Obijime Collection: 30

I don't really need to buy too many more obijime. However, looking at them in the drawer made me realize I should post photos of them. There are still some colors I'm missing and I'd like to have more summer weaves.Then again, with accessories, you really can't have too many!

First up in the above photo, anticipating the season with open-weave obijime for summer. From top to bottom, lime green, deep red, white with fuchsia accents, and yellow and white woven together in a triangle pattern make up this set.

The neutral or almost-neutral group. The one on the far left is rust and beige and wider than most and a heavy weave. To the right of it is cream wrapped with small sections of bronze and deep red, cream with small wrapped stripes of  leafy green, half palest pink and half silver-white, black and white yabane with pale pink on the back, a flat-weave cream, and solid black.

From left to right: elegant graduated gold flat weave, salmon and creamy yellow with a bead and multicolored tassels, solid pale yellow, cream and red stripes, intense orange, and formal scarlet red with tiny flecks of gold thread. The bright orange one still has the paper slip around it, indicated I have not worn it since I bought it last summer!

 From left to right: festive deep violet and white with a subtle metallic thread woven in (new from Ichiroya), lavender and pink with sakura blossoms, medium pink with a teal stripe, solid hot pink, multicolored stripe with magenta, and my favorite wide obijime in magenta and black with a modern design.

From left: two cream and green (the far left one is a "new" vintage- I just bought it in LA), turquoise with flecks of silver thread, shades of blue woven in a diamond pattern, wrapped style in navy and faint red stripes on beige, and more stripes in navy and white. The teal obijime in the center is very short, so it's probably for a child. It has wonderful tassels though!

Which ones do I wear the most? Mainly the classic colors, like cream, scarlet, light yellow, blue and white with an occasional hot pink and summer obijime thrown in for good measure.
~Reb

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.

Red-Hot Matsuri weekend: Saturday was Yukata day

I'm still waiting for some photos from friends, so I thought I would start with Saturday's warm weather ensemble.
This year's Matsuri was sunny, warm, and a gorgeous spring day in Phoenix...and apparently 86 degrees on Saturday! Decent (A bit hot though) weather if you are in the shade and wearing a cool blue and white yukata but not so good if you have to play taiko. Or walk around in the sun. or work in a booth and sell t-shirts. I did it all Saturday.
I arrived at 9:00am dressed in this lovely half navy and half white yukata with a red hakata obi, ready for the opening ceremony and dance procession. It was cool enough to wear tabi socks for the first hour. My call time for taiko performance wasn't until 2:00pm, so I stayed in yukata until about 12:30, then changed into taiko-playing gear. Playing taiko in the heat at 3:00pm was a different story! The stage had no cover and I think everyone got sunburned despite sunscreen, sunglasses, wearing of hats (Not during the performance of course), and staying somewhat cool. Then there was the dehydration, dry red eyes, and general exhaustion later. And then get up and do it all again the next day.

Other ensemble notes: I'm also wearing a dark red cotton han-eri, navy blue geta, and am using my morning glory kinchaku handbag for the first time. I should have had a bangasa (umbrella) and a fan- next time. 

Photos of the kimono I wore on Sunday will be posted very soon.
~Rebecca

Phoenix Matsuri Japanese festival: Article

2/25-26: Phoenix Matsuri Japanese festival in Phoenix