When I started out collecting kimono, it wasn’t really with the idea of wearing them, so much as displaying them – hence the uchikakes and furisodes in my collection. But after a while of wearing only haoris over jeans, etc, I got the urge to wear kimono more often. The problem is, many of them are somewhat formal, which makes… Read more »
Deciding what to wear and when is a fine art in kimono, so it’s worth creating a rough guide for yourself. Most kimono collectors don’t have a big collection of kimono but I am a bit of a magpie myself and I became aware recently that some of my kimono, which are nearly all bought to wear, sometimes never come… Read more »
When is a cotton hitoe not a yukata? The answer, really, is when it’s too heavy. The kimono I’m wearing in this picture is a modern kasuri cotton kimono, unlined. I can, and sometimes do, wear it as a yukata but the fabric is quite stiff and thick – though by no means as thick as the old-style handwoven kasuri,… Read more »
This black kimono is my first meisen hitoe. Hitoe are unlined kimono and they’re a comparative rarity in modern kimono because the majority of people who now have kimono made only ever have one or two, so they tend to have the high-end type of furisode/tomesode with linings. However, vintage hitoe kimonos are fairly readily available. Nevertheless, searching for hitoe… Read more »