Event Aftermath: Girls Day Out! Yukata Dress-Up Session

It's been a really long time since I last posted! ^^;;;;

This post is rather late compared to my post on the IG forums as I was having some trouble logging in through Internet Explorer.... I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me to use Firefox till today XD;;

Anyway! Here goes :)

My godsisters and I have been planning a Yukata Day for the past few years, and we've only recently managed to book a date for it! The hubbies were sent to do some car-shopping and general bro-bonding XD; We think they had fun - we didn't hear anything from them the whole day!

The girls met up at my house in the morning for a dressing, hair and make-up session, before we all piled into a couple of cars and headed to Pavilion (a downtown mall) for lunch and light shopping. It was really fun, cramming all 6 of us into my tiny room, with everyone doing each other's hair and make-up, and choosing accessories for each other! XD

 I'm afraid I was rather sloppy with dressing them - too many of us in one place, and I've been really out of practice with dressing others!! I even forgot how to tie alot of musubi, which got me pretty upset ^^;;; I need to practice more!

Group pic before we left the house (because my mum wanted a photo of us on Facebook already XD;;):



We had intentionally decided that everyone should wear a different colour, and the effect is quite pretty! Except for my sister (the second one from the left), they are all wearing yukata sets that I'd given to them as Christmas gifts years ago :) My mum also joined in the fun by accessorizing them once they were dressed and did their hair and make-up!

I did try to convince them that yukata would look much nicer with an up-do hairstyle, but they were more comfortable with leaving their hair down, so I let them do what they liked XD;

We had lunch at Kampachi, because Olivia can't eat much pork, so we couldn't eat at a few places in Tokyo Street. Good thing we decided to eat here too - Kampachi has a better menu selection, so everyone could eat what they wanted, rather than being confined to a restaurant's specialty! (Tokyo Street's restaurants are rather specialized - there's a ramen place, a tempura don place, a shabu shabu place, a tonkatsu place... Kampachi has a bit of everything!)


After lunch, we walked around for a bit of shopping!

Part of the reason we'd decided on Pavilion: Muji's opening day in Malaysia! There are only these two pics outside of Muji because the rest of us pretty much ran in the moment we saw the store, and went mad XD;


Some random snaps while we were shopping. You can see just how sloppy I was with the obi musubi :/ I tied the obi a little too loose for some of them, and the bows were a little too floppy! I wanted to tie more intricate stuff, but somehow my fingers wouldn't cooperate with my mind, so I had to stick to the more basic musubi ^_^;;







Group pics outside Shu Uemura!






As we were rushing to get home in time for a dinner party at my house tonight, we didn't shop very much and headed straight home after buying a few items at Shu Uemura. We wanted to go to MAC too, but there wasn't enough time... We were all inspired to buy make-up and facial stuff after the long discussion about make-up that morning hahaha :)

But we did make sure we had the time for some individual outfit snaps :)

Stella was our main photographer for the day, since she was experimenting with her new camera :) My sister and I chose this yukata for her because she loves animals, and bright and cheerful colours suit her really well!



Sandra is always so sweet and lady-like, so my sister and I gave her a soft and delicate yukata set that suits her personality. Uh, she does have an ohashori, but I'd accidentally tied her obi a little too loosely, so it kept slipping down and hiding her ohashori ^^;;; You can still see a tiny bit of it in this photo!



I couldn't decide on a colour for Olivia, so I asked her outright about the colour that she liked, and she chose purple. I picked this one because it's something that I personally would wear - and she really liked it too! :) I wish I'd thought of lending her one of my yukata obijime, because that would look really good with this obi and yukata set.



The reason why I'd given everyone a yukata was because I'd bugged Carolyn into buying one when Jusco was having their first Yukata Fair two years ago, and when everyone found out, they wanted one as well! This yukata that she's wearing is her second one, which I'd given her for Christmas. It's a little somber, but she doesn't like very bright colours, and I knew she'd appreciate the intricate designs of the patterns :)



My sister's coordinate was a last-minute thing, because I'd forgotten to show her our wardrobe options till the morning of this event. She felt like wearing something monochrome-ish, so she chose this yukata. Since she'd mentioned "monochrome" specifically, I knew immediately that this obi would be the best choice for this outfit, rather than a hot pink or purple one.



I really love this yukata and obi combination! It's very difficult to capture in photos, but this obi is one of the higher quality ones that can also be worn with kimono, with a woven latticework pattern on the plain black side. I feel it really made her outfit stand out. She noticed that there were some purples in the yukata, so she matched them with our newest handbag, and coordinated her accessories around that. She's also wearing black and white geta and a black and white bead flower hairband to complete the look. I think her coordinate was probably my favourite!

