New Kasuri Ensemble

Yesterday Arian and I hit Japantown for some fun. I've been so busy doing taiko related events in Japan Town that I haven't had time recently to relax and explore/shop.

It gave me the opportunity to wear my new indigo kasuri ensemble...it really is starting to get a touch too warm for the haori - but I wanted to wear the set at least once before it was too hot. I paired it with my lovely new taisho obi - which unfortunately has a few tears in it (all hidden, when wearing...but still). I might be able to convert the obi into a two piece which should minimize too much fabric stress, and allow me to still wear it. I was unreasonably excited by the fact that the red and pink shibori juban I purchased around the same time as the kasuri ensemble...but from a different seller - actually fitted the sleeves of my kasuri kimono perfectly it was as though they had been made for each other....it might just be the first time I've not had to adjust sleeves lengths. :)



When we got to Japantown - we ran a few errands - visiting David at White Crane Tea so I could give him back his vintage kasuri kimono vest. I had hand sewn a new collar on it for him, as the old collar was falling apart. He was thrilled that I returned it on Boy's Day....very appropriate - which didn't even occur to me until he mentioned it! He ended up gifting to me a gorgeous vest of sorts he made from a vintage black ro kimono with gold dragonflies woven in sporadically. The edges of the collar and the hem are tearing a bit - but he told me that I could sew a light weight solid black silk collar and edge to frame it...and then wear it over a nice light blue or silver kimono.... which would then show off the stream pattern woven into the ro. I was really humbled by this gift, as I know how much he loves this vest - but, he said it was a bit too girly for him to wear, and while he'll miss it - he'd rather see someone wear it and give it new life. So I promised to fix it and wear it for summer this year :)

We then went to Genji antiques and I purchased a new obi. Haha. I swear - they must have a "Naomi Radar" or something, because every time I go in, there is always ONE new piece that I absolutely must have. In this case - it was a black obi with a river/mountain scene with a rabbit and a frog hand painted on. The hand painting is very simple though - nice clean lines and minimal shading. Oh - it is too hard to describe - I'll take a photo:



Afterwards, Arian spoiled me with buying me a book that has old photographs from the 60s and earlier of kimono outfits, advertisements, etc. I figured it would be good for inspiration. From there, we went to the taiko showroom to meet with Kumiko Tanaka, Sensei's wife - for her to take photographs of Arian and myself. She is an artist and photographer, and had been wanting to take photos of me wearing kimono for a while - so we finally had a chance! I can't wait to see how they come out - as her black and white photography is amazing. She has a real eye for perfect lighting.

After all that - we finally met up with Marissa and her friend to have dinner together and go out for a few drinks. Marissa was wearing a fantastic brown and blue ensemble - If her obi wasn't firmly tied to her - I would have taken off with it! I want a ship obi!





When we finished dinner dinner, we hit the karaoke bar for a drink and Arian sang Piano Man. Then we moved on to a cute little bar on the other side...near the hotel. Arian and I went their for the first time during Cherry Blossom with Sensei and the hostess was wearing a gorgeous kimono ensemble. We got talking about kimono then, and I promised her next time I came in, I'd wear kimono and visit her. So she was extremely happy to see Marissa and I turn up in kimono and we have a lovely evening talking with her and the other bartenders about kimono stuff.

And that wraps up our evening. I had a lot of much needed fun, relaxation and kimono time with someone who likes to talk about kimono just as much as me! :D

Asian Festival 2006

This past weekend was a busy, yet fun weekend.

On Saturday - FushuDaiko was performing at the Asian Festival at the Fruit and Spice Park which is way out whoop-whoop. It feels almost surreal driving around that area.

It has been two years since I last went to the Asian Festival. FushuDaiko performed there last year - but I had stayed home suffering from a bout of being anti-social and just being a spoilt sport in general.

This year though - I was highly motivated to attend, not only to hang out with everyone, an excuse to wear kimono again and to help at the booth - but also due to the bubble tea. Two years without bubble tea is like torture!

I managed to have myself dressed in kimono and make-up done in 20 minutes - which is really quite good timing for me. I do have to admit though - after spending all the previous weekend with Christy and dressing together - I felt lonely :( It is a lot more fun dressing in kimono with someone else doing the same.

I decided to wear my wool indigo hanabishi komon for the festival due to it being far more casual than what Hatsume festival is. But rather than wearing my red hakata obi, I decided to push myself and pair two colours together that I normally wouldn't feel comfortable wearing in regular clothing.

So my outfit consisted of:
- Indigo komon with turquoise and pink hanabishi kasuri pattern.
- Yellow-orange juban
- Cream obi with gold threads woven and with orange and sherbet colour flowers
- Softy, almost dusty pink obi-age and obi-jime.

I know it probably sounds silly - but, coming from someone who has pretty much worn nothing much but black with the occasional hint of colour for the last 15 years - experimenting with full body colour outfits is a totally new thing for me. Sometimes, I think that is why I feel so enthusiastic to wear kimono as it gives me a canvas I feel completely comfortable in to experiment with colours I never normally would do.

I was really quite happy with how my outfit looked. My obi was a nagoya obi - and I decided to tie it into the tsunodashi musubi. Because the nagoya was a shorter one - the musubi was a little bit smaller than what it looks when I wear my reversible obi. I think it still looked cute anyhow. Also - I originally wore my white tabi with my outfit...but when Yoshiko-san changed into her two piece kimono-like outfit for her koto performance, the only tabi she had were purple patchwork patterned ones that totally clashed with her outfit....so we ended up swapping tabi - as my white ones looked much better with her outfit, and well - she was going to be on stage performing anyhow :)

As for bubble tea. Boy oh boy - I did have my 2 years worth. I had Taro bubble tea in the morning when I got there. Then for lunch, I had Thai Coffee bubble tea....and right before we left late in the afternoon - I had Almond bubble tea ;P I don't think I want any more bubble tea for at least another year now!

One thing I do have to say though was that I found it rather sad that I was the ONLY person wearing full kimono at the Asian Festival - which I was quite surprised. I would have thought they would have some of the girls at the Japanese tent in kimono - as many of the other Asian communities had people dress in ethnic clothing - but nope. Yoshiko actually wanted me to go and work in the Japanese tent for the day when she saw how I was dressed - but we really needed someone to man the FushuDaiko booth so I stayed put.

Taisho Chic Experiment

This morning I dressed up in my indigo kimono I purchased early October. I fell lin love with this kimono because the indigo was just so vibrant and the pink and turquoise hanabishi pattern completely won me over.

I decided to pair the kimono with my rasberry red hakata obi (the first photograph gives the true colours). I also tied one of the new PuchiMaiko koshi-himo around the bottom part of the obi as an accessory to see what it would look like.

I wore my orange juban because my other juban are currently being converted to two piece juban sets. I have to admit - I was surprised with how nice the orange went with the outfit! It was quite unexpected. I think I will make a thin orange "belt" to wear with this outfit next time.

Last, but not least - I decided to do my hair in a Taisho-chic style. I often see similar hairstyles in shin hanga prints - and I love how it looks.