Video: How to Put on a Nagoya Obi (Japanese)

A friend of mine was telling me about this really good Youtube clip of a woman explaining how to put on a Nagoya obi in 10 minutes - including a really detailed explanation of all the steps.

I've only just watched it and thought it was worth sharing!

Unfortunately, it's all in Japanese, which isn't really helpful for understanding her tips if you don't know the language, but I think just watching the movements is enough to help with many usual problems people have when putting on an obi!

I really like that the clip has two points of view, which gives much more perspective of what goes on "behind the scenes", so to speak, when putting on an obi.

I think my absolute favourite thing about the clip is that she doesn't do every step absolutely perfectly like in the magazines (for example, the top of the otaiko looks a little crooked in some angles, etc), yet the obi still looks straight and perfect once she's done!

Ta~

Event Aftermath: Kimono Meet @ Tenshi no Cafe

A friend and I have been talking about having a kimono meet for quite a while, and we finally nailed down a date for it! So on Saturday, we met with a couple of other kimono-enthusiast friends at Tenshi no Cafe, our local maid cafe and chatted for a few hours over lunch ^_^

(Hm, the choice of venue - we had originally wanted to go to Tokyo Street at Pavilion, but 21st April was the date where our new King would meet his subjects downtown, so we changed venue to avoid traffic. We voted for the maid cafe instead - my main reason is that I'd never been there before and was crazy curious about it XD;;;)

Here's what I decided to wear for the meet-up:



I felt like wearing spring colours, so I chose to wear my (relatively) new polyester hitoe iromuji. The obi I'd chosen is one of Ichiroya's reproduction Taisho pieces. It had just arrived two days before the meet-up and I was so excited I just had to wear it straightaway!

My sister insisted on pairing this obiage with this kimono, so I matched my juban sleeves and zori to the bright pink. I think the outfit looks kinda cute with the bright pops of colour here and there, though they're kind of invisible in the photos XD;;;; The light green obijime was chosen to balance the outfit a little - I think a darker green would've made it look too heavy, while pink made the whole ensemble seem rather bland.

The toes on my tabi also have bright pink flowers and green leaves embroidered on them, though I didn't take a picture.




I tried a new hairstyle today! It was kind of a cheat's hairstyle haha - I just twisted my hair into a bun, then secured it with a hairtie, then tied one of those scrunchies made of fake hair over the top. Voila! Instant fluffy bun XD;;; I think I ought to get a second scrunchie so I can make twin buns for lolita hahaha.

I'm sooo out of practice - for some reason, my obi is really lopsided at the back, and I completely misjudged the amount I needed for the otaiko, which made it difficult to deal with. My ohashori also kept wanting to flip upwards :/ But other than that I'm actually pretty happy with how my kitsuke turned out hahaha. I mean, I think it's not bad considering the last time I wore full kimono was in September last year!

Here's a group picture of the 4 of us:



On the leftmost, RH was wearing this really cool-looking outfit made up of mostly whites and blues. Even her zori were white (and looked sooooo gorgeous <3)~

On the second from the right, JL is wearing a furisode I sold to her weeks ago. That shade of blue looks absolutely gorgeous on her - especially when paired with those hakama! Very striking outfit, and suits her very well.

On the rightmost, L is wearing a super sweet yukata set! Though the obi is pre-tied, I love the way she and JL tied the obijime at the back - really kicks the outfit up a notch. (And yes, I would absolutely steal that yukata if I have the chance XD) It was also her first time dressing herself in yukata, and I think she did very well!


It's really too bad that we didn't manage to get individual outfit shots for all of us, but we were enjoying ourselves too much XD;;; It's a very interesting experience to dine at a maid cafe - stranger still when one of your waitresses is an old friend from primary school!

It was really fun to just get dressed up, have a meal together and chatter non stop XD I wish I didn't have to go early, but my parents decided they wanted to go to church that evening, so I had to rush home haha.

Hey guys: It was really fun! Let's do this again sometime soon~

Omake:
Very funny story that morning: while I was dressing, I opened a cupboard door to get a datejime out - and my cupboard door (which is actually a full length mirror) fell on me! XD;;;; My dad says it's shoddy workmanship and poor quality glue used on the mirror... I'm just glad the mirror didn't break on me!

Closet Feature: Pink & White/Black Hanhaba Obi

I've been trying to keep up with my recent streak of posts, but unfortunately I don't have much of an interesting life to blog about. I've been using my free time to clean my room or experiment with cooking, so I haven't really been concentrating much on practicing my kitsuke much ^^;;

Soooo...... I'm afraid that for a while at least, you guys will have to put up with some frequent posts on closet features and book/magazine scans! ^^;

Today's post is on one of my absolute favourite obi of all time! It's a polyester hanhaba obi that's pink on one side, and black-and-white on the other.



The pink side has a woven pattern of interlocking latticework, while the other side has a white base and a pattern of vines, flowers and butterflies worked into it in black.

I'd bought this obi from a YJA seller on a whim over three years ago, but never wore it because it looked too modern for my collection then - or so I thought. Slowly, I began to find things that actually matched pretty well with the obi, and before I knew it, it became one of my most frequently used obi!

Here are a few pics of my favourite coordinates with this obi:





This obi is one of my favourites for pairing with navy blue yukata :D But it also matches really well with just about any shade of blue, and looks incredibly sweet against white.

(My favourite side is the pink side ^^;; I think I've only ever used the white side once hahaha)

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~

Outfit Snap: Periwinkle Rose Yukata

Was feeling a little antsy tonight and had lots of time to spare, so I decided to dress up in one of my new yukata!