And finally - my outfit! ^_^



My outfit was mostly chosen by the godsisters! After my sister had picked out her yukata, we eliminated the ones that were too similar in colour to everyone else's yukata, and they picked out the one they thought looked the nicest. I really really like this yukata, because it's false shibori, has a pattern of grapes, and is in a really gorgeous colour. Unfortunately, I've never worn it before because I'd always had problems coordinating the yukata properly. After going through all my hanhaba obi and even some of my nagoya obi, I got a little frustrated and just threw on a plain white yukata obi.

While dressing myself, I suddenly remembered that I have a few yukata obijime in my collection and decided to break them out - and immediately liked the effect of this bright blue obijime against my outfit! Makes for a really lovely contrast, and adds colour to an otherwise bland outfit :) I coordinated all my accessories around this bit of blue. I really like this ensemble now!

(And by the way, I also really like this photo because Stella somehow managed to make me look thin :P)

It was a really fun day - we are already discussing our next girls day out, though it might possibly be a lolita day next (HAHAHA not XD;;;). It was also fun in the evening when the hubbies came home for the dinner party :)

Thanks for reading! Any C&C on coordinates are much welcome!

Outfit Snap: Sweet Roses Yukata

After conversing about kimono with a few people for the past few days, I've been feeling particularly inspired to wear kimono.

I only had an hour of free time to dress up today, so I couldn't do a full-blown kitsuke with my new obi and juban, but I did coordinate something with one of my new yukata from the Jusco Yukata Fair.

The obi I chose is really similar to the one that came with this set, but I decided to use this obi instead because it's a softer, less obnoxious shade of purple. Also, it has a matching theme of roses! I think this obi gives the yukata a softer, more mature sort of feminine feel, as opposed to a bright, young coordinate using hot pink as its main colour. (Besides, the obi in the set is a pre-tied obi! ^^;;; I'm.... not fond of pre-tied obi at all haha.)

I also happen to have a pair of geta that are the perfect combi of purple and pink, and a new pink uchiwa. To accent a little more of the pink, I wore dainty pink flower earrings and tossed some soft pink flowers on my hear. I used a basket bag with white accents because a pink or purple bag would be a little too much colour in the outfit.

On a really random note, I actually chose this yukata because of yesterday's pedicure - my toes match the yukata! ^^;;

Ta~

Closet Feature: Black Yukata & Hot Pink Obi

I was taking pics of some yukata I'm selling to a friend of a friend, and thought I'd share the pics here one at a time.

Here is the first of the 8 outfits I've put together:


(Please don't mind the low quality photo - I had to use my phone's camera as my mum is holding my camera hostage at the moment ^^;)

Both the yukata and obi are brand new.

I'm not really looking for critique on coordination - I paired the yukata and obi based on what matched best together from the pile I wanted to get rid of.

I just kind of wondered how much you'd pay for a set like this? I'm selling this to her at cost price because she's a friend's friend, but I was kind of curious to know how much most people (especially Malaysians!) would be willing to pay for this sort of thing.

Good night!

Coordination Comments: Yellow Snowflake Komon & Purple Obi

For the past few months, I've been complaining to a friend that I haven't been blogging much because I never seem to find time to dress up in kimono. She suggested that since I have so many pieces that I don't have the chance to wear, why don't I just post pics and comments on coordinates instead?

Well today, I'm finally listening to her advice! I tend to prefer not to post coordinates before I wear them as I like to wear something completely new each time I dress up in kimono, but well... desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess XD;

Here is today's coordinate!



As you can see, I'm still on my yellow phase XD

This here is another yellow hitoe komon that I got from Shinei's sales sometime last year. I know, I know, I already had one yellow hitoe komon.... But yellow is such a cute colour, and I couldn't resist the snowflakes!

One thing I love about hitoe is that it can be worn with either summer or spring/autumn/winter accessories, depending on the look you are going for. Since I wore summer accessories last week, I thought I'd go for a warmer look for this coordinate.

I wanted to give myself a bit of a challenge today and pair this kimono with a more striking obi. Usually I would just follow a colour scheme that would match the tone of the kimono - in this case, it would be dusty pink, browns and white. However, I just couldn't shake the idea of wearing purple and yellow together, so I brought out my favourite purple obi.

Close-up of the colours:


I matched it with a pale green obijime to give it a bit more of a refreshing feel, and a green han'eri with embroidered pink flowers to bring out more of the green and highlight a little of the pink.

