着物 Kimono and Kitsuke 着付け

Flower Princess

2012-01-22T10:41:00.000Z

In the Clouds

2012-01-15T10:40:00.000Z

Kabuki Princess

2012-01-08T10:38:00.002Z

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T16:12:00.007Z

As you can see I love a bit of kitsch ^_^
A colourful happy New Year for all of you

Pied-de-Poule

2011-12-04T14:37:00.001Z

We had a wonderful kimono party at my house.
All ladies came in there gorgeous kimono with lovely food and candy.

My plan was to do some kitsuke tips and talk about how to dress comfortably, but it turned out as a real party and we ate and chatted (about kimono)

Obviously I had been way to busy in the weeks before, so this being my first none busy day I kind of felt like just have a relaxing day with the kimono girls ^_^

I wore my beloved wool Pied-de-Poule designed by Mamechiyo Modern
Nice and warm.
Contrasted with burgundy red , obi (Ichiroya), tabi and accessories ^_^

Sensai

2011-11-17T14:23:00.002Z

Sensai, a brand of Kanebo Japan, used the shop as a back-drop for the launch of a new product.

For this special occasion kimono is great! But also, the tea master of Urasenke Netherlands, asked me to wear kimono, so I did.

As I saw the package the day before, I decided to wear my Game kimono by Mamechiyo

The package was white with black letters, so very stylish and modern, I thought this kimono is stylish and modern too, in the right colours, so I paired her with a silver winter themed obi and white and black accessories, to keep with in the black and white package theme.

A different kind of Polkadots

2011-10-23T21:05:00.017+01:00

For Kimono de Jack in Clingendael I wore this wool (kind of polkadottie) Mamechiyo Modern kimono
Sadly I was in a hurry this morning (didn't want to be late) and tied my obi way too tight!

Even more embarrassing, I discovered Mamechiyo designed it as a spring kimono, oops, I made it autumn.
I flipped trough her book and the kimono is in there, how fun!.
Actually, the one in the book is a printed silk vintage kimono.

But I guess it doesn't show too much. Even-though I like it better in a lose style, at least everything stayed in place ^_^

Thanks to Linda I have a shot of the musubi, thank you!

Anyway, I combined her with a dusty pink hakata hanhaba tied in a crisscross-style, grey han-eri and obi-jime, white with pink obi-age soft red nagajuban, baby-corduroy light brown tabi and brown zori, yes there is brown in he kimono!
It was wonderful to meet with 13! people at this Kimono de Jack and to be outside with this gorgeous weather in kimono, great day with kimono lovers, what a treat!
Also thank to Linda I have a full back picture with Anne!

I forgot to mention that it was a beautiful day and so great to meet this many (14 people arrived in kimono) kimono lovers!

Kimono Spotting at Tenjin-san

2011-09-25T18:11:00.008+01:00

After finishing my shopping at Tenjin-san
Kimono spotting!

A beautiful autumn themed kimono and obi ensemble between piles and piles of kimono/obi

An elegant lady at the flea-market, what a suprise!

Pretty styles

And suddenly, the modern girls came sopping too, I love her diagonally striped kimono

Shibu Onsen

2011-09-10T18:45:00.004+01:00

Getting a key for 9 onsen and stroll the streets of Shibu Onsen in Ryokan yukata and geta togheter with a lot of domestic tourists ^_^ was the best experiance!
until late at night you can hear the clicker-di-clack of the geta
and from 6 in the morning you hear it again.
I know, it's early, but it was incredibly charming! really!

And lucky, lucky, there was a festival!
Fun to see and experience.
Sadly, even in these tiny, old towns, cars are allowed, which does kind of amazes me (not in a positive way) as the main road is just a one minute walk.
On the other-hand, it's not a museum.

The other big tourist stop: Monkeys!
Yes they do go in the water, but I guess, now in summer time, it's just because there's food.
Probably in wintertime they like the warm water

Kimono Club Tokyo!

2011-09-05T22:23:00.005+01:00

In Tokyo I had a lot of meetings and a lot of things I wanted to do, but this was my favourite!

Thank you Shino and all Kimono Club ladies!
I got a real warm welcome, with wonderful food, sadly I could only bring "stroopwafels" (a Dutch cooky treat) and no real food.

Any way, it was wonderful to meet the ladies and to see some of them again, after meeting the first time in 2009 at moments like this I wish I lived there and could go every month!

Apart from the food there was dancing! I loved it. And talking in English with many Japanese ladies, it was so much fun, even though the Jetlag was still severe and the moisty heat and Typhoon kind of played tricks with my sanity ^_^

I was wearing my new Asanoha Mamechiyo Modern summer kimono, paired with the asa obi I just bough in Ginza, a bright blue obi-jime and a make-do hanjuban and leggings, as I didn't find a nagajuban jet.
The leggings where actually a pretty good thing to wear under kimono at this season, as it prevented my legs from sticking to each-other ^_^ I wasn't the only one that evening who thought so! Yay for modern, practical kimono wearing!

Ginza!

2011-09-04T15:19:00.001+01:00

My favourite kimono shop in Ginza
There's a Tully's across the street, so first a good strong espresso and then to the sweet ladies of this shop.
Actually it is not that special, nothing vintage, but it's so sweet!
And the ladies are so nice, I make a goal out of it to get at least one item from their shop when I am in Tokyo.
I bought a great Asa obi and some small kitsuke items, so I was happy!

Dragons

2011-08-08T13:55:00.003+01:00

The Taisho komon, now paired with a ro silk pale blue dragon and phoenix patterned maru obi.

I was hesitant to use this obi, it's painted, and I really like to try painted kimono - woven obi woven; kimono - painted obi
Anyway, I liked the colours and the boldness that dragons indicate, so I decided to try anyway, and I like it.

With purple summer obi-jime and light greenish blue ro obi-age

Actually, I like this more then the pink ^_^

Momiji

2011-08-08T13:10:00.002+01:00

My (to me) extremely bold ro taisho komon kimono with fuchsia and black back-ground in a wood pattern, and big bold momiji leaves in contrasting aqua and white (creme)

I saw this kimono at morning last September in a Kyoto shop I didn't know yet, expensive! But good size and so bold... I loved it instantly, but did hesitate for a whole day. Then decided early evening to cycle back hoping it didn't sell yet, and she was still there!

Couldn't find a super obi that would do this kimono justise, but this soft purple/pink ro hakata seems ok, I added a aqua obi-age and fuchsia/black obi-jime wich is too small so I had to use obi-dome for a change ^_^

I added creme lace to the ro silk nagajuban with yanagi pattern (also Taisho), to enhance some of an older feel.

Not sure about the tabi, but white really looked weird!

Plums

2011-07-19T18:13:00.003+01:00

Dark blue yukata with light blue and purple morning-glories.
I dressed this yukata as a komon as I feel this is better for work. Also, it's warmer and it's not that warm here right now.
To enhance the plum colour I added a whine-purple hanhaba obi tied in a clam-shell variation.
For contrast a light obi-age and obi-jime.
I think it might be good to wear kimono/yukata in the shop, but, I do not always feel like it, it does attract a lot of attention.

Teal blue ro

2011-07-17T11:26:00.008+01:00

This little teal blue ro silk kimono is small and so sweet!
She's super soft, has woven silver stripes and tiny added gold and warm orange embroidery in some of the flower hearts, and silver around the edges of some petal.

The obi has the same orange embroidered flowers and some soft blue and grey morning glories, I think they are wonderful.
Even though both are on the small side and the obi apart from being too short is also kind of dirty, but they are so pretty.

Just when I thought I had to add warm orange summer accessories to my shopping list, I remembered I had some! In real life they have the exact same shade of orange as the flowers and flower hearts, how lucky I am, the camera turned them a bit too red though...

As this kimono and obi scream vintage (they are ^_^) I took out my cute ro nagajuban with embroidered eri.
The tabi are Mamechiyo Modern early spring collection 2011 and have tiny gold dots, perfect!

Summer Kasuri 2

2011-07-10T11:15:00.001+01:00

Another summer kasuri
Purple with arrow pattern and contrasting soft yellow and white embroidered flower-roundels.

To create an soft colour look I choose the white white lilac sayagata obi, also because it is a painted ro and I like the woven kimono, painted obi rule.

For contrast a mint green silk lace (for summer weave like) han eri, mint green nagajuban, obi-age & -jime and tabi, purple zori and I was ready to go to our first Kimono de Jack Netherlands!
More pictures here: Kimono Club

Stripes

2011-07-07T11:58:00.005+01:00

Yesterday one of my colleagues said something that could be explained as why do you never wear kimono any-more?

Oh oops, because I do not feel like it?

So I dressed in one immediately.
A ro silk, black with white stripes.
White ro silk obi with huge embroidered maple
White eri and tabi, red and black geta

Sadly I feel hot, uncomfortable and.... But still it's fun ^_^

Summer kasuri

2011-07-04T10:56:00.003+01:00

In my pile, "maybe not" was this cute kasuri summer kimono.
I wanted to give it to my dear friend, but she said, no I never wear blue and it's good condition and quite long enough for you, keep it!
And actually, I do like this one...

So ok

I dressed her with ro silk painted white and pink obi, blue accessories and a tired face, sorry!

Now I have photographed almost all kimono and cataloged them, stored the precious antiques in the tansu and the precious "daily wear" in daddies cabinet.
It was a lot of work, but soooo worth it
Now I know exactly what I own and which ones I actually do not need/want anymore, good! it's such a relieve!

Cataloging

2011-05-21T07:42:00.002+01:00

Finally I picket-up my kimono sorting/cataloging process.
This time I use a different (I think smarter) approach.

