Supporting the Economy of Japan

I have decided that it is OK to feel good about buying something from Japan since I am helping out their economy right now. So I think of it as a donation, not just shopping on eBay. By the way, I have already donated in a few other ways, one of which was bidding on and winning this gem; all proceeds going to a charity called GlobalGiving to help Japan. It should arrive tomorrow via UPS.

Ok, back to the "striper".
It seems I have a real a thing for geometric prints like stripes, yabane, hakata, stylized waves, etc. So I was excited to find this fun hanhaba obi in crisp pale pink and black jinken (rayon).
It's über cute and looks almost like it's made from grosgrain ribbon. The pink is very pale but the black keeps it from being too sweet and from washing out the color. One thing that only shows in one (top picture) of the seller's photos are the tiny metallic silver stripes between each pink and black stripe. The silver stripes are so narrow, you do not even see them at certain angles. So I was surprised to see that it has just a little bit of sparkle! I think that makes this obi more fun.

 I'm not quite sure what kimono or yukata to pair this beauty with at the moment, but I'm sure it would also make a wonderful addition to a kimono-hime style outfit with the addition of some striped tights, black ankle boots, and a cool hat. I could go very punk-rock with this obi! (Hime means princess and there is a Japanese fashion magazine called "Kimono Hime" that has popularized a quirky style of wearing kimono mixed with western clothing such as boots and hats or unusual colors and fabric combinations that look very contemporary.)

As soon as I have figured out what to pair this with, I will post some photos.
Arigato,
Reb