I was at a bit of a loss when it came to the obiage, but my friend had given me this yellow obiage that was perfect - if I fold it correctly, it would have little squares of purple, green and pink showing!

The obiage does seem to blend into the kimono abit, but I wanted both the kimono and the obi to be the main focus of the outfit. A pink obiage (or even a coral one to match the flower in the obi) would've been one too many colours in this outfit and would've made the obi and its accessories the main focus, with the kimono just fading behind as a background to the striking combination.

I forgot to add tabi and zori to the picture, but I think I'd probably have worn white tabi (maybe I can embroider some to have green leaves or something?) and yellow zori. If I had green or purple zori, I'd definitely wear them though!

I'm pretty happy with the formality of this outfit. It's something that I'd probably wear out for lunch at a nice restaurant in a mall, or something that I'd go to watch a movie or musical or concert... Maybe even a house party if I'm brave enough! It's exactly the sort of places and events I'd wear kimono to, which means this outfit is perfectly wearable for me :)

How do you like this outfit? What would you change about it if the kimono and obi had to stay the same?

Outfit Snap: Yellow Polyester Komon

I went out for lunch with a friend today and we had both decided that it would be a dress-up day! Neither of us could seem to decide on what theme we wanted (kimono or loli), so eventually we just agreed to wearing whatever we felt like ^^

I was feeling pretty determined to wear kimono because I've recently received a bunch of new pretties. I'd also bought myself a nice new bag from Coach when I was in the US (was there for over a week for work, but naturally, we had one Saturday at a factory outlet XD), so I really wanted to use it! Unfortunately, the bag was teal - a colour that I generally find difficult to wear in kimono. I do have a hakata obi that is only just a shade darker than my bag, but add in the bag's accessory (strawberry coin purse), and that is one hell of a colour combo I had to find and match in my kimono closet!

Eventually, I couldn't get the right combination for either colour, theme or weather, so I changed the accessory from the cute coral strawberry coin purse attachment to a grapefruit one (colour scheme: yellow and pink). I'd only decided to change my outfit this morning, so I was scrambling to get an outfit put together in time.

(Luckily, I woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep, so I had like 7 hours to prepare XD;;;)

Eventually, I came up with this!

I'm wearing a yellow polyester hitoe komon with stripes, pink roses and some sort of leaf (a new komon I'd bought from Shinei during one of their sales sometime last year). To introduce teal somewhere in the outfit to match the bag, I paired the kimono with a teal summerweave hakata obi.

I chose a pink ro obiage and yellow summerweave obijime to balance out the colours a little because the obi looks kind of like a sudden break in the outfit - too striking! I hope the yellow obijime softens the harsh contrast...

I tried to add in a little more teal with my earrings and wanted to wear teal zori, but I don't have any blue or green zori in anywhere near the right shade.... So instead I wore a pair that matched the kimono! I'm also wearing tabi with matching flowers embroidered on the toes ^_^

Today's kitsuke was pretty easy because the kimono is made of a very crisp almost chirimen-like polyester that holds its grip really well. I was also using a two-piece juban with chikara-nuno to hold the collar in place - and my collars didn't move at all today! XD

I also used an obi aid (I think this one is called kairyou makura?) and it was really easy to create an almost-perfect otaiko with it really quickly! I'm always amazed everytime I use this obi aid. All of my obi miraculously fit, and there's no need for me to struggle with putting on the obi at all XD;;;

What do you guys think of this coordinate? The colour combo is a bit disconnected compared to my usual matching preferences, but I kind of like how yellow & teal look together. Any suggestions on how to improve this coordinate? So far, all I can think of is wearing teal zori and adding a teal hair accessory... Maybe something with the han'eri?

Oh btw, we forgot to take pics of ourselves at the restaurant... We did get alot of stares and some comments though XD;;;; My friend was dressed in loli with the cutest hat! Loved her coordinate today!

Random note: My sister chose the location for the photos because the flowers in our kitchen match my kimono XD;;;;

Event Aftermath: Jusco Yukata Fair 2010 - My Finds!

As promised, here is my post about the stuff I bought at the Jusco yukata fair!

1)Pale blue stripes and spots yukata. I found this pattern quite adorable, and I don't have any pale blue yukata.

I'm not entirely sure what sort of obi I'd like to wear this with, but I think the one in this photo makes for a rather refreshing combination. I'm not too fond of the idea of wearing such a plain yukata obi with this yukata, but the colours are really spot-on for my taste...


