Zocalo article about the Tucson All Soul's Procession

An article in the Zocalo magazine (P. 7) about The All Soul's Procession. I'm the chick in the yukata of course! I think the photo is from 2005.

Danse Macabre...

I found this fabulous dance obi to wear with the purple hail kimono in the All Soul's Procession. It's coming up next Sunday, so photos of the ensembles of all involved will be posted soon. Our dance group will probably be doing some kind of classic Dias de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) skull make-up, hence the "danse macabre" reference!

If you are starting out in the world of kimono, dance obi came be a great choice and fun to wear to a costume party, or festival. They are often inexpensive and synthetic (just like dance kimono), so most are easily washable. This one is heavy jinken (rayon). They always seem to have some kind of metallic bling to varying degrees. This one is pretty tame as a dance obi and it's a nagoya, so it might end up being worn with a komon kimono one of these days. It definitely has a festive feel to it!

Dance obi have very bold, high contrast patterns and colors, usually reversible. Stripes and checks are common motifs and sometimes you will see silver on one side and gold on the other. Most of the ones I have seen for sale are hanhaba or fukuro style. They are definitely worth looking into if you are looking for obi for costumes. Some can even work with a yukata. Be careful though...the really bright and flashy metallic ones can be really difficult to pair with a regular kimono, so remember TPO: Time, Place, Occasion!
~reb

Kitsuke kit from Kyoto Antiques

Kyoto Antiques always has really nice items, I've had great luck with their Meisen peices...all have been gorgeous and excellent quality. They are also a nice vendor to deal with and don't seem to over charge for shipping.

One item they seem to always carry is their "Kimono Kits". If you are just starting out with yukata and kimono, or have been wearing yukata for a while and are ready to take the leap into kimono, this new kimono kitsuke set from Kyoto Antiques is a very good deal.

The $34.99 price includes free shipping from Japan. It's a much better deal to buy this set than trying to accumulate these items separately and some of them, like the korin belt, are hard to find on eBay.

This set is nice since it includes a korin belt and the obi makura is the larger type. The obi ita is very lightly quilted and has clips, which are really nice since you can put it on before you add the obi. Sounds simple enough but it's very handy when you are fighting with 12 meters of  heavy silk fukuro or maru obi! The other items include 3 koshihimo (pink ties) and 2 eri shin or collar stays. The items are of good quality!

You can also buy another set just like this but with an added kimono hanger. A bit more money ($44.99, free shipping) but if you need the hanger, probably worth it.

~Reb

Mo' betta Mihon

I picked up another mihon or sample pattern juban. I think these are really, really cool because of all the different patterns. Once you go "mihon", you will find regular pastel-colored, plain juban very boring! This one has wonderful fabric variety- which is what caught my eye.
It's got it all: patterns in red, pink, green, white, black, and turquoise! It looks unlined (Hooray for hitoe!) and appears to have a decent-looking han eri sewn to it. These are the seller's photos.
More on this little gem when it arrives!
Ciao.
reb