カテゴリー: Knowledge

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Sometimes people don’t know how to walk when they wear Kimonos for the first time. It’s because their feet are wrapped up completely, so it makes hard to step forward. But no need to worry it’ll be ok and you will find it comfortable as you walk.

Though, hems of Kimono will be rolled up if you stride , so it’s better to walk in small steps than usual.

The front part of the Kimono (Uwamae) will curl up and be seen during days with strong winds or when climbing up or down the stairs. If you are somewhat conscious of “that thing”, then you can lightly press it with your right hand. Due to this, it is better that you do not bring any big luggage in your right hand.

You will tend to forget about the long sleeves when you are not used to wearing it. Please take caution to avoid hooking the sleeves when picking up things. In addition, the belt might be tangled by people or things in narrow areas. This is also a reason that the belt gets dirty for extra care is needed.

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When you take off your kimono, hang and dry it out of direct sun light. Use a hanger dedicated to kimono, and don’t you standard hangers because those make the shoulder of kimono getting out of shape.

The reason for drying out of direct sun light is to remove the moisture trapped in fabric while wearing, so it is enough only for several hours. If it is a long time, it may cause to get out the lining from proper position with respect to the outer fabric: it also causes discoloration due to the sun light.

When the kimono is dried enough, it is better to fold it over as soon as possible. While drying, please shake of dust.

Please wash gently with a soft cloth and use a soft brush. During the old days, I was told to wipe the collar with benzene but it won’t get that much dirt if you only wear it once in a while. You might damage the Kimono if you fail so I cannot recommend it due to the risk and the effect.

Request the cleaning with a professional. The go clothing store will introduce one if you consult with them. The cleaning frequency would differ depending on the number of times it is worn, but please think of it as a lower frequency compared to ordinary clothes.
Kimonos are prone to damage when washed.

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The biggest difference between yukata and kimono is whether you wear undergarment or not. Since you do not wear underwear, yukata is believed to be informal and it is thought to be rude to wear yukata for a formal table.  Also you do not wear tabi socks.
Since you do not wear tabi, you wear geta, not zori sandals.

However, those who are not accustomed to wear geta on barefoot sometimes hurt their feet, so you can wear thin tabi. Moreover, unless you use a thin obi belt, it does not fit yukata. Thus half-width obi made of one cloth is used for that.

Though you can use a short-lined half-width obi belt, the thick obi does not fit yukata, so you should use the thin one. Recently the reversible obi is popular so short-lined ones are apparently rather used more.  Since it is half-width obi, sash pillow, obi bustle, and obi fastener are not needed.

As for obi-ita plate, some people use it because it makes their clothing more beautiful, and others do not use because it is enough without the plate. You can decide as you like. Since you do not have to prepare so much and dressing is easier, you can begin the dressing with yukata if you want to learn it by yourself.

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Kimono in general was made from the 100% silk called the pure silk. However, if the pure silk is used, it became very expensive; therefore, the cotton or the wool were used for making casual kimono.
Furthermore, more cool linen might be used for making summer kimono.

Recently, the development of technology allows using polyester for making kimono. The real silk looks good and feel smooth, but it has weak point of poor water resistant. The polyester has a good resistance against the water and it can be worn even in rainy day, but it has weak point of generating the static electricity and looks cheap depending on the fabric.

If you want to wear frequently, the polyester may be recommended since it is easy to handle. However, if it is possible, just try to wear the kimono made from both polyester and pure silk. The difference of clothing materials can be understood if wearing those actually. The used or recycled kimono is mainly old ones, so almost all of those are made of traditional pure silk.

Wearing the kimono made of cotton or wool limits the situations, but it looks cool if casually. Since those are casual kimono, it features the omission of lining and it can be worn without lining even in deep winter.

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When you will buy used kimono, there is a problem of sizes. Larger kimono can be nicely worn by hiding extra parts. However, smaller kimono is difficult to cover up even with some techniques.
Used kimono is made by the size of people of old, so most of case, it is small.

First, you will need to check Yukitake. It is a length from the center of back to your wrist.

The best yukitake is either almost same length or 1-2cm shorter. It is difficult to adjust, so it’s the most important part of wearing kimono.
Next, check the Mitake. Mitake is a length of kimono. The same as your height or 10cm longer would be fine. Longer length can be adjusted, but if it’s too short, it’s hard to wear and the worst case, your legs will be shown.

Other parts are relatively made with Mitake, so if your weight is not too heavy or light it shouldn’t be a problem.

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If your mother or grandmother doesn’t have a kimono, and you don’t have any acquintances that might pass it over to you, you have to purchase in order to have your own kimono.
What should you choose for your first kimono?

