December 22, 2012

Kimono Apocalypse? No, just modeling for an art class.

I modeled in kimono for a painting class yesterday, on the day of the Mayan Apocalypse! I wore the Meisen kimono I bought from this lovely lady last year! It has some stains on the collar, so I added the dark pink lace. Although it's not traditional, I think it works pretty well without distracting from the overall look of the ensemble.
The painters usually like traditional costumes and were pleasantly surprised by the really bold design of this kimono. The students were probably expecting  feminine flowers and cute butterflies. I dressed so it was elegantly longer and added a hot pink and white uchiwa fan and pink paper bangasa as props. The painters loved it.

I wore the kimono with my fan and drum Nagoya obi and the accessories below:
Camellia obiage

Pale yellow obijime
Fun and fairly comfortable zori
I really, really love this kimono! The Meisen silk is heavy and crisp, almost like taffeta and the sleeve length is fabulous. Considering it's age, it has a decent wingspan and I was able to make a tiny ohashori hidden under the obi. In the top photo, you can see my red silk Taisho-era juban peeking out from the sleeves. The juban has flecks of gold leaf on the silk but it's hidden under the kimono of course. I love the red against the magenta and black.
A professional photographer took some pictures as well, so if they turn out, I will post those too.
Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Cheers,
~Reb