As much as possible I try to photograph them by type, I take the pictures in my bedroom so I can use the tatami.
But the main reason is, I need to take my futon away, so, I need to tidy everything up again in order to sleep.

After taking the pictures I make them into thumbnails straight away and put them in my digital document.
No measuring, maybe this I will try one at the time when I wear them, because, it takes too much time!

Last picture is me in Kyoto showing the best summer kimono. Saw it while cataloging and it's still great, super soft silk great condition, long and bold pattern/colours =(^.^)=

Koninginnedag

2011-04-30T22:51:00.005+01:00

I think I had this yukata for over 6 years and never wore it.

But now it was Queensday and we celebrated with friends from Japan, so...

Finally I could wear my orange yukata to Vondelpark, where Queensday is still fun even when you're with children, or especially.

Apart from the checkered han-eri I kept it quit low key as for me this yukata is pretty obnoxious it was fun to wear kimono again, I feel sad I am too busy and tired to wear any lately, but this whole long day made it ok ^_^

Roses in snow

2010-12-18T10:00:00.005Z

Today my meisen purple roses in the snow.
With black hat, black gloves and black boots.
This is my first time with boots with kimono, it's weird!

But comfortable, and as the kimono is too small, a good idea!
The obi is white, for the roses and the snow!
I kept every thing simple, for the snow and because I like simple...
The fabric of this meisen is very thick and kind of "hard" I do not know the English word but we say "stug" it's not very giving and hard to fold and drape, as you can see in the back it looks a bit crumbled, but never mind, it looks informal and relaxed too ^_^

2010-12-17T17:02:00.000Z

This time I love it!
It's so pretty
Tomorrow I will try kimono in the snow
if there's time...

Tsumugi stripes & Frisian chintz

2010-11-20T11:48:00.000Z

Todays kimono was a Japanese striped tsumugi kimono which I found in the "junk" basket at a shop in Tokyo this year. Why it was in the extreme cheap basket I do not know because it's really nice!

I paired her with my home made Frisian Chintz obi, tied in a clam-shell variation. With light blue obi-jime or colour and pink obi-age.

Burgundy tabi and han-eri and I felt I could go to work as a Frisian women in a Japanese shop in Amsterdam ^_^

Autumn

2010-10-31T15:17:00.004Z

Autumn is really here now. Last week was extremely cold, windy and rainy absolutely EEEW!
Today started like that but now it's dramatically pretty, dark clouds with sunshine.
I just had to put on my autumn coloured kimono I bought at Gobo-san this time. I indulged in two meisen kimono that are officially too short, but meisen are my absolute favourite and I didn't have patterns like these.
The kimono I paired with a black painted obi also with autumnal motives, the tabi are black too with stylized clouds. Yellow hanao on the black zori and I'm good to go...

Working!

2010-10-14T18:32:00.005+01:00

And looking dorky...
Today we had a photo-shoot and I had to show up in kimono.

I chose my soft blue roses because I knew the others would be dressed dark and it was rainy and this kimono is polyester.
To be save and for some warmth I also wore my "rain" coat, which I still need to lengthen, it's so short!

My new hat from Muji, big scarf and Japanese "UV-Gloves"
I know they are meant to protect for the sun, but they do help when it is chilly ^_^

All else just normal and formal, white collar, white tabi
And... I do work when having coffee ^_^

Tenjin shopping

2010-09-27T15:07:00.008+01:00

As I am in Japan no real updates. I do wear kimono everyone's in a while, but have no photo editing program on this notebook, so after I get home I will post one by one.

But this is too funny!

On Gobo-san market was one kimono I really wanted, but alas too expensive for me.

Later at Tenjin Market the same seller talked to me (her costumers actually they recognized me from Nanao (or my blog?) Sadly we couldn't really talk, but it was fun anyway:

http://yaplog.jp/kimono-fugasya/archive/1126

if anyone feels like translating... please do!
(PS Translating has been done, and it is the same story I told, they recognized me from Nanao especially from riding the bicycle in kimono ^_^)

The lady has a wonderful collection, please check it: http://kyoto.fugasya.net/

Beppu

2010-09-06T12:42:00.009+01:00

Takegawara Spa
After going into "my" area, behind the red curtain is the woman's bath ^_^ and taking a wonderful (onsen) bath with old Japanese ladies, a well-deserved rest in the large resting area of this great old sento with spring water in Beppu. Drinking cold thee from one of the million fending machines of Japan.

This sento is not only a bathhouse, you can also take a "sand-bath". Behind the curtain (red for me) you have to change into a yukata provided by the sento, go trough another curtain, lay down in the sand and get covered by a lady in hot volcanic sand. Its sooo relaxing!

They are commercializing, so only 10 minutes!
Never mind that, sweat was pouring down my face and I felt myself get red like a tomato. Probably it's good for you ^_^

After relaxing for long time (it was hot!) Taking a long walk up the hill, away from the city to visit the lunch onsen, Ichinoide.
What a great place!

The water is baby blue, the view over the city gorgeous, the sauna (left) great (though a bit weird to do with an outside temperature of 38C) And then, after bathing in this gorgeous blue water that makes your skin feel like baby skin...
Lunch!

Kimonoshopping 1 ...

2010-09-04T16:32:00.000+01:00

Osaka!
Bought at Ichiroya's, before I left I ordered these four items, to pick them up in Osaka. Bad me, buying four items before entering Japan!
But....
Ichiroya's collection is so gorgous!
And the yukata, 50% cotton, 50% asa, (lower left) I just had to have, also, knowing Japan would be extremely hot when we would be there, I figured, this cotton/asa kimono might be perfect to wear!
Lower right is a wonderful rose fukuro obi, top left a nice synthetic komon and top right a gorgeous antique black homongi with painted and embroidered motives in extraordinary long size...

This lace haori, painted "faux" meisen and new rose (and cat) hanhaba obi I bought in Nanba Osaka at Kimono-ya.
A very cheap and good shop with a nice collection and not too big ^_^
I also bough eri-shin, obi-ita and koshi-himo, so I could wear kimono in Japan. As a present they gave me a very nice white/silver obi-jime.

Welcome in Osaka!

2010-09-04T15:51:00.002+01:00

Hi H&M ^_^

More exotic:

Osaka was hot, humid and very busy! Still absolutely great and our minshuku was quiet, cute and wonderful!
As was the visit with Yuka-san and Ichiro-san, thank you both for a wonderful time and for holding my order so I could have my "first" kimono purchase ^_^

Welcom In Japan!

2010-09-02T07:00:00.001+01:00

Hi Fuji-san!

Checks

2010-08-13T11:22:00.003+01:00

Summer checks.
As it seemed to be a cold day I decided on yukata with nagajuban to look more dressed ( and feel more warm)
A purple-ish yukata with big checks and big leaves, somewhat giving the yukata a Taisho era feel.
The obi is one-layered wool hanhaba in actually the same colour tone as the big leaves, soft dusky pink.
The whole ensemble has been screaming for something fresh, so I added bright soft green accessories (summer weave)
The geta are bright pink with ume

Blue Roses

2010-07-24T08:16:00.004+01:00

Wednesday a new package from Ichiroya arrived, with this wonderful Roses yukata!
But is it a yukata?
I am not so sure. As the collar is fold-able...(?)
Nevertheless, I wear her today as a cotton kimono, with nagajuban and all accessories.
Bright blue obi, white with blue obi-jime off-white obi-age and white lace tabi.
Blue hanao on the geta and I am set to go working ^_^
Thank you Yuka-san and Ichiro-san, for another beauty in my collection!

Morning-glories on gray

2010-07-23T10:10:00.004+01:00

As I never smile in the pictures:
here's one ^_^
My sweet gray morning-glory yukata with dirty yellow obi
very nice on a summers day at work.
Lots of people commented today, it's funny as usually people don't.
There was even one man who shouted after me: Pretty! and then: Pretty obi!
which I must admit kind of impressed me, what man knows obi?
very nice indeed ^_^

Black yukata

2010-07-21T18:33:00.002+01:00

More my style.
Well... the red obi isn't actually I wanted all black and white, but he, guess what, no white hanhabba in my closet.
But this is fun too, especially with the black and red geta.
Surprisingly it wasn't so hot today, but I did wear a slip-dress instead of kimono/yukata underwear, to help stay cool a bit. I think that was a wise decision.
The musubi got a bit disheveled, tsja.

Tulip yukata

2010-06-26T07:56:00.006+01:00

which I forgot to post
Maybe because I wasn't too happy about the ensemble (?)
or I just didn't have my day.

I was happy I had geta with green hanao to repeat the obi, that makes it fun.

And the obi jime in almost the same colour as the kimono
I just use obi jime because it does secure my favourite musubi, clam shell!

All in all, it is a nice set for a warm day.
it looks fresh...

Dragonflies

2010-06-22T19:10:00.000+01:00

With hitoe season long on the way, I wanted to finally wear this kimono myself.
It's too small!
Even the nagajuban collar couldn't be hidden in the back, never mind I still think it's a beauty an fun to dress in.
I knew when I bought this kimono it was a bit on the small side, but being at the market, at a stall filled with meisen kimono, I couldn't resist. Maybe the MIIIZEN screaming American lady helped a bit ^_~
I just knew she was going to cut them up...

With the obi I tried to repeat the red and white details.
Obi-age is pail green with shibori and obi-jime in dark green for the foliage outside.

Blue shibori geta and I was all set do go to work.
It's really fun to work in kimono.

Antique Hitoe

2010-05-30T15:28:00.007+01:00

This cute antique hitoe... A bit too small, though I did manage an ohashori! I should not have bought her.

But... she's so cute...