2) Brown with bunnies yukata. I was really happy to have found this! I haven't any brown kimono or yukata or even obi, so this was a very nice surprise. Plus, the saleswomen told me that they have only one yukata of this pattern, and they all remembered me for buying it ^^;;

I found this one obi that seems to be a great colour match for the yukata. It contrasts the darkness so well, and at the same time, the roses match the bunnies quite perfectly. I think it lends a rather cute appeal to a yukata that is otherwise slightly too old for me. Any ideas on other colour combinations? I think I might try a pale yellow or something.


3) Yet another navy blue roses and false shibori yukata! I love that sort of combination. The roses here look really elegant, I feel.

For this photo, I paired this yukata with a plain white obi so that I can show off my new obijime :)


4) Navy blue and gold yukata obijime. I bought this because the colour is quite hard to get right on screen, so it's more difficult to find the correct shade when shopping online.

I didn't really know how to tie the obijime properly, so I just fudged it ^^;; I think it turned out looking rather well!


5) All the obi that came with the yukata! (and one extra from my godsis, who also hated the obi)

I'm still not sure about what I'm going to do with all these... I think I might keep them to lend out to people who want to wear yukata, but can't tie an obi. However, if you want one, I'd be willing to trade! Just send me a message or leave a comment XD


6) One of the three pairs of geta I bought.

At RM20, these were really worth it. Even my godsis Carolyn, whom I dragged along and convinced to buy lots of stuff at the fair, bought a couple of pairs and said they were really comfy for everyday wear!


7) Navy blue uchiwa fan.

I'm of the opinion that you can never have too many fans! XD The fact that this fan matches my new navy blue yukata doesn't hurt either :P


8) Pearl obi kazari.

I've always wanted one, so I thought I'd just buy one to see. I ended up buying another one when this one worked so well ^^;


9) Kimono stickers!

These weren't actually from the Jusco yukata fair. However, I did bump into them at Art Friend, Gardens when my godsis and I went to the fair. I couldn't resist such cuteness!! I can't wait to start using them the next time I send a card or a letter to my kimono friends :)


These actually weren't all the items I bought - I also have parasols, more geta, more obi kazari, a child's yukata set, and a couple of items for my brother..... But I got lazy to post all of them :P

Bon Odori is this weekend (zomg forgot to post about it!) so I might wear one of my new pretties there ^_^ If my brother goes with me, he'll be wearing one of the yukata I bought for him yay! I can't wait 8D

Hope you enjoyed seeing what I purchased XD I certainly had a good time shopping haha!

Toodles and goodnight!

Outfit Challenge: Hanabi yukata - "Pop" style

Hanabi yukata - "Pop" style, originally uploaded by shira.C.

SO sorry it's late!! But I went out with Mel today, and we ended up spending the whole day together :D That will come in the next post.

Anyway, this is the very last hanabi yukata ensemble I created that day! I call it the "pop" style because it is very modern.

It all started with me wanting to use the hot pink obi. I matched it with one of my bags, and thought the hot pink looked really modern. I also used my modern geta that you've been seeing in some of the previous ensembles :D

I didn't know what to accessorize it with to make it fit with the modern theme, but I found a silver hairband I've had for a while and put it on. It's a little hard to see, but I'm also wearing a nice bracelet and my favourite ring with a rose motif.

So! Which one was your favourite? :D Which one should I wear to Bon Odori this year?

Outfit Challenge: Hanabi yukata -"Refreshing" taste

Hanabi yukata - "Refreshing" taste, originally uploaded by shira.C.

Today's yukata ensemble was aimed for getting the "refreshing" look. I've always thought pale green was a very refreshing springtime colour, and navy and green look so cute together!

Like with the "cute" taste ensemble with a light pink obi, I flipped over part of the obi so that it didn't look like a solid block of colour interrupting the pattern. The bag just happened to be absolutely perfect with it :D

You can't see it very well, but the geta are my mustard yellow geta. If I'd thought of it at the time, I would've worn my pale yellow one instead :)

Well, one more outfit to go!

Outfit Challenge: Hanabi yukata - "To the beach" style

Hanabi yukata - "To the beach" style, originally uploaded by shira.C.

Lol I nearly forgot to post today's yukata style :P

Today, the look is a little weird - I really wanted to wear my hat, but the only look I could think of was a beach-y style, so I paired it with my sandals and a nice beachy looking bag.

For the obi, the hakata obi was the only one that looked okay colour-wise, but I think the pattern is a little too traditional for such a modern look. I think maybe I'll use my pale yellow obi next time for the beachy look? But what about the hakata obi? What accessories to use then?

Decisions, decisions...

