kimonoworld

My little kanzashi collection is growing, and now I've a dilemma - how to store them. How do you keep yours, especially those of you who make tsumami kanzashi?

I have some barrettes that are fabric bows, flowers, little pins, etc. I have only a few little sticks, but also some larger flowers on alligator clips (not specifically kanzashi, but I can wear them as such). Most recent acquisition is a tsumami flower (the Pinwheel Rose (teal, purple, white)) from Magpie Creations, which garnered me many compliments this past weekend at a wedding, worn with a Western dress.

I was thinking of getting something like this clear-drawer plastic storage unit (no wheels) that could sit on top of the tansu. An all-wood unit would match the tansu better, but not allow me to see what's inside. I have this (IKEA Fira) already with haneri and some stuff in it; do I get another like that (if IKEA even sells them still; I can't find them online), or go for the clear plastic? Does material of the storage container matter?

If the box is best, I need to store the haneri in something else. How do you store your haneri?

I've learned I like being able to see what I have, but it also is more visually distracting, in a way. I'm open to other solutions!

Alright, this is something I've been thinking about the past few weeks, and thought maybe it'd be a good discussion if I took it to other kimono lovers. :)

What are you views on seasonality, mostly regarding fabrics? Is it malleable?
Do you dress for your seasons and weather, or try and plan according to the charts for Japan (i.e. first day of 'spring' is April 1, October 1 is another big 'change' date)?

Why is this on my mind? It's been unseasonably warm the past few weeks (not the last few days, though, it's back to normal March temps). I live in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area, and the other week we had temps in the mid 20C range. It was pretty much like summer - people were wearing tank tops and shorts. For comparison, the average March high is 3C, and the average March low is -5C. So weather 20C+? Crazy! I didn't have any kimono events, but seeing people change their Western clothing made me think of summer wafuku. If I had any, and had an event in the past few weeks, would I stick to awase (lined) or move to hitoe (unlined), or go all the way to ro or sha?* What would you do? What have you done? Do you dress for the weather, regardless of the date?


*In reality, I don't really have many hitoe, like, 2 that I can think of that aren't dancewear, and no ro/sha summer weave kimono, so I wouldn't have much difficulty in making a decision.

Hello there~! This is my first time posting here... =)

The weather has been super nice here in Belgium the last couple of days - so I took advantage of the sunshine and wore my yukata outside for the first time ever. I know yukata are only worn during summer, b-but... I just couldn't help myself. I blame global warming (= only 50% joking?). x'D

I would really appreciate some advice/constructive criticism. I'm sure I still need to work on a lot of things but I'm still learning and working my way up to wearing a kimono so I'd really like corrections where necessary! =) I think my collar should be even lower in the back & my ohashori isn't very neat... and my musubi is a bit wonky because I got impatient and just wanted to go outside already. LOL.

( Come at me~! I can take it, ahahaha... )

I'm really looking forward to learning more about kitsuke in general so I can wear my kimono with confidence and maybe even make some new friends! I'm starting out with yukata so I can get used to it and slowly buy all the things I need - like erishin and an obi-ita without breaking my bank account all in one go. Haha.

Thank you for looking! ♥

Hi Everyone,

I hope the New Year is treating you well!

I finally had an opportunity to attend Kimono Day in San Francisco Japantown the other weekend and to re-introduce a good friend of mine back into the kimono fold.

The day gave me my new favourite family portrait! Yes, Lily does NOT like to stand still!




Please visit my blog to read about the day and see many more photos: www.kimonoasobi.com (which, by the way, has undergone a much needed re-design!)

With regard to the blog re-design - I unfortunately had a database import issue, which meant I was unable to import my old WP database to the new one. I managed to salvage most of the posts, but I lost comments, links, etc. So if you have a kimono blog you would like me to link to, please leave the link in the comments here and I'll be happy to add!

Thank you for looking!

Well, the big gift-giving holiday for many is over. Did you get any kimono stuff? What was your favorite piece acquired in the past year?


I didn't, but that's okay... I've a lot to pay for still coming in the mail eventually. And while hubby means well, he doesn't shop for kimono stuff for me as he's worried he'll get stuff wrong.

Share your pics and holiday stories!

(I figure we can talk about resolutions in a new post.)

Also, this is take 2 - I accidentally posted take 1 in my own LJ. HAHA.

Many of us are in Western/European countries and celebrate Christmas this holiday season. That means making wishlists! And shopping and time with family and friends.

Since Christmas is only a few days away now, what's on your kitsuke/kimono wish list? (NOTE: This is not a 'please buy me this' list - just a dream wish list sort of thing).

Hopefully people will have pretty pictures to share. :)

After Christmas, we can start a topic for the best kimono gift you received this holiday season (if any), even if you bought it for yourself. ;)


P.S. If you don't celebrate Christmas and celebrate something else, please tell us about it!

This week is American Thanksgiving, so I'm sure many members are gearing up for festive dinner with the family and preparing for holiday shopping.

Many people are giving thanks for various things at this time: family, friends, having food on the table, good health, a job... let's put a small twist on it (since this is a kimono-focused community), and give thanks for something kimono related.

What is something (or many things) you are grateful for related to kimono, kimono culture, or kitsuke?

You're welcome to share other things you are thankful for in your post as well.

Something a little different... a flash game I found where you get to dress up a doll in kimono. Caution, this website is addictive. >.>

Enjoy!

Although I'm not doing it this year (I don't need the pressure!), this month is NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month, with the goal to write 50K words in 30 days. In honour of this month that is taking up people's every spare minute and driving them crazy with plot points (or lack thereof), I thought a photo find that's literary/writing based could be fun. :)

So, the goal: kimono or obi (or other items) with writing on them! Any writing system is allowed (hiragana, kanji, roman letters, etc). Ideally as a motif and not just the maker's mark. Let's see what we can find!

Items can be from your own collection, or a google-search or whatever else. Also, if you're doing NaNo, feel free to tell us about that, too!


( Some pics to get you started )

I've been meaning to post to this comm for a little bit now, I just haven;t gotten around to it yet.

I'll start with my latest ensemble. I was hoping to be able to wear this to a local convention coming up. Although I'm not able to go, I decided to get dressed up anyway. (Sorry for the over-brightness of the photo, there is no happy medium when it comes to the lighting in my house)

( Pics Under Cut )