And hitoe, which I still feel is quite rare, she is perfect for collecting.

I paired her with a hitoe teal-blue obi, teal-blue zori to match the flower and brownish accessories too match the other flower.

I guess this kimono is more fall hitoe looking at the pattern, but well.

I fell for this kimono because of the rinzu weave, it contains fan's streams, flowers, clouds, matsu etc. and it's shiny.

The pattern strikes me as bold and fun, I just had to have her for my collection.
And now that I tried her on and see the size isn't that bad, I am even more happy.

Oh, and Mamechiyo, you are right (of course) if I want/need to show that much collar, I'd better use coloured han-eri...

Same kimono

2010-05-10T16:57:00.003+01:00

different obi.

I like this too, the fresh modern look of the obi is quite refreshing.

I do need to think about the accessories though...

And the obi might be tied into something fun!

Silver ume

2010-05-03T16:23:00.002+01:00

Next to blue, as being my favourite colour, grey comes quite close...
especially this kind of deep silver blue-ish grey.
This kimono is sumptuous, shiny, soft silk with rinzu bamboo pattern, fluffy ume blossoms who do not look the standard but stylized, funky and plump. Sleeves to the knees, what would a girl want more...?
I bought this piece at Gobo-san market Kyoto, the very sweet sales girl warned me for stains on the colour, if I was sure(?) Yes I was, the kimono was cheap and I just loved the colour and pattern. The girl being so concerned was sweet, her stall had amazing kimono but rather out of my budget, this one did fit the bill.

A view days later I did buy a more expensive one at her stall... at the other market ^_^

I paired this fluffy kimono with a fluffy obi ^_^ In this one, plum chrysanthemums (I think) I think it's cute. Amazingly I had this obi age and zori in almost the same colour as the outline of the ume and an obi jime in the background colour of the kimono.
All in all, one of my new favourites.

Bara Yakko

2010-04-29T19:27:00.001+01:00

As it was the last day calligrapher Asako and her sweet daughter Akari where here I dressed in a rose patterned kimono.
This because Asako gave me a new name Bara Yakko, which if I understand her correctly means something like Rose Friend, or Friendly Rose.
So, rose kimono it was. This polyester kimono has been lying in my closet since the first time I went to Japan, what a shame!
Confession: I have great troubles unwrapping etc. completely new, super fresh kimono and accessories. I just love it when they have their tags, stitches etc. ...
But, for this special occasion, and because it is a real shame this kimono never saw some day light, I unwrapped her. It's quite difficult I experienced to wear these rather cheap, kind of slippery synthetic kimono *sigh*
But I managed. things need to be tightened more and everything is quit ok, but not easy. During the day everything slipped on me...
I paired this blue-ish grey kimono wit hints of super soft green and lilac, first with a dark hanhaba obi with purple and pink accessories. Which seemed ok . But when I put her on the doll after I thought, I light obi might be more fun...
so blue-ish green obi age and green obi jime, yes, more springtime.
The nagajuban is also super soft green which matches really nice, but it is silk, maybe that is causing the slippery problems... (?)

red black white

2010-04-22T07:21:00.002+01:00

Kimono for the opening day of the shop I work at.

I choose Mamechiyo's Candy Stripe because it is chic.
For "cross-culture" I chose my Tulip obi.
Paired with red accessories and my chic black and white striped geta from Tokyo I think I looked nice for the opening party o a new chic and fun Japanese shop in Amsterdam.

The architect is next to me in sweet white and red wool, paired with an black obi, red harts date eri and green accessories, everything chosen to make her look more funky, as she is a funky lady.

Weird look of my back, I didn't know my obi was that crumbled!
What a shame!
I walked around like this for the whole evening.
Shocking...

All in all, it was great to wear kimono again after months of rebuilding and re-organizing the shop ^_^

JCC New Years Party

2010-01-16T13:30:00.004Z

I hope pictures of the actual party will turn up soon...

Red/Pink/Purple

2010-01-05T13:22:00.002Z

This cute kimono is really weird...
It's short (too short for me) but wide.
And it seemed impossible to get the collar nicely... (?)
I could only manage 1 cm. han-eri showing, which is weird, I never had that before.

Well, the kimono is woven, so I paired her with a painted new, but vintage looking, obi in the same shade, but then blue instead of purple-ish.

I was wearing white tabi, over the tabi socks, but had to take them off before putting on shoes for walking back home (in the snow)

The obi-jime changed colour in the lamp-light, in real life she looked better.
But next time I really should pick green or other contrasting colour, as this matchy-matchy is getting borring ^_^

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T08:00:00.002Z

For the last day of the year I decided to wear something quite formal.
My bubbles kimono!
I was happy and quite surprised that it looked ok with blond hair too.
Boss-lady loved it, so I am happy. She likes formal/quiet kimono...
To be honest I liked the pinkish obi I wore with this kimono last time better, but this one is ok. The colours are actually like the kimono, which doesn't really show in the picture, maybe due to the lamp lights(?)
Same goes for the obi-jime, in real live it looked ok, as the colour is like the detail in the kimono, but with this fake light it looks quite different.

I also need to practice dressing in bigger kimono too ^_^
Now it looks a bit crooked ^_^
Could be from the bike-ride and long, busy working day...

The obi looks a bit beaten too...
Sigh... wearing kimono is hard work.

The zori arn't as formal as they should be, but the colour is right and they looked cute.
I couldn't find the pink ones that should go with it...
yes, it's a mess again ^_^

七緒

2009-12-28T15:07:00.004Z

last Tuesday I found Nanao magazine on my doorstep.
I was so proud!
An article about me.. in Nanao... *sigh*
I knew, of course, I gave the interview myself, but to hold and see the magazine myself and being able to read some words.
Yes, it made me feel happy and proud ^_^
This issue is extra nice because there is an item on how to dress with different body-types.
Short, chubby, long, with a small belly. Really great!
This magazine is a great one to have anyway, but this issue... ^_~

Bonenkai

2009-12-19T14:58:00.003Z

At my job we had a Bonenkai-party "Forget the year party" on Friday evening.
Obviously I wanted to wear kimono.
Because it was a cooking party I opted for save wool kimono in dark colours and a silver synthetic obi.

But, Christmas colours, so even though it was a very informal kimono, the colours would associate Christmas and the festiveness of the silver hanhaba obi would take away the informal-ness of the wool.

It was a very informal party, so all was fine.
The kimono was covered by an apron as the teacher was worried ^_^

The wool was nice and warm (also obviously I chose an awase nagayuban) The only thing... the feet, how to warm the feet?
My toes get so gold this time of year, then when ever I wear kimono I have to press them against the heater for several minutes. Any tips out there? Except wearing shoes outside (which I sometimes do, especially when everything outside is wet)

Winter Bamboo

2009-12-16T18:49:00.000Z

Red white and blue antique kimono.
I was so happy when Ryujiro-san put this one on sale last year.
I was eying her for a long time, but.. decided she was out of my league. then the sale came...
And she was mine ^_^
And now, finally I had a change to wear her.
A cold clear morning to work.
I paired her with a whitish obi, red obi-jime and age and black with red geta. Wide white han-eri and ready was my Dutch national colours kimono.
Which I had not realized, I did only after one of my colleagues pointed it out to me *Duh*! He said, just add some orange and you can go to a soccer game. Eeeew!
Still, I really like this kimono, and this ensemble.

Cycling again

2009-11-06T16:34:00.004Z

For Nanao magazine I took these pictures.
As they really wanted to see pictures of kimono on a bicycle (in Amsterdam)
Sadly this afternoon I felt really sick, but for a change it wasn't raining and they need the pictures next Tuesday!

So, I put on my Dutch kimono, with silk dyed obi which I bought because she seemed extremely Dutch. (think Dutch -Frisian- sitsen)

I added the "pearl" obi-jime, because even pearls have a Dutch connotation with them.

And my azuma skirt, the closed susoyoke for dancing, as I told then this is what i always wear in The Netherlands because it keeps my legs covered while on the bicycle.

Lace tabi and obi-age (again, lace is an important aspect of Dutch costume)

And for fun, cycling under the "apple" tree, yes, it's extremely fake ^_^ see the bananas and grapes too?

Tokyo speech ensemble

2009-10-03T12:56:00.001+01:00

For the speech in Tokyo I decided on a blue kimono with sitsen obi (bought from Ichiroya)
I added lace tabi, obi-age and pearl obi-jime to enhance the Dutch-ness.
I wanted a checkered kimono, white and blue but didn't find one.
I did find this )probably) asa semi open eave blue kimono.
Obviously completely wrong as it is full summer time, but the weave was quite close so it could look like hitoe... hum well yeah... not really.
But, colour-wise and for Dutch-ness, it was the best option.
Nobody seemed to bother.

The kimono man is Mr. Lyuta Ito
I was surprised to see a kimono clad man, even in japan they seem to be rather rare. Even more surprising, Mr. Ito spook Dutch! He sews kimono, or, is a professional kimono maker.
So, dear kimono wearing men, if you can, buy a kimono from him, he can give style advice too ^_^ maybe also ladies, i forgot to ask if he had a specialty.

Tokyo

2009-10-02T15:54:00.004+01:00

I love Tokyo!

Look at the tall buildings, they go up and up and up and there are so many....
Picture taken from the roof of Mori building. When going to the Mori museum you can buy a museum ticket, in the museum you actually have a great view on Tokyo already, but if you want to see more, for 300 extra you can go up on the roof.

