaba obi. I tied the obi in a simple kai no kuchi, secured with a black obijime with little red threads. The haneri is a plain black chirimen, and the obi kazari is my little purple kokeshi charm. The purple tabi are ones that I recently dyed, and I'm happy to report that there were no color bleeding or fading issues! The zori have a black vinyl bottom with blue and brown plaid hanao. It's only barely visible at the back of the sleeves, but you might spy my black nagajuban - one of my favorites for its unique color.

While I feel like I did fairly well with my kitsuke despite the long hiatus and new kimono, the issue I did have to deal with (fairly unsuccessfully) was my surgical site. You probably can't see it in the pictures (I can only just see it myself), but it's on the front right side of my neck (about 3 inches long). The skin there is still very sensitive and fragile, so placing the collars was a major challenge. In the end, I had to show less haneri in order to get it in a fairly comfortable spot. I still had issues with it rubbing, but it was fine most of the day. I have a tea ceremony presentation to assist with this coming weekend, so I'll have to try again and hope it all looks ok!

KimoNovember 2015 - Week 1

This is my week 1 kitsuke for KimoNovember. Usually, the premise of KimoNovember to wear kimono every day this month (or as many days as possible), but with a hectic schedule, I can only do weekly ensembles.

For the first ensemble, I went with a "casual and cozy" theme. Teal komon with ginkgo, yukiwa, and sakura, deep purple ichimatsu hanhaba obi tied in karuta musubi (not pictured), salmon and lavender obijime tied in fuji musubi, pale blue haneri with white lace overlay, pale yellow shigoki obi, silver leaves necklace used as obi kazari, tabi with black cats, and multi-color leaves zori. This komon is plenty long for my height, so the shigoki is not to cover the lack of ohashori, but just a stylistic choice.

This is honestly not my neatest kitsuke because I wasn't feeling quite myself yesterday. Kudos to my husband who got me to smile and take a picture with the cat to cheer me up a little. I'm hoping the upcoming ensemble will be a little neater (and I'll be in a better mood)!

June Kitsuke - Blue Cotton Komon

I had to help my sister run her booth at a comic book expo today, so I decided to wear this cotton komon that has been sitting in storage for some time. When I purchased it, the seller advertised it as a yukata. It is likely cotton, but much softer than any yukata. It also has hiro eri (wide collar that must be folded for wear). It is not sheer like sha or ro, but not as opaque as regular hitoe. Since the traditional calendar says that you don't switch to ro and sha until at least June 15, it really is the perfect "in-between" kimono.

Blue and blue!

We had a casual tea ceremony practice last weekend, so I opted for a fairly casual ensemble. I usually am not a big fan of monochromatic ensembles, but I liked this combination of the light blue striped edo komon with the darker blue nagoya obi with karabana motif. It's not totally monochromatic due to the pale pink obijime, white chirimen obiage, and zori with brown hanao, but you get the idea. 

My husband is getting better and better at doing these photos, and he decided that I should do a dance pose for one of them, so here's a "bonus":

It's from a dance I've been learning called "Nozaki Kouta". I'm still very much a beginner, so my apologies if my pose is not great! 

Lastly, I've got several conventions coming up, so please be looking for some more kimono and geisha henshin photos soon!