March 2, 2012

Red-hot Matsuri weekend: Sunday was kimono day

The temperature on Sunday was similar to Saturday but a little breezier. I didn't have to play taiko, so I was able to avoid sweating too much if I stayed in the shade. I carried a pink bangasa (paper umbrella) for a while but got tired of having to open and close it to avoid hitting people in the head in the crowds. Since the weather was so summery, I chose to wear a very lightweight hitoe (unlined) wool or wool-blend vintage kimono in cream with touches of pale yellow, caramel, on a deep periwinkle background. It does have 26.5" long sleeves, so it's definitely a vintage piece.
The multi-season pattern featured sakura prominently, which seemed appropriate since this was the Cherry-blossom Centennial Matsuri celebration.


I also wore my new purple embroidered zori, an olive-brown chuya obi featuring thistles in cream and violet, a light gold obijime, and finally a really cute grosgrain ribbon handbag by Jordan-McMillan that I bought years ago. I couldn't find the handbag I wanted to use but realized colors in this bag are perfect with the obi. I didn't use an obiage since I tied the obi in a bunko style, so functionally I didn't need it and didn't want the extra fabric because of the heat. The chuya obi is really soft and floppy, so it's difficult to tie into a different musubi anyway.





















I managed to beat the heat somehow and was pretty comfortable probably because I dressed in a slightly looser style and didn't wear a hadajuban, just a juban and susoyoke underneath. Removing that one extra layer on top seemed to help. Lace tabi would have been nice though, as well as a mesh obi ita!

If I ever receive any better photos of myself from friends, I'll certainly post them!
~Reb


UPDATE:
Here are a couple pics taken by DVH of Odaiko Sonora. My friend Emma is wearing her gorgeous tea green yukata and had borrowed my dark red hakata obi since she had forgotten her obi. She was performing "Hana Hachijo" later and she wanted me to dress her. You can see my juban peaking out...it's red with white dots so it looks pink form a distance. I eventually would like a pale yellow juban for this kimono; I think it would be a better color combination.

2 comments:

  1. What a stunning combination, love the colors, that obi is it a Hanabana?

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    1. Thanks very much for the nice comment Sekhet! The obi is a chuya or "day night" obi, so it's reversible. It's the same width as a fukuro obi and almost as long. The other side is plain black silk.

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