This picture was taken from the hotel. This time the room was on the fifth floor, meaning: with a view! And an elevator that talked... it said: "going up/down" and go-kai/i-kai arimasu. At least that's what I think ^_^

On Monday I joined Mamechiyo in an interview and she told me to wear kimono... after the interview (which was manly about kawai-ness, and I had a very hard time explaining why kawai isn't a big issue in Europe and that I personally would feel quite offended if some one would call me kawai ^_^) anyways, after that she took me to her Shinjuku store, which is really pretty and I could have my picture taken with the dolls ^_^

Even in the rain I loved Tokyo, though it made kimono wearing much harder, Shino talked me into it when we went walking around Tokyo and visiting Mrs Ikeda's store it was so special, she had the best vintage kimono ever. But, 50.000 yen for the gorgeous green kimono I loved, was just a bit too much, maybe one day...

And this was on Friday when I gave a small speech about kimono love in Europe and me wearing kimono (to my job) Shino was sweet enough to arrange this meeting for me and I met lot's of kimono lovers, one of them spook Dutch! And he makes kimono too.

After the small speech I was interviewed by Nanao Magazine. Which was so great! My favourite magazine wanted to interview me, also arranged by Shino ^_^

Kyoto

2009-09-25T15:22:00.002+01:00

As it was hot, really hot, I didn't wear kimono in Kyoto ones.
But, as always Kyoto was great and pretty!
Despite the heat I went to two temple markets and bought many kimono. But, I must admit, I actually prefer shopping at kimono stores...

Near Gion the sun set was really pretty.
I wasn't the only one.
Blond haired Japanese tourists seem to thinks so too ^_^

Lunch in a zen temple was again great, the food is soooo good!
After lunch, I saw bamboo groves! Finally! So pretty and big and impressive and gorgeous!

Just a little too early for the full glory of autumn colours... but even the hint of what would come was perfect to me.

Last evening in Kyoto I decided to take the tourist shot after all, Kyoto tower looked so pretty at night.
And last morning in Kyoto, coffee and lunch with Gary.
Again a wonderful meal, with brown rice! And now I know it is called genmai in Japan, mmm brown rice ^_^

Osaka

2009-09-19T07:54:00.002+01:00

Landing on Kansai-airport, I thought it would be fun to spend at least one night in Osaka.
As the first time there I didn't really like it much. And, it's good to give cities a second change.
Probably due to the weather the firs time I thought Osaka a bit sleazy. But this time, shining in the bright late summer sun, I thought Osaka was futuristic modern and fun.

Going up 40 stories on Umeda sky building is exciting!
And fun to take fashion pictures ^_~

But, skyscrapers really are fascinating to me, as we have none and seeing these immensely huge Japanese cities from above is overwhelming. And so pretty!

This building itself is pretty, I was really stunned. Going up was thrilling with the open escalators and reaching the top, you see this reflection which evokes Tori. Which I thought very clever, combining the old with the new, just by suggestion.
I can see why people get married here, it's romantic.

For me a cup of coffee a view stories lower is romantic enough though ^_^

The old-fashioned pre-WWII Ryokan Houkouso was a super nice contrast.
Sleeping in a tatami room with a view on the small garden.
Japanese style breakfast (sooo good, and incredibaly cheap) in the old meeting room at a large table round a big fire place with above it, a (water) kettle. Of which, of course, I forgot to take pictures.

Lilac

2009-08-27T19:03:00.007+01:00

one crested ro silk houmongi.
I have no idea what flowers they are.
If some one knows... please let me know ^_^
This kimono has been in my collection a very long time, but I never dressed in it, so I felt is was time. Besides, according to the "kimono calendar" there are only four days left for usumono.
Technically from the 20est a hitoe obi is preferred to an usumono, but I do not agree I might have when it's kind of cold. But it is not. And, if it would have been kind of cold, I would wear hitoe. Also, these rules are not that strict, but it is nice to keep some colour sense, autumnal colours for autumn etc.

But now it is still summer.
I think purple is quite nice for late summer. As it is still kind of fresh, but with a warm tone in it.

The obi is ro silk burgundy, or more whine red. Adding more deep colour-tones.
A light obi-jime to lighten the whole a bit.

Light blue obi-age from the flowers.
Lace tabi again and purple zori.

Blue ro Taisho

2009-08-21T12:53:00.006+01:00

As dolly is wearing the new susohiki now (photo's will follow) I could wear my soft silk Taisho era ro silk kimono. I kind of (ahum) forgot how difficult it is to dress in these old super soft buttery silk kimono, that is a down side.
But, She's got it all (again). Blue silk, ro, silver stripes done by silver metallic threads, yellow bush-clover (shibory technique) and... longer sleeves.

I discovered this later (after returning home) but kind of thought, ah well lets leave them. Scared there would be discoloration etc. But seeing it on myself I realized making them longer would be much nicer. As just with the lower tied obi, longer sleeves look better when not being so tiny ^_^

Of course I paired her with the nagoya obi I intended for her. It's a ro silk yellow obi with embroidered bush-clovers.
Usually I am kind of reluctant to wear the same pattern on kimono and obi, but was told not to be so strict.
Besides, the size, look and feel of both are quite different.

Blue summer obi-jime and soft green summer obi-age and, lace tabi ^_^

Actually I was going to ask for advice, leave the sleeves, or repair them to their old state...? Here is the picture of one short sleeve one long. But I like the longer best! The only down side is, it needs ironing and a nagayuban with long sleeves *sigh*.

Red Yukata bubbles

2009-08-20T09:37:00.000+01:00

My lovely red pink dotted yukata from Ichiroya arrived. And the weather being so summery I had to wear her to work, if only to show everybody there, I do not only have blue ^_~

Paired with a pink and creme yukata obi and pink geta making the whole ensemble even more candy like.

But, with green obi-jime to hold the musubi and to add some spice to the sweetness.

My boss teased me about the low collar: "that's nice, but only for geisha" he said. Yes, yes I know, but it's hot, I'm in The Netherlands, it must be ok!

I told him, Mamechiyo's husband told me it was indeed ok for western ladies (in The West) to wear their collars low, as it is pretty.
He added, when you are the host of a party, it's ok too, but do not show your shoulder-blades (like geisha kind of do).

Ro komon

2009-08-19T19:47:00.004+01:00

It promised to be a hot and wonderful day.
Most importantly: dry.
So I choose kimono again. My modern synthetic asanoha ro komon.

This time I paired her with a vintage ro fukuro.
Technically this might be a bit too formal for a komon. But I liked the combination.
In retrospect I think I liked the combination with the ro hakata more. But this was fun to try and also nice and dressy for work.

The accessories are ro too, purple and pink.
The zori are also purple and pink, lucky me.
I wish I had some of those gorgeous summer cloth or straw or woven something... type zori, but then the kind of formal ones! They pop-up every ones in a while, so I keep hoping ^_^

Luckily I didn't feel too hot. It was a quiet day so I didn't have to "run around" (I never do) but still, when dressed in kimono on a hot day you do not want to walk up and down stairs too often ^_~

black yukata

2009-08-12T19:21:00.003+01:00

Actually, I have nothing to add...
Feeling a bit sick, pfff... come on it's summer-time!
The whole ensemble looks a bit sloppy, I tried to wear an eri-sugata and it didn't work for me this time.
For some reason, the obi became sloppy too.
What happened?
Lucky for me, my colleagues and sister did actually like it ^_^
Me too, apart from the sloppy-ness and the somewhat weird coordination, I like the black white and hint of red. Next time I will dress more properly.

Sha

2009-07-19T19:45:00.010+01:00

Bold black sha kimono.
The colours are actually fuchsia with aqua blue (and silver) not blue and red.
Aqua blue hanhaba-obi in Kai no kuchi again.
Hot pink and black obi-jime, too short for me so tied in the back, yes I am missing an obi-dome, *sigh* it's on my wish list, but they are hard to find in something really versatile.
Piece of lace fabric as obi-age.

And a tip I got last year. When you are tall(er), tie the obi lower.
(I probably could have tied it even lower)
But more importantly for comfort (and when you actually have breasts, to prevent those hanging over the obi) tie the obi loose at the top.
So, place the obi-ita low on your belly, about three or four fingers under the navel and tilt the top forward, to help with this I sometimes put a rolled sock in the top of the obi-ita. Now, wrap the obi around quite tight, but only tight at the bottom so the top stays kind of open. Tie everything secure and remove the sock (or what ever you've put there).

The obi is now secure at the lower point and comfortably loose at the top. This way it is still possible to breath with ease, eat something and move around all day.

Also, there is a lot of space now for the obi-age and for what ever you want to put there, wallet, mobile, make-up(bag) etc.
I did exaggerate it a bit to show. But, I must say, when in Tokyo I actually saw a kimono shop owner dressed like that, the top was even more away from her and this huge household wallet fitted perfectly in the gap. As did various kimono ties and who knows what she might have felt she needed.

Yabane

2009-07-16T21:49:00.004+01:00

Blue and white yukata with purple yukata obi.
Blue and white obi-jime to hold the knot. Tied in a rose-like bow. I tied the obi in a standard bunko-musubi first, but it felt way too childish, so I tied it again and this time in kai-no-kuchi variation. Ah, that felt better ^_^
BB geta and I was off to work.
I guess my collegues and employers know, by now, I love blue the most ^_^

Blue ro

2009-07-15T18:44:00.008+01:00

Fresh blue ro synthetic kimono with a classic pattern, looks like patch-work, all " different" fabrics with a different traditional pattern. Some sayagata, some asanoha etc.
Again the black silk nagoya obi in a course weave .
Lace tabi and soft lilac zori with embroidered straps.

Dolly is wearing a "new" antique ro silk kimono with yellow nagoya obi, both antique silk, both with bush-clover pattern both bought in Tokyo.