Btw, I've always had a big big big crush of Dr. Spencer Reid since I first watched Criminal Minds ages ago, but I've recently acquired Criminal Minds Season 3 and *__* my obsession is shooting through the roof.

On the other hand, watching Criminal Minds has also made me paranoid to the point where I'm barely able to go to my own kitchen without keeping an eye on all windows and doors lol.

My overactive imagination *sighs* A blessing and a curse :P

Outfit Challenge: Hanabi yukata - "Cute" taste

Hanabi yukata - "Cute" taste, originally uploaded by shira.C.

When I first bought this obi, I didn't think it would match anything I owned, simply because it looked too modern. Then I noticed the amount of pink in this yukata and thought "why not?"

I'm really glad I did, because it turned out looking so cute! However, one blank stretch of pink against the busy yukata looked to be too much of a shock, so I folded up the bottom side of the obi to show off the other side of it, which is white with a really gorgeous pattern of flowers, leaves and butterflies in black. It creates a break in the solid colour that gives a nice effect, I think.

For the bag, I chose a periwinkle blue kinchaku that I got for free in one of my YJA purchases. I thought it looked cute because it had pink stripes to match the obi, and the blue brought out other pale colours in the yukata.

I wore my modern pair of geta because the obi itself looks modern, and traditional geta looked rather odd with it.

Although I like all of the ensembles I created with this yukata, I must admit that I think this one is one of my absolute favourites :D

Outfit Challenge: Hanabi yukata - "Classic" taste: yellow

Hanabi yukata - "Classic" taste: yellow, originally uploaded by shira.C.

Navy and this shade of yellow are another classic colour combination for yukata. I also happened to have a nice summery looking bag that matched the yellow obi (cost only RM120 for this bag and another one - that's only £20 for both at time of purchase!), so I used it :D I switched from traditional geta to my more modern ones because the traditional geta looked a little off with such a modern bag.

Also, you can't see it because I edited my ugly ugly face out, but I accessorized with my glasses. I wanted to with modernizing it a little, because the bag and geta alone looked a little too modern for the navy and yellow combination and wearing the glasses seemed to take the edge off the oddness for a bit hehe. It also had a little to do with looking like the "girl next door" ^^;;;

Outfit Challenge: Hanabi yukata - "Classic" taste: red

Hanabi yukata - "Classic" taste: red, originally uploaded by shira.C.

Yesterday's hanabi yukata ensemble was the last of the "kimono style" ones.

Today's ensemble is purely yukata style, in "classic" taste. The combination of navy and red has been very popular and very common for many years (or so I've deduced from what yukata magazines tell me), resulting in a very "classic" look for yukata. I didn't add any major accessories, and used a kinchaku and proper geta to achieve that "classic" and "traditional" feel for the look.

I've never really liked red and blue together, unless it's on flags, but for some reason, navy and red just go together really really well :D

Outfit Challenge: Hanabi yukata - "Kimono" style "Classic" taste

Hanabi yukata - "Kimono" style "Classic" taste, originally uploaded by shira.C.

Once again, today's ensemble is the same ensemble as the previous two, with different obiage and obijime for a different look.

This time, I used yellow for a more "refreshing" look in a more "classic" style. But it blends in a little too much to the obi for my liking.

Btw, I just got back from the London MCM Expo! It was fun :) I'll have to post pictures sometime soon hehe. Tomorrow, tomorrow, lol :P

Outfit Challenge: Hanabi yukata - "Kimono" style "Sweet" taste

Hanabi yukata - "Kimono" style "Sweet" taste, originally uploaded by shira.C.

Today's ensemble is the same ensemble as yesterday, but with a different obiage and obijime for a different look.

While yesterday's dark maroon obiage and obijime was used for a more mature look, in today's outfit, I chose sweet pink accessories to make the outfit lighter, younger and cuter. Also, the pink accessories were supposed to bring out the pinks in the yukata, but they were too pale to really do anything! Hahaha.

Perhaps I should have chosen a darker pink instead?

Outfit Challenge: Hanabi Yukata: "Kimono" Style "Otona" Taste

Hanabi yukata - "Kimono" style "Otona" taste, originally uploaded by shira.C.

Lately, I've been inspired by one of my yukata magazines to create as many ensembles as I can using one yukata, each outfit differing on style, taste, TPO, etc. Today, I took out my hanabi (fireworks) yukata and had a two hour dressing session for this personal challenge!

