February 20, 2012

Half a day in Little Tokyo

I just got back from a short trip to Santa Monica and LA. (Details on what and why here). Of course, I looked for kimono accessories while in Little Tokyo and was surprised at the selection at a tiny little store I had not heard of called Shinyodo.

I was careful though, I had a list. That didn't prevent my from buying a couple of items that were not on my list, but at least I did not buy any kimono!
A vintage yukata I almost succumbed to
Furisode hanging up














Shinyodo had some gorgeous furisode and the nice woman at the store was trying to convince me I needed one despite the fact I'm too old to wear one! But she gladly obliged me by holding up a couple of the furisode to I could get some images of the beautiful yuzen work and embroidery.
Selection of obiage & obijime


Sakura petals!













The fabulous yellow furisode had gold and silver foil on it. It was very gently used and had a modern design but it was high-quality silk rather than polyester.











The detail of yuzen work on this deep reddish-orange furisode was just breathtaking! I didn't even want to ask the price. I was just there to appreciate the gorgeous designs.










And buy a few items of course. I finally found a versatile pair of zori that should go with almost everything I have, in a larger size. In excellent condition and under $100. I've been looking for a few years for a pair like these.


Purple on the back!
Hanhaba obi detail
























Then I was taken by a luscious light gold rinzu obiage and matching obijime, a lovely green and white obijime, a cute hanhaba obi with a black and white peony design (Brand new and in that nice woven polyester!), and the one item that I couldn't resist:
the sweetest kinchaku bag with a basket on the bottom for summer. I love the blue and black color combination and the stripes- very elegant for a casual handbag.
Matsuri is this weekend in Phoenix, so I will have to decide what I should wear. Maybe one of these new accessories?
Stay tuned!







1 comment:

  1. I'm glad you had better luck at this place than I did. The one time I tried to look at kimono there, she only wanted to sell me tourist kimono or furisode. She assured me I wouldn't need any of the ones on the wall :\ I haven't been back since. They do have some beautiful pieces, though!

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