If your objective is to go out to play in private, komon or tumugi might be suitable.
Komon can be used in variety of situations. You wear awase for more than half of the year, so awase’s komon is recommended for the first one.

Hanhaba obi is simple and nice for obi, but some people don’t like it because they’re too formal.
Nagoya obi might be safe. Fukuroobi might be nice also, but it becomes a little formal even if you selected a casual one.
You need to pay attention in the choice of patterns. Patterns which include the feature of the seasons can be only worn in that season. In the beginning, geometric designs, flowers that can’t be identified, animals such as dogs or cats might be suitable, for you can wear it all around the year.

Sometimes the design indicates a specifc season, though you thought it was only a geometric design, but that doesn’t matter much. Don’t worry so much about not knowing the rules in the beginning. Even if you do make a mistake, geometric designs don’t stand out compared to non-figurative patterns.

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If December, then Christmas. It’s not a Japanese event, so there is no fixed way of wearing kimonos for Christmas. For a Christmas party with friends, enjoy your kimono as you see fit.

For a Christmas dinner in a restaurant, just in case, wearing it according to traditional rules would be more adequate. Fine patterns or raw silk, even though they’re good, are not fit for weddings etc., so this is a chance to wear those.

While eating, the problem of how to eat, not to stain your kimono, appears. Some people fix a napkin at their breast, but if you’re not used to it, it might be hard.
Putting it into the part above the obi belt should be easy. If you have a small clip used in fitting into a kimono (something like a clothespin), you can stop the parts easy to fasten, making it hard to fall off and convenient.

People fastening their Christmas-patterned obi in December, give off an impression of being used to it. Since the time when you can wear it is rather long, there are ones with the snow motive.

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When November comes, it obviously become colder outside. Kimonos are clothes made of layers, so they’re thought of as warm, but if it’s cold, it’s cold. Above all else, you won;t look pretty if you’re freezing.

During the season when it’s not yet cold enough to wear a winter coat, a thinner coat is used. They come in a wealth of kinds, but a plain one in, calmly colored, can be used in most situations.

It can’t be used with formal attire, but for a casual kimono can be paired with a haori coat. Long haori, recently in vogue, and old-fashioned shorter ones are treated the same.Different from other kinds of coats, haori can be also worn indoors.

What’s more, some haori don’t have the string around the chest, but the strings can be changed and they’re not in any way worse. The string can be bought in stores with Japanese apparel accesories.

Kimonos and obi belts suited for November come in patterns like fallen leaves or bare trees and other winter-like views, but they all evoke a sad mood. In case you want to appear brighter, since it’s still the end of autumn, chrysanthemum or maple leaves are good as well.

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“June bride” is becoming a household word. In Japan, around October when the climate is pleasant, is the popular season to celebrate a wedding.

There are many people who want to attend a wedding with Kimono, but being a few “formal place”, many of them worry if their kimono are suitable for such a place. It is regrettable that there are not few cases that they give up to wear Kimono saying ” it’s too much of a bother”after having discussed with their acquaintances and being criticized.

The rule of Kimono is, after all, a dress code. The reason why you should not go to a wedding ceremony wearing Kimon type kimono is that the dress code of wedding ceremony is generally formal and Komon type Kimono is not formal.

If it is merely a personal outing wihtout a dress code, basically you can wear what you would like. Even so, as you may be surprised to see a wedding dressed woman in a train, people around you may be surprised at seeing inappropriate dress. So do not go overboard!

The design pattern motifs frequently used in October are chrysanthemum and maple leaves. You can use those motifs all the season depend on its design, but some people may be concerned about the motifs, so if you want to wear them for a wedding ceremony, I think it is more proper to limit the use in automne.

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September is the heat of late summer season, and the Kimono world has switch to autumn, a season to wear single garments. However, it cannot be considered as autumn with the heat of the sun, and it is good to wear thin garments or Yukata robe. It is recommended to “stay ahead of the season”, but recently, there is the thought that has been broiling on being rude to people around.

After it has become colder, the yukata robe looks bleak so let’s switch to single garments.

Single garments are also for June, so the summer single garments in June will become single garments for autumn in September.

And even though it is the same single garment, the one for June is a cool item and the one for September is a warm item. However, since it is a general rule of thumb, it is alright to choose a matching color, or a color matching the moon at that time as a priority.

The Obi belt can be the same as the June’s Obi belt or an unlined obi, or it can also be thin line.
It is customary for the obi and obi sash is to use the thing for winter unlike in June.

The September pattern often uses those with the theme of viewing the moon. Rabbit is a pattern that can be used all year, but when wearing it at this particular period produces a reminiscent “rice cake with the rabbit” season feeling.