I managed to come up with nine outfits today, although I will admit that I could probably think of even more outfits if I bothered to look harder. Sooooo.... I'm going to post one ensemble a day till I've shown off all the ensembles I've created! :)

I am planning to wear this yukata for Bon Odori this year (it takes place in July every year in Malaysia) but I can't decide which outfit to wear :P I like all of them! So, once all the ensembles have been posted, you guys help me decide!

For today's ensemble, I'm wearing the yukata kimono-style. The obi is a plain white hakata weave nagoya obi, tied otaiko style, and with maroon ro (summer weave) obiage and obijime. I put on a kantan eri (easy collar that gives the illusion of a juban even if I'm not wearing one) and tabi to complete the kimono look.

I call this "Otona" or "adult/mature" taste, because I think the dark maroon colour and the dark navy colour look so mature together!

I think this is more of a daytime outfit. It's so dark that it would look striking in the daylight, rather than blending in with the night. I think this one is something I would wear to go shopping or to an informal lunch or something :)

What do you think?

Kimono-fied Hogwarts Uniform

Okay, I know I'm showing my dork here, but I just thought of a really really nice kimono-fied uniform for Hogwarts!!

Girls:
The base of it all would be the kimono - it would be an all-black tsukesage, with a white outline of the Hogwarts crest on the front skirt. On the front of the left sleeve will be the white outline of the Hogwarts castle and grounds, and on the back of the right sleeve, there will be the four House animals (only white outlines).

Now comes what makes the uniforms different for each House! Each House gets different designs on their obi:

Hufflepuff:
Option 1 (formal): Black nagoya obi, with the Hufflepuff crest on the back and a badger on the front. The obiage and obijime will be a choice between pale yellow and canary yellow. The zori will be black, with a yellow hanao and a thin black stripe running down the middle of the hanao.
Option 2 (casual): Pale yellow hanhaba obi with very thin black stripes, and the Hufflepuff crest printed on both sides of each end. Black lacquered geta with yellow hanao.

Ravenclaw:
Option 1 (formal): Black nagoya obi, with the Ravenclaw crest on the back and a bronze eagle on the front. The obiage will be any shade of blue, and the obijime can be any shade of blue or bronze. The zori will have a black base and hanao that is half blue stripe, half bronze stripe.
Option 2 (casual): Bright blue hanhaba obi with very thin bronze stripes, and the Ravenclaw crest printed on both sides of each end. Black lacquered geta with bright blue hanao.

Gryffindor:
Option 1 (formal): Black nagoya obi, with the Gryffindor crest on the back and a roaring lion on the front. The obiage and obijime will be interchangable between red and gold. The zori will have a black base and red hanao with a gold stripe in the middle.
Option 2 (casual): Bright red hanhaba obi with very thin gold stripes, and the Gryffindor crest printed on both sides of each end. Black lacquered geta with bright red hanao.

Slytherin:
Option 1 (formal): Black nagoya obi, with the Slytherin crest on the back and a coiled snake, ready to strike, on the front. The obiage and obijime will be silver, but any shade of green can also be used. The zori will have a black base and silver hanao.
Option 2 (casual): Silver hanhaba obi with very thin dark green stripes, or dark green hanhaba obi with thick silver stripes and the Slyterin crest printed on both sides of each end. Black lacquered geta with silver hanao.

Small accessories like hair ornaments, obi decoration, han-eri, tabi and juban can be modified to the students' liking. The kimono sleeve length depends on student preference, but must be at a minimum of 50cm.

Boys:
Their kimono will be all black, with very thin dark gray stripes. The full-coloured Hogwarts crest will be dyed or embroidered onto the back, where the center mon is meant to be. Zori will also be black, and tabi will be white (because it's just weird seeing a guy with red tabi :P) Their obi will be hakata-ori kaku obi, in this manner:

Gryffindor: dark red base, gold pattern
Slytherin: silver/gray base, dark green pattern
Ravenclaw: blue base, bronze pattern
Hufflepuff: pale yellow base, black pattern

For the informal/casual version, they can wear heko obi in red (Gryffindor), silver (Slytherin), blue (Ravenclaw) and pale yellow (Hufflepuff) with a pale wood geta and black hanao.

Like for girls, sleeve length, han-eri and juban is up to the students' liking.


For both genders, there will be an awase (lined) version, a hitoe (unlined) version, a ro (summer weave) version and a yukata version in formal (silk) material and everyday (cotton, wool, etc) material. Every student must have at least one of each version in everyday material, and the formal is optional (like dress robes). In place of a cloak, they can wear whatever haori or coat they choose with any pattern on it, as long as it has a base of black or one of their house colours, and the pattern is not indecent.