I found this kimono in a small store in Harajuku, but was doubting to buy her.
I left the store and went on.

In another store I saw this cute yellow nagoya and thought, she's perfect for that kimono!
So, I bought the (very cheap) obi and went back to the first store and checked... Yes I liked the combination and also bought the kimono.

Feeling happy *sigh*
I found another treasure for my (antique) collection

Big sha stripes

2009-07-13T14:18:00.005+01:00

Ikea again!
I love these fresh colours, Ikea colours, blue and yellow ^_^
With some white to add more freshness.

There are a view black stripes in this kimono so i thought a course black summer weave obi was ok.

This kimono is very small, so no ohashori let alone a decent wrist to wrist size.

Still I think it's a fun one, these vintage kimono are so pretty, I really like the long sleeves, though on this one they might be a bit too long for me, still it's ok I think as I am quit tall myself (in kimono world that is) in all other cases I am very average ^_^

To enhance the yellow I used yellow with white summer obi-jime and obi age, the obi-age is actually soft green, but almost yellow in appearance.

Ro Asanoha Komon

2009-07-12T16:20:00.006+01:00

Last week I received this cute, bright and bold polyester ro kimono from Ichiroya.
I love her! Thank you Yuka-san and Ichiro-san!
This kimono is large, and I mean really large. She's actually a bit taller hen me and the wingspan is actually ok ^_^
As this kimono is so bright and bold I looked for a calm obi, this soft pink hakata-ori seemed ok. But, I did not want to be boring, so bright purple summer obi-jime and even brighter pink summer obi-age.
I forgot to look for my lace tabi, but plain white seems just ok to me.
Though the lace might add to a summer feel.

Coincidentally I was reading a kimono blog, do not remember who's and she told being happy it was July (first) so she could wear ro and sha. She also mentioned that this wearing ro and sha is not as strictly anymore as it was. This, she added because of global warming, but she also mentioned, she still kept the first of July as the ro/sha changing date. Funny I just received Yuka-san's news-letter also talking about this season of ro and sha being allowed earlier and longer, not only July and August, but from mid June till till mid September! Lucky me ^_^ (though, I am a little bit like that Japanese girl, liking that first of July date...

Eggplant coloured yukata

2009-07-09T13:57:00.002+01:00

sadly, it's cold again.
On the other hand, perfect for wearing kimono to work.
I chose my eggplant coloured yukata with Morning Glory pattern.
Paired with a green hanahaba for yukata. I did wear nagayuban as these china made yukata have fake collar-guards so I can't slit an eri-shin in. Normally I loosen some threads in the side to insert one, but now I flt being in a bit of a hurry that wasn't the best idea.. Nagayuban works too.
It is also possible to tie the kimono in such a way the nagayuban isn't seen, I could have done that, but it occurred to me only when I saw the pictures and realized it's too formal this way...
Because of the hanhaba obi tied in a "real" yukata musubi. And, everything looks absolutely collapsed after the whole day in the store and two very windy bike-rides, *sigh*
Then the tabi, it's all a bit too much of a mismatch. On the other hand, I was comfortably warm and everybody in the store liked it, so I should not be too hard on myself.
But... next time I am in japan I will buy this special cute obi-makura I saw for yukata musubi and a back obi-ita, I like those!
I just couldn't remember why I liked this yukata so much the first time I dressed, and then I remembered, I paired her with a soft sage green hakata ori, that looked way more dressed.

Black ro

2009-06-30T19:25:00.008+01:00

Black ro red swirls....
This poly ro kimono I bought from Ichiroya, of course, again.
The kimono is bigger then usual, but also needs to be taken out at the arms. I sometimes think Japanese ladies just have short arms... even when the kimono is long, the wingspan is short... or we western ladies have long arms ^_^I found my ro silk hakata ori. It's just fabric *blush* not a finished obi, but this one seemed best this morning.

So, hoping not to run in to Japanese tourists today I took the change. And *phew* I didn't, no body noticed ^_^
I do not like the accessories, too white. But I could not find any really dark ro and the dark closed weaves looked way too heavy, this was my best bet. Next time I'll try harder.
It's really hard to dress in the morning, knowing you have to get to work in time, especially when the outfit wasn't put out the day before ^_^

I did get a little hot while biking to the store, but after an hour underneath the cool air blower I was ok and actually felt quit comfortable.
The nagajuban is really nice. It's ro weave silk with a bold wave pattern and really long!
I wore geta even though I thought zori would have been more fitting with this kimono... these colours where best.

Oh, and my dolly is wearing a hitoe blue meisen with dragonflies. Which I bought in Japan. Paired with a ro silk maple leave patterned obi I think she looks very cute. Her accessories are better too ^_^

Blue yukata

2009-06-26T13:12:00.007+01:00

As the weather is so gorgeous I wanted to wear kimono again.
Yukata, more as it should be.
With no nagajuban.
But I couldn't resist the accessories.
This musubi is getting boring ha... ^_^
But it is so easy!
This blue is really nice I like it a lot.
Though the yukata is not the best quality, it is still nice

I did not want to wear a white obi again so I opted for this aqua hitoe obi, sadly, in real life the colours are a bit better... ahwel you can't have it all. This was a nice and fresh choice for the warm day it turned out to be.But I should have chosen a lighter obi-jime.
Augh, you can see my arm with hadajuban sticking out from under the sleeve...
How to prevent that? I do hope this wasn't too much the case while working... *blush*

Meisen again

2009-06-24T13:02:00.005+01:00

I bought this meisen kimono from Ryujapan, I had to...
hihi. Because I love meisen and this one was big, really big.
Also, I love colours like these. Rich and bright and the big bold pattern.
Lucky for me I had this striped hanhaba obi in almost the same colour as the flowers. For me, I like it best when the kimono is very flower-y to have an abstract obi.
So, that was lucky.
The accessories are just light and easy as is the bow, as I wore it to work I like the simple knots better. Makes life more easy.
All in all I like the overall look, bold but still understated.
Too bad my employers weren't back yet, as I dress partly for them ^_^
Very partly, but if you saw her smile, you'd understand...
Oh, and I also dressed in this one when we went to the Kimono Exhibition in "De Kunsthal" but did not take pictures that time so that's why it did not show up here that time. That day I chose it because the exhibition was about Taisho kimono, this seemed appropriate...

Yukata

2009-06-21T19:22:00.006+01:00

My new morning glory yukata.
It's a stiff, new China made cheap yukata.
She is very nice though and the weather is still cool so yukata with underwear and all accessories is ok for now. Better for work I think then yukata just as it is, I am scared to feel "undressed" hihi.

I paired this fresh blue with fresh silver white, sayagata pattern dance hanhaba obi, I like the combination, very fresh and summer-y livened with a bright red shibory obi-age and paired with blue obi-jime, the zori are cheap soft rubber with some kind of fake tatami, which does feel nicer when it's not cold outside.

I tried the "rule" or tip from Shino about not to wear more then three colours at ones. Now my favourites, blue, white and red.
It kind off works, it makes everything very quite, but we knew that I guess.

Still, reading about it did make me think. Because kimono tend to be multi-coloured, especially the older ones. Now I do think, when wearing very bold kimono with lots of colours, you can make it either more bold by adding an obi that is very different or, calming everything down by adding an obi in the shade of the main colours found in the kimono... Let's see if I can make some "project" out of that idea.

Ichiroya

2009-05-28T22:04:00.003+01:00

One of the highlights of Japan was...
Meeting Yuka-san and Ichiro-san.
My long time favourite kimono sellers. Ichiroya
After years and years of e-mail contact I met with them in real life, and that was really special.
It was a long train journey... and so worth it, I hope to be able to go and meet them again.

銘仙

2009-05-18T14:57:00.003+01:00

Red water wave pattern meisen. She was on my wall, longer then it should be there. I try not to have my kimono longer then one month as display, but I am lazy.
Today I finally took her down, in order to change her for a hitoe.
Realizing I never dressed in this kimono I had to try her on.
She's a pain!
Stiff silk and kind of small. After a short struggle I kind of succeeded.
Choosing an obi was hard too, so I went for my black with peony obi, again...
white and red obi jime and a sage green obi age (from the leaves in the obi.
The tabi are black with white clouds pattern.
I wish I had the courage to widen the sleeves, but I feel scared altering an awase kimono. Maybe some day I will...

Strange

2009-05-17T12:13:00.003+01:00

I find it very strange that this wisteria kimono is awase, even stranger that another wisteria I have is an hitoe, the blue rain over here already past it's height, how, and when could I wear the hitoe?
Maybe in Japan the blue rain blooms later? (I can't imagine, because Japan is warmer, but... maybe a different kind?) I don't know and never mind I kind of choose this kimono as my spring kimono as I have this pattern in both awase and hitoe...
I guess the hitoe rule isn't that strong. If it's hot, wear hitoe (not that it helps)
Over here it's so cold I choose to wear kimono very often because it's perfect for this strange kind of weather. I can look as if it's spring (with colours etc.) but still feel warm ^_^

This gorgeous vintage kimono asked for a vintage obi, so I picked my black with white shibory again, this time trying very hard to get the purple flower kind of in front because it looked nice with the dark purple of the kimono.
I tied it in a kind of vintage obi bow. Yes everything collapsed on me... two bicycle rides and an 8 hour + working day did the trick.
Never mind I think it's still not embarrassingly collapsed.

The han eri is Mamechiyo's Homage to Holland Tulip, I love her! I am a bit scared to wear them as they are silk, but I feel it's also a shame to leave them in the closet and just look at them...
same goes for the kimono...

