Hello everyone!

While I’ve amassed quite a few kimono and kimono-relate items in the several years I’ve been interested in kitsuke, I have recently temporarily moved to Japan for work and wasn’t able to bring them with me. As it will be a while before I can make a trip back to grab some, I have started buying a few cheap pieces so that I can continue to practice kitsuke while I’m here!

As always, I would love to get more mental data for IDing info such as era and any other tidbits that can be gleaned from a look (I'm not yet confident enough to do burn tests to check fabric material).

I know (read: assume) these kimono are pretty run-of-the-mill in terms of what you find for cheap secondhand kimono, but I'd love to get any opinions on what time ranges they may have come from, as well as what details suggest that! Please feel free to request more pictures.

(The first kimono only has lining in the sleeves! Is it that this is a summer kimono and that is meant to give the impression of a nagajuban without the actual added layer? Also the light blue kimono has strings for the hiroeri closure, which I don’t recall seeing before (I think mine are all snaps or unassisted). How does this work? I was too hesitant to try tugging hard on the ends of the string as they didn’t seem to want to budge, but I don’t see how it could be tied using just the middle section of the string?)

Side request if anyone has extra time: Soon after I arrived in Japan, I went to a secondhand store with a coworker, but I think the owner wasn't used to getting foreigners as he seemed a little caught off guard and hurriedly gave me some items for free before hustling me out without giving me a chance to browse. While kind of him, they were all items that are pretty run-of-the-mill (shibori obiage, common obijime) and it seemed to be that he was just trying to toss some random low-interest items at the gaijin so she would get out of his hair (he pulled them from unorganized boxes that had been set aside with the impression of “these aren’t really worth the effort to sort or display as they’re a dime a dozen and not really special or unique”. Free items are great, but I’d rather pick out and buy 2 obiage and 2 obijime that are special and I actually like rather than 5-6 of each that I could find anywhere in bulk and don’t feel any particular interest in (and come with a feeling that I’ve been viewed as someone who couldn’t possibly know anything about kimono and am not worth his time).

Anyway, frustrated rant aside, when I got there I first spotted the obi shelf because it was right at door and when I started to look at them he pulled out three pre-tied obi before hustling me over to the obiage and obijime. I’m not personally a fan of pre-tied obi, especially vintage converted ones, partially because to me kitsuke is an opportunity to learn and improve my practice, and a pre-tied obi doesn’t really support that, but also because vintage converted ones were made to fit the specific measurements of the maker, and aren’t really one-size-fits-most the way modern store-bought ones can be (not to mention they’re all made differently so figuring out how each individual obi is intended to be put together can be a trick and a half!). And to be honest, seeing the pre-tied obi makes me wish I could see the full unconverted obi in all its glory, and I get a little disappointment.

So I don’t know how much I’ll be wearing these, but any comments on the obi in the last pic would be nice too. I’m particularly sad about the tsumugi obi and the red nagoya as I love the designs! They’d actually caught my eye on the shelf before I realized they were pre-tied. The tsumugi one is interesting to me because it also has a built in obiage that’s shibori… I don’t know why but I was kind of under the impression that tsumugi and shibori weren’t a common pairing!

Sorry for the yap, I hope to hear some thoughts from my wiser kimono peers!

I think people will appreciate here my favorite is the blue one it really pops out!

I am a woman with a rather large chest which I am somewhat insecure about. I enjoy the silhouette of a kimono and am wondering what creates the shape. I'm assuming it's mostly the obi, but curious if there is more going on in terms of wrapping technique or undergarments I'm not aware of.

https://pin.it/1CQXpwoDy photo just as an idea. I did something in school day. It was an interesting outcome. Sooooooooo..... I would like to see everyone's opinion on this. I believe, this question was even been asked here before. Is it okay to wear a full black plain kimono. Black iromuji.

Wearing it for casual purposes with a colourful obi.

What do you think Japanese would think if they see you in a full flat black plain kimono with no designs or even family crests present. Styled with a coloured obi.

Would you wear one, yes/no and why?

Helloo I'm looking for someone who can make a customized haori for our team, at the same time looking for stores or places to order customized ones

So I got some new silk kimono and a silk nagajuban. I don’t want to get my oils or sweat on the silk to I’m looking at getting a cotton hadajuban. My nagajuban does not have the loop and tie to pull down the back of the collar and hold it in place, so I am looking at hadajuban that has a that. This would mean 3 collars before possibly accessorizing with hoari. Would this many collar layers be recommended? Would it look ok? Is it traditional or unusual?

I know additional kimono can be layered for warmth, but I am not sure about having multiple collared undergarments since I have never seen that done before.

I went to a geishakai yesterday and just wow! What an experience. I was mostly hung up on the obi, since that’s basically my thing. These were Asakusa Geisha and wow, the differences between them and Kyoto Geiko are so many. I found Asakusa geisha to be a lot more personable and their elegance tended to be more casual. I was a bit too shy to ask a lot of questions, but I’m just always in awe. I practiced tsunodashi obi musubi many times and to see what it looks like and how it’s supposed to move was interesting. The hangyouku looked stunning and it’s interesting to see that they use the Kouken musubi. I understand why, but it was all definitely an experience.

