Wordless Wednesday: Kimono
I'm SUPER looking forward to celebrating Japanese festivals, like Tanabata, with Adora this summer! Both of us are looking forward to wearing kimono on these festivals.
I have many yukata (cotton, summer kimono), but I had never learned the official way of tying them on. I went for the "winging it" way. PS: This is not all of them! Here are 5, of many.
I had some magazine instructions that promised to make me a "Yukata Beauty", so I decided to try and learn how to properly tie Yukata before Tanabata (Sorry it's sideways. Apparently I'm too lazy to turn it). How can I say no to "Yukata Beauty"? I can't.
The instrustions seemed pretty simple, so i decided to go for it (just kidding. They were about 21 steps. It was SO long. But very fun).
The first step is to make this pouch-esque thing, meant to bring the "one size fits all" yukata to the correct length. About 3 tries later, here I am!
I have no idea why I'm smiling when, in reality, this portion was a major fail. The next step is to flatten oneself out, using towels. I had a premonition that there was so little to flatten that this was unnecessary, but I did it anyway(I can't say no to the Japanese instructions, right?).
Another view of the towel. Notice my obi (sash) tail coming out the front. I'm still learning, guys.
..Maybe not. Here are my many sash tails about the back. I've gotten better since then, but it's tough to hide so many sashes!
I added the final covering sash, but was disappointed to find it would not cover the towel. GRR. Also, the towel succeeded in nothing, other than making me look chunky and lumpy, so disappointment.
Light blue, giant sash to the rescue! It covered the towel (which was still making me look lumpy..I was not feeling the towel, dudes), but you could still see the stripes, so GRR.
It was, however, a pretty combination of colors, so I was happy.
Apparently, I'm seriously bad at this sash thing, you guys. Wow, that's sad.
I removed the towel and tried again. SUCCESS!! No more lumpiness. I may not look like "Yukata Beauty", but I can tie yukata correctly now! I can't wait to try again with Adora on Tanabata.
That is incredible! That is a LOT of steps. I have to admit, I don't understand the point of the towel at all. I think you're better off towel-less. I'm not sure what to do with all those sashes, either, but it looks great from the front! I can't believe how many kimono you have — lucky ducky. How many is it total, do you think?
ReplyDeleteThanks! Oh, gracious, I know, right? It was fun to try it the correct way! The fold was the toughest part to make happen, because it involves a lot of folding one piece one way, then holding it and folding another piece another way, and so on. Also, the fold itself is held by 2 sashes, and if one falls, it's all gone, which happened a few times. It's kind of disappointing. But luckily, once it's all together, you don't have to worry about it opening, which is nice. I think the towel is meant to flatten oneself out-kimono are meant to be worn on a flat body, However, I'm not very curvy, so I think they were fairly unnecessary. YAY! And thank you! Hopefully as I get things together, I'll be able to hide them with the largest sash. At least, that's the dream. Yeah, kimono(bonus points for knowing the plural of "kimono" is NOT "kimonos"! That's one of my pet peeves, haha) are fun, and surprisingly easy to find. I've actually only purchased one(the pale purple. It no longer fits me, but I've kept it for Adora to try), but people know I love Japan and speak Japanese, so they tend to randomly give them to me, oddly enough. If you're interested, you can find them for fairly cheap online, and maybe at thrift stores. Oh goodness. Maybe 8? Most are mine, but I have two smaller ones for Adora. At the time of the taking of the picture, my blue one (photographed in all the others) and both of Adora's were out. I'm hoping to post more specific instructions about where and when to wear kimono if teaching kids about Japan. Please let me know if you're interested!
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