Green

2009-05-10T19:28:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I should have given a kimono class, but nobody showed up, sadly. I decided anyway to dress in kimono and go spring-y.
Green with blue.
The kimono is a tsumugi and feels cool and coarse, very special. A bit too short and because of the stiffness of tsumugi, not very pliable.
I chose the blue obi because I love blue with green and the pink accessories because the hakake and sleeves are lined in pink.
The the tabi are funky yellow green and purple, the zori mustard shibory, I have no green so these where the best match I thought.
I have worn coloured tabi before and one of the language teachers told me not to do that! I thought... hu? Why not? Black is only for men she said. I blushed of course, told her sorry I knew that but thought, modern times....
I told this story to Yuka-san, from Ichiroya and she told me, black is ok now, indeed it is modern. She explained, my teacher probably was a bit older, left Japan a long time ago and still holds to the rules she learned, besides, she's my teacher (well technically she's not) but at least my elder and she's responsible for my mistakes, she at least feels responsible for me learning everything the best(proper) and right way... Well that's what Yuka-san told me, and I tend to believe her so I am back to wearing black (or coloured tabi, though still reluctantly, white seems after all best in most cases...)

Flowery

2009-05-04T18:16:00.006+01:00

Something different, purple flowers!
This kimono was lying in the "to sort" area, I think she's pretty sweet. Also pretty big for a vintage. The fabric is very soft and hard to handle. But I kind of managed. I am not sure about the obi, but the light colour and the blue and green appealed to me. As these shades are also in the kimono. And, it's not flowery.

Purple obi jime from the kimono and a bright orange obi age because I figured, there's a hint of orange in the kimono pattern.
Maybe the orange from the obi age would show the hint of orange more... not sure.
But it turned out all fun and spring-like.
The pattern on the kimono is three seasoned, which always strikes me as a bit odd for a vintage,but that might be stupid, not everybody can or could buy fancy season appropriate kimono. One for all awase seasons might have been enough. Makes sense.
The strange thing is, everything looked better in real live then in photo. Usual it's the other way around ^_^

Geometrics

2009-04-27T13:43:00.004+01:00

Bought in Japan, this fun wool road-map-like pattern. Brown and yellow are both not my colours, but this kimono is so fun and quite good sized too. It even has small sayagata pattern, which I love.
The obi was bought at the same store, kind of intended for this kimono.
Yes, tied a bit weirdly, mmm, I tied it in front and didn't turn it enough I guess, didn't see it after I saw the pictures.
Well, good lesson, always, always check your back ^_^

Ikea and birds

2009-04-22T12:50:00.005+01:00

Again, woven stripes and blue. Bought from RyuJapan. There seems to a trend in my collection...
Today I wore this to work, I usually do not wear silk, as it is a bit scary, but I also feel, all these beauties should see the day light more. I paired this Ikea blue kimono with gray and a hint of pink stripes with an antique painted obi. The obi is lighter blue with a beige brown stripe and some black, patterned with small flying birds.
I added bright yellow accessories for colour accent and then again the pink striped zori (from the pink stripes in the kimono.
First I wanted yellow zori, but that looked real weird.

I think this is quit a fun set like this. Only the han-eri, I want something different but han-eri are difficult for me, don't know why.
The funniest thing today was when I had my break and walked to Alber Heijn for something to eat, I run into a huge tourist group from Japan, of course it seems they always travel in packs. They where all ladies only two young and all the older ladies flocked around me, softly pulling my sleeve, pointing giggling, but most of all saying cute beautiful pretty, and asking if I was in japan, finally I could say: yes one time!
It was a happy encounter and I was very pleased the ladies liked it and seemed happy. Now I am just very curious what did they think? What would they tell each other later while in the tram...? Well, I had a fun 10 minutes waiting with them in line.

Big hitoe stripes

2009-04-20T07:21:00.011+01:00

This striped hitoe is surprisingly big. Look at the wing-span... It's great, one kimono more I do not need to alter. The length is also pretty ok. The stripes are big too ^_^ This being a very quiet and subdued kimono, black and grey with a purple hue, I decided again for my purple-ish tulip han-eri, the obi is a soft silk, creme with painted purple flowers. Because it's so soft it's really hard to tie, hence the wobbly taiko.

Next time, when I will actually wear this one to work, I will try harder.
For obi age I chose pink for contrast, for obi-jime I chose the colours from the kimono.
When I first started to wear kimono, I couldn't be brought to wearing anything else but obi age obi jime sets, but now I like to play with different colours.
Though, pink would have been nice too.
Zori are of course, pink and black.

Black and flowers

2009-04-19T20:32:00.004+01:00

Sweet black kimono with woven flowers in red, purple and grey.
No idea what the flowers are, but I think they are very nice. This kimono is like most woven ones very nice to wear, not slippery at all, that makes it easy. Because the pattern was quite busy to me I chose this very quiet pink striped obi and to brighten the whole a bit, the tulip han eri I bought from Mamechiyo. Lucky for me I even had striped pink zori ^_^ sadly, no lavender purple obi jime, well, you cant have it all can you.
The yuban sleeves stick out very weirdly, no idea why, if I had gone out in this kimono I would have pinned them out of the way, usually that works quite well.

Kitty bathing

2009-04-16T08:59:00.000+01:00

Completely by chance I found this too funny video of a
Cat thanking a bath
Cute!
My cat would never sit that still in a bath, not that I ever tried, I do not think cat's need to take a bath, but still, this video is funny and the cat is cute. Not sure if the cat really enjoys it though...(?)

あい

2009-04-13T18:53:00.006+01:00

I love blue!
I love stripes, silver, woven kimono and blue... And this kimono has it all. She just screamed to me, not that she had to, I wanted to own her anyway.
This kimono will look good with a lot of obi I think. And being a kimono nerd I looked for all my painted obi (woven kimono-painted obi)
And first tried this soft pastel lavender flowery chuya obi, I like it a lot, sweet and fresh. The obi jime is a wedding white shibory, I know, not appropriate, but I like it. The obi jime is more in keeping with the style, blue and white striped...
Then I tried a black with white shibory pattern obi that has big purple shibory flowers too. I didn't manage to get the flower in front, but maybe that is a good thing.
White accessories to brighten the whole outfit and give it a bit of a formal feel. Why not?
I was again surprised by my own collection (that there where so many good obi) but also, how in the world is it possible that I want a shade of obi jime and/or age and it is not there! It makes me feel *Grrrrr* Thinking, I have so many, how is it possible I still manage to find something I do not have and then immediately want to have it.... =(^.^)=

Meisen

2009-04-12T18:42:00.004+01:00

Also bought at Toji Market. This wonderful meisen kimono. The ground colour is white, woven with black and hints of red.

As the white collar looked kind of weird to me I added my red harts ribbon lace as an accent.

I tried lots of obi, bit then decided to opt for save and choose this black one with white shibory accents.

Maybe a save choice, but I think the best choice.
The obi jime is my favourite red and white one, just chosen to add some colour and to bring in some of the red of the kimono.
A very light green shibory obi was picked to give a bit of a spring feel.
Though this kimono doesn't say spring, not even in a whisper.
But... I set myself this goal, to take pictures of all kimono bought in Japan, before putting them in the tansu...
So, now my house looks like a kimono war zone, again. And to stop that I have to start taking pictures.
Dear kimono, dear me; I want my house back ^_^
I tied the bow in a kind of loose fitted old fashioned style.
It's hard to do and maybe the result is a bit sloppy, still, this kind of bow is best for these soft obi and I think, appropriate for these old fashioned style kimono...

Yes, I forgot to put on decent zori, I am wearing my bath slippers still hihi

Spring!

2009-04-07T19:49:00.003+01:00

All dressed up for work.
I am so lucky with this job, the owners actually really really like it when I dress up in kimono. They almost insist. Lucky me.
Today I chose my newly bought in Japan light wool kimono.
Obviously she caught my eye because of the vivid blue.
Being light wool I thought she's convenient to wear out and being bright, I do not own that many bright (wool) kimono.
Because of the brightness I thought I couldn't do anything else but go for a white collar.
Made the whole ensemble even more casual and bright by adding this bright blue hanhaba obi. Not quite how it should be, the obi age is white shibory, yes I know highly formal, but this colour was just best and last my cute also new bought withe with bits of red, obi jime.
I had fun wearing this sweet kimono.

Waves

2009-04-06T20:13:00.009+01:00

This funky one was bought at a second hand shop too.
Its very convenient, polyester so washable, only the lower part and sleeves are hemmed. Which makes her the perfect kimono for warm early spring days.
I paired her with a new obi, bought at Toji Market.
The obi is so cute, pastely shades of blue and green with white, and yet very funky, I think so at least.

This obi might look real good with a light or even white kimono too I think, or a pale green... lets see later. For now the mission is photograph all new buys ^_^
The obi jime is orange brown like the kimono.
The obi age light, like the obi.

And then I paired her with a more obvious choice obi.
Black with flowers, but hanhaba so easy and informal.

Ohashori

2009-04-05T14:54:00.005+01:00

I still feel kind of weird not wearing ohashori.
Even though Mamechiyo told me it was no problem.
I guess, with ohashori is just better.
I still think it is better, but also, should loosen up a bit when it's kimono concerned, it's not a science, it's daily wear and should be fun!

Look at this lady, I coincidentally stumbled against at eBay.
She looks very relaxed in her ohashori-less kimono and wrinkled obi.
And the ensemble isn't exactly 100% casual, I think it's even pretty formal. Weird...
Maybe she's not Japanese? A 1930's tourist dressing up in kimono at some kind of spa? I don't know. Maybe she's just a working girl dressed in a kimono that was her mams or aunt's or...
But I like it, not that I would really feel comfortable like this, but who knows... I might...