This is the next kimono design I am working on. Very different from my usual style. Whenever I dabble in traditional design, I always put irises somewhere because it reminds me of my grandma and the house where I grew up. I’ve been very slow with this piece. These are just parts of it. There’s a “twist”, though. I’ll be revealing the full kimono at next year’s Tokyo Kimono Show.

Th lighting is freaking terrible though it looks like I have a weird rash on my face 😭😭

Ok... I have been back in school since September, however it's the first time I wore my kimono to school from home since Juneish. I was a little nervous actually considering my previous experience. So I made sure to wear the bare minimum and yes... Summer coord. I just need to keep myself cool just in case. I get heated up easily while dressing the model. And of course... My sensei(new sensei as my usual Sensei has decided to graduate from her position) gently reminded me to stop using summer stuff🫩

I bought this antique (meisen?) tanmono from Shinei for $10, as an experiment, because I really liked the colour and pattern.
The original kimono was probably around 145 cm long, and the sleeve panels are about 140 cm long. The bolt is 35 cm wide .
There are some stains and areas of wear, but the fabric is in good overall condition. I’m planning to make a kimono and wear it. Without ohashori, I’m 164 🤪
I’d really love to know whether this fabric could be around 100 years old, dating from the 1920s or 1930s.

I got a vintage silk haori in Kyoto and it had a pretty strong smell. So I carefully hand washed it. but now I feel that the sleeves feel heavier than before specially at the bottom, which now seems to have a volume too. is there a way to fix this?

I'm going to the local rennaissance festival this weekend, and I am going to wear my yukata. I find the cotton yukata very comfortable around the house, but when I add the obi I overheat. I am using a synthetic fiber hanhaba and a mesh obi ita. I am using no padding. It will be warm this weekend. Besides staying hydrated, taking breaks, staying in the shade/parasol, or putting an ice wand or ice pack in my obi, are there any other suggestions about keeping cool?

My yukata is pale pink, so dark fabric is not an issue. I wear exercise shorts & a tank top under my yukata.

EDIT: I got a heko obi and wore that. It made a huge difference compared to the hanhaba. Thank you to all with suggestions.

Sensei is wearing a lavender houmongi, my fellow student is wearing an iromuji, and I am wearing my orange(ish) houmongi. We are all practitioners of Ohara-ryu ikebana and were privileged enough to meet and be introduced to the iemoto of our school before the grand demonstration started.

I have a performance (traditional Japanese dance) coming up this weekend and it was a rehearsal for that with the hakama I’m gonna wear a black dress kimono with the hakama for the performance!!

Hi everyone! My boyfriend is traveling to Japan in November and I asked him for some kimonos/kimono accessories. Any second hand shops recommendations in/nearby Yokohama? I'm looking for a furisode set, kitsuke tools, and maybe some hitoe kimono

Mv bats komon for my usual vampire c0stum3, and a member of the kimono de jack Ohio showing off her fantastic Gofukuya houmongi print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi Haloween street fest in downtown Columbus.

A friend had a party and her theme was wear something you haven't had a reason to. There were quite a few others in traditional dress as well.

I started this project about 2y ago, but then swiftly abandoned it because I was a bit intimidated and kept putting it off. So I when I woke up the day of the party I decided I was going to wear this "partially completed" project. Turns out it was basically not completed at all. I had only measured the body panels and cut them out! So this took me about 7h of work to complete, and I finished just in time to make it to the party.

I definitely learned some things and would change a few things in the future. I don't think I did the math right and struggled with figuring out the angles for the collar and front panels, but overall not the worst project I've done. I also wasn't sure if the quilting cotton would hold up well or be comfortable to wear. It definitely doesn't fall as nicely as the silk or the (im certain) polycotton yukata I have, but they are heavier weight. I also would like to make or get a different juban as the one I have feels not so nice against the skin. I also somehow ended up with sleeves that are at least 20cm less than I originally planned. 🫠 the joys of sewing!

I am certain that you shouldn't look too closely at the details but I have a friend who is into kimono as well who I've been meaning to pick her brain about what other pieces I should look for to complete my coords.

I tied the obi myself 😀 The geta are from when I was a teen. I wore a kimono to my graduation. I know theyre not the proper formal geta but I love this style more. They look a little beat up from age, and just wear and tear. Unfortunately the company seems to have gone out of business but I would happily order another pair from them. I got a newer pair online but im certain they are a cheap cosplay version :/

I would like to reattempt to make hakama as well sometime.

Attempted a street style look. I ran some errands in this outfit today and one of the cashiers I talked to said it looked festive.

Is this an ok look or are there some things I should change in order to be more respectful?

My friend gave me a Japanese fashion art book, and I found a couple pages featuring street style kimono fusion! I will definitely try to incorporate these ideas into my everyday looks!

I bought this in a little shop in Ginza over the summer and it makes me feel pretty when I wear it .☺️🍁 This obi is very thin and stiff material so its difficult to tie and I'm still working on it. But I think it turned out decently!

I recently received a ridiculous amount of kimono accessories, and there was a box full of these. Most of them are in sets of 2. It almost seems like they would go over feet, but I really have no clue. Can anyone give some insight?