Umbrellas, raincoats, rain shoes and snowshoes are also their own choice. On bad-weather days, they can wear boots in place of zori and geta.


..... Yeah, I'm really really bored to have thought all of this up :P Maybe if I have a load of free time, I'll draw it out or something ^^;;;

Actually, I'd only thought of the base kimono and the black obi with crests. Then, as I was typing it out, I suddenly began to think of different situations they might have to wear them in, like on their graduation they, they would want to wear something more formal; in the summer, they can't wear winter kimono, etc, so I thought up of the formal and casual materials, the various versions, etc.

Hahaha, my imagination is running wild!! :D And it's so fun!

Coordination Comments: Potential Ensemble for Sakura Furisode?

On the IG forums, I was advised to choose more colourful accessories for the furisode I dressed Mich in a couple of weeks ago. I found some hot pink accessories, and decided to put them together to see how they went, and this is the result!



What do you think? Colourful enough? Bright enough? Too much pink? Comments and suggestions welcome!! ^_^

P/S: I really need to find that white han-eri I was talking about.. I can't believe I lost it!! Or did I give it away..? o_O

Outfit Snap: Patrick's Birthday and Furisode Dress-Up Pics

So yesterday was Patrick's birthday. He turned 18. Congrats, Patteh!! He went out with a bunch of friends, but I was feeling really ill, so I stayed home. Oh well. At least we sort of celebrated the day before! I took him out shopping and we bought LOADS of clothes for him!

I asked him how he felt, and he said "no different". :D We're of the same wavelength, alright!

He went back to Concord today. His luck with trains seems to be improving - no delays or sudden changes this time! :D

Anyway, two Thursdays ago, Mel's sister Michelle was over at our flat after Borough Market. For ages, she's been wanting to dress up in kimono, and I keep promising to do it, but we never have time. Since we had loads of time that day, I decided to dress her up in furisode so that she'd have a good experience wearing kimono and would feel pretty! I had two spring furisode for her to choose from, and let her decide which one she wanted. Having good taste, she chose the nicer (and more expensive) one XP

Here are pictures!!!

Doesn't she look so cute??? :D We didn't know who was more excited about this, her or me :P

The furisode is very pale pink with grey clouds and stylized sakura (cherry blossoms), cranes (the purple birds) and phoenixes (the orange birds) as its motifs. This furisode was relatively cheap for being so pretty, unique, modern AND in perfect condition! In fact, considering that it's just about the perfect size for me, it's really really cheap!

This obi is one of my more expensive ones, and is brand new from Yahoo Japan Auctions. Doesn't it match the furisode perfectly??? The colours and the patterns, not to mention that shiny gold sheen on it!! *hearts* You know, everyone who sees that obi falls in love with it. Mel and Mich most certainly did! :D

I decided to tie it in a fukura-suzume, which means plump sparrow, and I thought it was cute: the furisode had a pattern of birds and flowers, while the obi had a pattern of flowers and was tied in a bird style! However, I also think that a tateya musubi (diagonal arrow style of tying) would look very nice with this :)

I was really proud of my obi-tying skills, because this was only my second time tying a fukura-suzume onto someone else, and I did it completely from memory! YAY! And, uh, it isn't quite as lop-sided as it looks in the photos :P

For the accessories, I used a hot pink kasane-eri (that pink stripe you see at the collar. It's to give the impression of multiple layers) to highlight the bright pink bits. I hadn't coordinated a proper obiage and obijime for this furisode and obi set, so we had to make-do with what I had. It doesn't look too bad, but I've already bought a cheap but very pretty formal obijime for this. It's bright pink, like the kasane-eri, to highlight both the kasane-eri and the pink parts of the furisode. I haven't decided what obiage to match this with, but I'm still tossing bits of fabric about to see what looks good before I buy something :)

The juban is a little off, because I don't have a juban with sleeves that fit this. Still, I think it looks okay... Right? Anyway, if I ever do get a juban with sleeves to fit this furisode, I think I'll have to get something in a colour that matches! Pale pink is the most common colour and really would match, but something like hot pink or pale gray would be nice too :) Or maybe I can make fake juban sleeves? :P

I didn't use a han-eri, but I've decided that when I put together the full complete set, I'll sew my white han-eri with gold sakura decorations onto the juban! White han-eri looks nice with this ensemble, and I believe the gold decorations will suit it perfectly :)

What do you think? Do you like it? I can't wait to wear it myself!!! :D

Coordination Comments: 9 Ensembles!

Yesterday, I mentioned that I would put together a few ensembles today and take pictures. Well, I ended up doing it last night while I was waiting for my hair to dry after my shower. Okay, so I was restless and couldn't sleep too, which is why I stayed up so late.