New Kimono

2009-03-29T21:07:00.011+01:00

At Toji Temple marked I bought many kimono.
I tried to protect myself a bit by only buying kimono that would actually fit... but I had to have this gorgeous blue nagayuban.
Way too short I thought I could make her into a two piece nagayuban.

When back at home checking all my babies i saw there was a huge hem in this juban and I decided to unpick it right away and look:

At the temple market I could not resist this sweet greyish pink rose kimono. Only slightly too small she was just too pretty and I had to have her. The black obi was already in my collection and I think they fit well together, although next time I will try her with a lighter obi in a shade like the roses.

In a small recycle shop i found this funky kimono. Black wool with balls in '60's colours I love her! Paired with a very traditional obi also bought in Japan I think it looks very sixties. Though I know this fukuro obi is too formal for wool, I like it, so...
Next time I will go for an orange obi age and yellow obi jime, I think I will like that more...

More Japan

2009-03-25T20:58:00.004Z

My first shopping spree...

The modern Western rooms at Ryokan Matsubaya are called Bamboo house. The rooms in this part are rally splendid!
And the yukata have bamboo pattern, of course... ^_^

The wonderful Ryokan Matsubaya, here in the "old" part of the hotel in a real tatami room, I loved t!
And yes I wore kimono in Japan, Dutch themed ^_^

Lunch with Gary at a temple in North Kyoto. Well this is the finished part. It was lovely ad wonderful and tasted so good!!!
Thank you Gary for a great day!

Japan!

2009-03-23T20:49:00.001Z

Finally I saw Japan!

Pontocho was, of course pretty.
Even during daytime. I only took pictures of the area, not geisha or maiko, it felt weird grabbing my camera when seeing the ladies.

And to be honest, I did not see fully dressed geisha or maiko, only in cabs ^_^

Tokyo was overwhelming and really great!

I saw and did so much, it's too much for my low writing skills so I wont write that much, just a few pictures. Later more...

Candy Stripes

2008-12-14T18:30:00.014Z

Finally I can call myself the happy owner of Mamechiyo's Candy Stripe kimono.

It's a large and fits me great! Again, it is so wonderful to dress in a good sized kimono!

With the kimono (which is a replica from an antique kimono in Mamechiyo's private collection...) I also bought the bright red with white dots nagajuban, black geta and lavender zori.

Everything is just so gorgeous! I bought the bright red nagajuban because I thought it would be nice to add this brightness to the subdued kimono as it is an antique replica and that is what kimono wearers did in the old days.

I received everything last week and finally dressed up in this wonderful luxurious kimono nagajuban set, after sewing a big black han eri with red under layer to it (which was a pain because I really loath sewing, it's a shame really)

Then I added clean white tabi, my home made tulip obi because I like it so much with red accessories, I think they make a festive look.

The black get a are extremely painful, but so gorgeous! Sadly the lavender zori didn't look so nice with this set. Maybe when I try this with another obi they will be ok.

Sadly my pictures didn't turn out right, made a mistake with the setting.... pfff.... I have to do everything over now, but I am too cranky, it's a miracle I even got the kimono on with all my crankiness ^_^

Autumn day

2008-11-24T20:54:00.003Z

Outside it was snowing and very cold... I wanted to do kitsuke and picked my "new" kimono filled with maple in purple and funky green, highlighted with creamy white and green bridges.

While dressing I hadn't decided on the obi yet and my eye fell on an embroidered nagoya obi, black with embroidery of a little house and a bridge in fall colours.
I was a bit afraid the black would be too hard and the house and bridge a bit too match-y - match-y with the kimono pattern, but looking at the whole picture I think it is ok. It is kind of fun like telling a story about crossing bridges to get home (while it's very cold outside)

The obi jime and age are causing me a bit of trouble. I would have liked a bit more deep orange (bright) more like the hakake lining of the kimono, but I think the softer I own does look ok, it also might be better because it softens the whole a bit. Brighter might make it clash. Now it is ok as the orange yellow picks up the orange and yellow that are in the obi.

Seeing the pictures I am glad I didn't go out in this kituke, the nagajuabn sleeves are a bit too short and stick out, a lot!
And there is an unsightly crease in the obi, it needs ironing... later.

Fulah!

2008-11-17T20:40:00.003Z

Fabric shopping in Morocco.
No, I went on a holiday for two weeks imperial city's of Morocco. I had a wonderful time... looking, walking drinking tea.
Shopping, I bought mainly fabrics. I saw all these women in gorgeous and funky yellaba (the outer hooded dress commonly worn by both man and women in a large part of Northern Africa).
Most ladies I saw where dressed far from traditional. Although the yellaba is very traditional, the patterns and colours where just wild. I bought 5 fabrics to try and make Moroccan inspired kimono. It might be a bit hard because the fabric is very soft and flow-y;
I also bought three ready made yellaba to float around the house in. The black with red flowers i am wearing, forgive the bloated look, I am a bit stuffed because a kimono is underneath it..
And I fell for Fulah!
Barbie's little sister from Morocco. She's cute in her dress with pants and head scarf and accessories... She's great inspiration.

"Problem" Kimono

2008-10-27T15:18:00.008Z

Not really... I love this kimono, she's sweet and bright and gives somewhat of a '60's feel. But... How to coordinate her?
The silver obi looked nice in theory, on the table, but dressed up I didn't like it any more.
The Mamechiyo Tulip Haneri I think is fun because it is stylized too, but does add something flowery to the abstract pattern.

But the obi...
Next I added a black with pink details, but it's also not what I am looking for
Maybe a hot pink would be good or a dark blue, or a creamy pink like the han eri... .

I will be very happy with any suggestion for this kimono!

Black & Red wool

2008-10-22T14:55:00.020+01:00

A view days ago this black and red wool kimono showed up at the store.
It was very cheap too, so I bought her. So bright and bold!
But nothing seemed to look nice with this kimono, the normal white han eri looked really bad! So i added a black piece of silk as han eri.
Finding an obi started to look problematic... I think a red would be good and maybe a silver because of the silver lines, but, why not go for save and go for a black obi?

So I looked for my satiny black obi, the sheen adds a nice accent to the rough wool, red obi age and obi jime to finish it all. I had a silver white obi jime first but decided against that. The white tabi and red geta didn’t look right either so I choose for completely wrong... black knee socks with black ballerinas I think it looks all right. ^_^ I will how ever try to buy black tabi now.

Later at home I had to try a 1920's idea I had because I have this cute black hat and gloves. Not really '20's, but I do like it ^_^ I guess I do not really have a 20's face ^_^

And... I made a mistake with the lights, hence the artsy fartsy light in the picture, it took me a long photoshop trip to get to this haha, the picture was almost completely white....

Bright and Daring

2008-10-11T12:52:00.005+01:00

Last week I treated myself to this book: Bright and Daring: Japanese Kimonos in the Taisho Mode.
ISBN 0-937425-36-9
It truly is a wonderful book and worth every penny. The pictures are gorgeous. Bad for the "I really need that kimono" urge... Really, I do want to own every single kimono in that book. I must admit, that is what usually happens when I buy kimono books. But having the books, means having the kimono... kind of ^_^

Interestingly the book tells a lot about meisen (I love meisen!) Meisen was one of the first mass produced textile products of Japan; making kimono available to a large group of women. The machine woven, industrial produced silk fabrics where cheap and durable, ideal for the new craze, silk kimono for everybody. In the late 1800's the ban on silk for "common" people was dropped and everybody could wear silk. These gorgeous, bright and daring (indeed!) kimono became a big fashion item and Japanese women of the early 1900's are dressing bright and happily for their daily life.

Big patterns taken from the fashion from the West, Art Deco where immensely popular, the funny thing is, Western Art Deco was inspired by the Stylized Japanese art forms. About which the books: Fashioning Kimono; dress and modernity in early twentieth century Japan ISBN 88-7439271-0 and Japonisme; cultural crossings between Japan and the West ISBN 0-7148-4105-6 tell more. As I am very bad at writing book reviews I leave it to this. But if you have the change to buy any of these, don't hesitate ^_^

Gorgeous Kimono Lady

2008-10-08T13:06:00.003+01:00

This blog has been in my favourites for a long time and I keep forgetting to show her.
This wonderful and beautiful lady shows us that the bright and gorgeous kimono are not restricted to the (very) young as long as you keep looking elegant and chique. Well, at least I think she looks both and more. She seems a lady right out from the Edo era. So chique and composed and the colours! I just love how she dresses!

Theater Kitsuke

2008-10-05T21:50:00.008+01:00

Today I was invited to go and see "Zijde" performed by Porgy Franssen A monologue after the novel by Alessandro Baricco about a French silkworm merchant Hervé Joncour in 19th century France who travels to Japan for his town's supply of silkworms after a disease wipes out their African supply. During his stay in Japan, he sees a wonderful lady...
It is a wonderful novel, just read it ^_^

So I dressed up in kimono and borrowed a car from my sister, and then...
I got stuck in traffic....
Which meant I never saw the play. How sad! There I was all dressed up in my fall themed kimono, I chose a brown lace hanhaba because, well Mamechiyo gave it to me and I felt it was a very informal happening and I wanted to look like autumn. It was a terrible day, rain kept pouring and maybe that was the reason for all those people in cars, usually Sunday's aren’t that bad.
It was sad I couldn't see the play. On the other hand, it was in a house for older artists Rosa Spier Huis and I knew one of my teachers lived there, so I visited him and we had a nice chat. After the play I had a drink and short talk with Mr. Franssen and that was nice too, he is a very kind and special man.

Red!

2008-09-21T12:15:00.005+01:00

This bright red yukata... I saw her... saw the huge size... looking like an antique kimono... I had to buy her thank you for listing such great kimono Ichiroya !

She's really big; the length is perfect 170cm but the width... that's too much. Even so, I really wanted to try her on before altering. It is fun to see that the mid seems is now on my right buttock, as normally it's on my left ^_^

I paired her with my home made tulip obi, but then the other side, the white and green polka dotted side, to enhance the brightness of the kimono. With a white lace han eri and yellow obi age and jime she became super bright... too bright? Maybe not I love this, even though I tend to dress a bit more subdued normally, this is really fun and happy.

Also, I tied everything looser using Mamechiyo's tips and really, you can move in kimono just as when wearing a dress. It helps when the kimono is of an decent size, that is true.

Dots and Tulips

2008-09-14T16:03:00.011+01:00

Mamechiyo's dot's kimono goes Dutch! ^_^ (again)
The kimono is a cotton linen mix which feels very lovely and cool. Though it is a cold day today. It still is warm enough to wear hitoe. This kind of kimono is ok through September. Because it is hitoe, but not see through or very obviously yukata. Also (to me) the colour is very autumn like.

This being a "Mamechiyo Modern original" I felt I could not get away with a plain white collar, so I sewed on some white lace...
And because I finished a new obi I wanted to wear it with this kimono. Tulips and butterflies. I decided tulips where okay for me to wear (even though they are strictly speaking spring) because they are like a Dutch symbol. Also (here) you can kind of buy them all year round so... why not. This way I choose a theme for my kimono, not season. And the theme is "Holland Japan line" in fresh and warm autumn.

The obi I made is a chuya with green and white polka dots at the reverse, and you can see both fabrics are a bit too soft for an obi. Even though I used a very stiff inter facing, it doesn't really do the trick. She collapsed in the back, kind of adds to the "looseness" ^_^
I tied the obi lower and looser and used no padding (I -almost- never do it makes me hot and uncomfortable) but I am also lucky with not so much curves, using koshihimo and date jime helps evening out the gaps enough.

Every Day Kimono

2008-09-08T13:00:00.010+01:00

Kimono as daily wear.
I talked to Mamechiyo about kimono as everyday clothing. Of course... it's what she does and what is most important to her. She kind of "promotes" the kimono as daily wear and hopes we western ladies will do so too. That would be great, kimono as alternative for those jeans or cute daily dresses, why not? Well, maybe because it feels a bit like dressing up to be Japanese. Too bad, I do not think this is so, but still, I feel this will be, or is, the general feeling.

A view things Mamechiyo told me:

Loosen up! With this I mean, try to tie your kimono as loose as possible, this way the kimono and obi will feel more relaxing or relaxed when wearing it for a whole day. Wearing kimono loosely with out the whole ensemble collapsing, takes practice. But, we kimono and kitsuke lovers already knew that ^_^

On kitsuke schools. You can learn to wear kimono (basics) in one day. Kitsuke schools to her seem more commercial places then anything else. One example she gave me was the "rule" of wearing summer time obi jime and accessories. Such rule, she said, does not exist (from the days kimono was daily wear) it is a rule made by kitsuke schools to sell more items... Maybe for ceremonial wear things change, but I didn't ask (yet). Obviously, please wear them if you like them and have them!

Fear of wearing things not appropriate to the season. Of course the subtle season changes seen in Japanese kimono is very wonderful. A kimono especially made to be worn for only one day a year is special. She told me about a kimono whit a special fish that is worn only one day when this fish is captured first time (there will me some kind of celebration on this day) Like I would wear a kimono with a haring on the first day haring is brought ashore, this is a "special" day and technically I could wear the haring kimono only on that day...

But, for daily wear she advices, use your common sense. It is silly to wear a see through kimono in mid winter, like it would be silly to wear a summer dress at Christmas. Or, when it is hot outside it would be crazy to wear lined kimono, nagajuban etc. you would melt! Also, this summer was kind of cold where I live, in that case I felt it looked rather silly to be wearing ro or sha kimono too. Mamechiyo told me in that case do what your hart told you and wear hitoe. The only thing is choose "summery" colours, and again here you can use your own imagination.

Kimono fit. It is great when a kimono fits perfectly and is made to measure. But this can not always be the case. Having no ohashori is no problem at all. Just remember older Japanese ladies will tell you you did it wrong. It even happened to her! How ever, you do need at least a very small ohashori (which will be hidden underneath the obi) so your collars will be nice.

Same with the centre seam at the back. Yes it is very important you keep the upper center line in line with your spine. But, the lower centre line is allowed to shift, no problem at all!

Geta. They are not only "summer" wear to be worn with yukata. Geta are all season informal(!) daily wear shoes. Again, use your own judgment to what is fine, they are a bit like sneakers. I wear geta in winter too, because I decided they often are just way more practical then zori (considering the dirty streets and rainy days) But with a nice visiting kimono or going to the theatre I would not do so. I would not go to the theatre in sneakers would I? Unless.... it was a very "hip" "trendy" things like that performance, in that case a funky kimono coordination with geta would be perfectly okay.

TPO as Mamechiyo promotes "kimono as daily wear" I did not ask about formality much. I do understand how ever, that in this case too, your own judgement is fine. If I could go to work in T-shirt and jeans with flip flops, I can go in yukata too. When flip flops would be considered too informal as the T shirt, but jeans with blouse is okay, I could go in a really nice dressed up yukata too... Or, and this applies more to myself.... you like to "overdress" a bit, like wearing a great (black) dress with nice high heels to work, a fancy kimono would be good too. Of course, ceremonial wear (kuro tomesode, iro tomesode and furisode) would look like you where dressed in a ball gown or gala dress, going to a ball, wedding party or other highly formal and festive occasion. Makes it all much easier, no?

All these things are often and repeatedly discussed at the Immortal Geisha forums (see links at the right) They have been since the start and I am sure they still are. It is a great source!

Then I saw something really great and surprising at Mamechiyo's store blog. A young bride in a very informal (cotton) kimono. Super bright and showy and in my eyes festive, but informal. She looked absolutely great and gorgeous! I whish I could see her husband too, they must be a great and funky couple!

Picture copyright Mamechiyo Modern

I am not funky at all, but that is what i would do. Not that I will get married, but like all "girls" I like to dream about wedding dresses, they are great and fun. I dreamt of an Edo era look, like a geisha really. With this modern bride you also saw the pulled back collar, which shows she is the "leading lady" of the party.

Mamechiyo's husband told me at an later date when he saw pictures of me dressed up like a geisha, that I could wear my collar low always. I was very surprised, but he said, because you are a western lady. But he warned me not to do so in Japan; it might give the wrong impression. And, after asking a bit more it seemed to me I could only do so at a private party where I was the host. So, better not ^_^

Barbie does Kitsuke

2008-09-07T22:17:00.010+01:00

Yes, every ones in a while I play with my Barbie ^_^
I made her a kimono and obi.
She complained...the fabric of the kimono was way too hard on her.
I have to admit, she is right.
It's funny (and logical) you need even softer, more delicate fabrics when sewing for something small.

Not having a waist wasn't much to her liking either. But I told her to be quiet, she looked nice ^_^
Now I will make more for her, as little "trials" for kimono sets or combination I want to make for myself or design. It's really fun to do. I just never take the time to do it, (lately) but I will do so from now on.

Tulip Yukata

2008-08-31T22:38:00.007+01:00

For my "Holland Japan lijn" I bought this Tulip yukata from Ichiroya...
Blue with pink and yellow tulips with green leaves, done in a way as if painted with a paint brush, quit fun I think.

Today was really hot but I did want to do "kimono stuff" so yukata seemed like the best idea. First I tried her with eri sugata, but that was too hot (or it made me feel hot) so I decided on only a slip. That was warm enough ^_^

The yellow hanhaba obi was the obvious choice, I tried a pink one but that gave me a "pajamas" feel and that wasn't an option. The obi is not spectacular, so to make it a bit more fun I added a fabric "obi jime" with button obi dome. I think I will look for a sunflower obi to go with this yukata...

And because the weather is so beautiful a nice stroll to the city was a good idea. hot and melty, but a nice idea. I bought three Japanese art cards at the big cards store which is nice.

It's always good to buy "inspiration"

Klederdracht

2008-08-24T22:02:00.004+01:00

Mamechiyo stirred another passion of me. Traditional dress. As a little girl there was nothing I loved more then dressing up. As a princess of course. Always looking at fairy tale pictures and dress dolls (like Barbie) and the traditional Dutch dress dolls, dreaming away.
This weekend I visited my father and went to the costume museum "De Gouden Leeuw" drooling over all the Friese and Groningse klederdrachten.
These where my favourites as a child... and will be next for kimono ^_^

Kimono fun

2008-08-17T22:05:00.012+01:00

I picked up Mamechiyo and her husband and we had a wonderful time talking kimono, art and the Netherlands ^_^
Mamechiyo wore a "Dutch" themed kimono/obi which I thought was very clever and thoughtful. I picked her up in a dress but later changed into my Dutch kimono because I needed some help en tips, and she gave me loads! I am so happy!
I bought her Tulip han eri (made as an hommage to holland ^_^)
And had to try if the hounds tooth yukata would fit me since it was only a japanese M... But she fitted! And with the chidory hanhaba obi I felt pleased as punch ^_^
Evereything was just great and too much happened/was discused to write down, sorry.
I do feel I have met my Japanese sister though, it´s great to meet some one who loves the same things you do and understand your way of life. Mamechiyo called it "kimono life"
and more broadly... "Edo lifestyle"
In other words, trying not to go with the rat-race but dedicate your life to art and quietness. Well, at least I try to life Edo life style ^_^