ANYWAY, I was determined to create an ensemble that would match the triangular Japanese shawl that my sister knitted for me. Here's a picture of it folded, but you can see much better pictures if you follow the link above.

Since I had that gray kimono, all I had to do was choose the right accessories. Of course, I kind of got carried away with creating ensembles, because not all of them match the shawl very well! =^_^="" I did have some difficulty trying to match the shawl and make the ensemble look younger at the same time because the general colour scheme is quite mature, but I think I managed at some point.

I also need some help choosing a hat! I have four hats that could go well with some coordinates, but I can't decide which! Here's a picture of the hats. You can see which ones to choose from in the pictures of each ensemble.

Here are the ensembles I created!


1) Pale blue obi with a pink and red hawk on a gray branch. This one is my favourite, I think. I don't think hawks have seasons, so I can wear this at any time in June and September!

I chose pink accessories to accentuate the hawk. Here is an upclose picture of the details:

As you can see, I have some phone charms on it. I have this handy plastic device onto which I can attach these charms and then slip behind the obi so that the phone charms can dangle from the top of the obi. You can vaguely see the red mushroom attached to it here and tucked behind the obi. The only problem is that I can only put one at a time! Which one should I choose? Or should I find a way to put multiple charms onto it? Maybe tie a bit of string? Hmmm, this requires some thinking...


2) Magenta (or wine-red, I can't really tell) yuzu obi with pink accessories.

The obi and the kimono together matches the shawl very well. I chose pink accessories so that the outfit will feel warmer. A little difficult to see, but the obi accessory is a pink cupcake, the same one in the earlier detail picture. This seems suitable for wearing in late September.


3) Magenta yuzu obi with blue accessories.

In this one, all the colours match the shawl really well. Almost too well, perhaps? It certainly makes for a cool-feeling outfit. I think I would wear this in late June or early September, provided the weather is right.


4) Magenta yuzu obi with dark green accessories.

I'd thought to accentuate the green leaves in the ensemble. Unfortunately, this turned out really dark and dull! I don't think I'll wear this anytime soon (read: within the next 20 years), because the colour seems to be more suitable for a 40 or 50 year old woman!


5) Magenta yuzu obi with white and green accessories.

From the previous ensemble, I was hoping a white obiage would lighten and brighten up the ensemble. Luckily, it did! I forgot to put in a pair of white lace tabi that I would wear with this. Unfortunately, the green seems to clash really badly with the shawl, so I won't wear this with the shawl (i.e. not gonna wear on Saturday). Besides, this is more of a late May ensemble anyway.


6) Grayish pink obi with white and yellow accessories.

Not seasonally appropriate because the embroidered flowers are sakura. I think I would wear this when I'm at home in hot Malaysia and it's sometime in March or April. Here are upclose details of the obi decoration:

If you squint, you can see that the stamen of the sakura are done in deep yellow, which is why I chose a yellow obijime. The obiage is white because a yellow obiage would be too much. The obi accessories are of a pink cupcake, a yellow chick and a brown monkey eating a banana.


7) Pink striped obi with floral detail. OMG I think that if I didn't have to match this with the shawl, this would be one of my favourites, right up there with the hawk obi! I would wear this in Malaysia from March till May.

You can see that the leaves of the flowers are the same shade of green as the obijime, which is woven with strands of pink the exact same shade as the obi! It looks as though they were made for each other! I chose a cupcake and a gingerbread man accessory because the obi motif reminds me of the countryside and country kitchens, which also brings to mind home baked goodies. The obiage is white to balance the colours and to lighten the ensemble. I had placed a pair of pink lace tabi on the picture, but now I think a pair of white lace tabi might be better.


8) Plain white summer-weight obi with blue accessories.

This is a rather cold outfit. Also, because of the lack of motifs on, well, everything, it's very plain and dull. Really everyday-wear, this. I'd thought to brighten it up with a flamingo obidome and three accessories of a transparent yellow cat, a yellow chick and the banana-eating monkey, but it doesn't really do much. Definitely a late June ensemble, this.


9) The final ensemble: the same plain white obi with pink accessories.

Once again, really really plain. The obijime is the same shade of purple the shawl is. This seems to be more of a late May ensemble.


I paired all of them with geta rather than zori because I haven't received my new zori yet. Besides, it's expected to rain this Saturday, so I guess geta would be better.

Sooooo people? Opinions? Which one should I wear on Saturday? Which one do you like best? Any suggestions on improving them?