A bit of a close-up on the yukata's design:


I'd been dreaming about pairing this yukata and this obi together since I first saw this yukata, and it does go surprisingly well together! I was aiming for a more "cool" look rather than sweet & flowery, which is why I used a pair of black geta rather than blue or purple or pink. I guess I was also kind of hoping to pull in the dark colours from my hair, watch, fan and camera together ^^;

The fan is a little cutesy for this outfit, but it was the only one I had that matched colour-wise.

Nowadays, I always feel that an outfit is too plain if there isn't some form of decoration at the obi, even if it's just a fan tucked into it, so I stuffed by everyday pearl necklace into it for a little something. I reflected the pearl theme with a pearl ring.

The yukata, geta and fan were all bought at this year's Jusco Yukata Fair :)

I'm.... not entirely happy with today's kitsuke, but considering that it took me about 20mins from deciding I wanted to wear yukata to fully dressing in it, accessories and all, it's actually pretty okay XD;

Any C&C on this coordination would be really appreciated! ^_^ What other obi do you see this yukata with? There are so many possibilities that I have no idea what to wear next with it haha.

Event Aftermath: Jusco Yukata Fair 2011

As promised, here is the post on my loot from the Jusco Yukata Fair this year!

First off, the yukata!

I seem to be in a pale colours mood this year ^^ There were way more black yukata than anything else at the Fair, but I just didn't like any of them.

The obi that came with the yukata.

This year has much nicer pre-tied obi that last year! I guess that accounts for the RM10 increase in price.

One more yukata for my brother.

This yukata really called to me because I love Ichimatsu check prints, and this one was in a really gorgeous shade of dark brown. I know my brother never lets me dress him up most of the time, but I couldn't resist ^^;

A kid's yukata.

Just cause it's cute XD

The geta collection.

They're actually brighter in real life.

A lilac-coloured obijime.


Uchiwa!!

My weakness~~

Some furoshiki.

One of the furoshiki came with a DVD on furoshiki!


On the Fair itself:

This year, the obi that were paired with the yukata were much much nicer than the ones last year! Not everything was slapped together with a red&yellow obi - this time, care and consideration were actually taken when matching the obi and the yukata. As you can see in the pictures above, the quality of the obi were also much better this time.

There were still some sets that were sold with the same ugly obi as last year's, but there were only two racks of those (priced at RM129 per set of yukata & obi). A majority of the yukata sets on display were priced at RM139, but there was a good selection of patterns. Most of the yukata were dark-coloured (black, dark purple) but there were a few sweet ones (light purple, pale blue).

(I kind of feel like I recognise some of the patterns - they are definitely similar to some branded yukata that were really popular a few years ago. One of those that I bought kinda looks like one I've been drooling over in a magazine from 2008! XD;)

A small section of higher range yukata was also present (half a rack of these, I think?) but the colours and patterns were just so pretty compared to the others! These ones were priced at RM299 for just one yukata.

The men's yukata section was also much better this year! There were more patterns to choose from and I had a really tough time choosing one for my brother. There were two other striped ones that I really liked, but I had to limit myself to just one yukata ^^;

For women's obi, Jusco brought in a better selection of higher-range pre-tied obi and quite a nice range of hanhaba obi. I thought they were rather overpriced, but maybe I was biased because I already had many of those colours in my closet ^^; The standalone pre-tied obi were about RM139 and the hanhaba obi were RM189.

The best part about this year's fair is that they started selling kitsuke items! So far, they only have himo (RM29 for a set of two) and datejime (RM59 each), but I'm hoping that next year or the year after, they'll start expanding to obi-ita and yukata slips or something ^_^

There was a smaller selection of fans to choose from this year (or maybe it's just that I got there late) but the ones that were left were pretty high quality :) They also had the same obijime, kanzashi, bag, parasols and obi-kazari for sale. The sheer number of geta was shocking! They stocked more kids' geta this round - I'm sooooo tempted by this incredibly cute pair of geta with light blue gingham check and sunflowers!

I feel like going back there to browse, just for the heck of it :)

If anyone's free and has cash to spare, why not drop by and keep the yukata fair alive for next year? XD

(P/S: There is also a Yukata Fair at Jusco Queensbay Mall in Penang, also ending this Sunday, 17th July ^^)

Outfit Snap: My Brother & His Girlfriend - Friday Night Dress-Up!

My brother asked if I could help him with his yukata ensemble for this year's Bon Odori, so I took out one of the new ones I'd gotten for him at last year's Yukata Fair at Jusco (it has stripes and bats on it!) and paired it with his black pre-tied hakata obi and the skeleton-themed geta I bought for him two years ago.

We had a test-run of his outfit after coming home from dinner earlier tonight!

After seeing him dressed up and flipping through a couple of my yukata magazines, his girlfriend also asked to get dressed up :D I showed her my whole collection and let her pick one yukata (well, she was torn between this one and another, so she let my brother choose) and a matching obi.

I put her in a pair of navy blue geta and tucked a dark blue fan into her obi to match the navy blue dragonflies on the yukata. I also tossed in the bag and the hair accessory to make the outfit look more complete.

This is the end result!



One of the magazines they were flipping through had a feature on couples' yukata and how to match them with themes, so their outfits are also somewhat matched together! Both yukata are light-coloured and have some sort of stripes on them while their obi also have some form of stripes ^^

Aren't they so cute together?? :D

Closet Feature: Red Yukata & Black Obi

So.... I've finally decided to get rid of this red yukata ^^; I've worn it a few times, so while it's clean and stain-free, it's not in the best condition... But the material is softer now, compared to when I first received it!

I tossed this plain black obi with the yukata (the reverse side of the obi is bright red) because I got it with one of the yukata sets I bought for a godsister and there was no way I was going to let one of my godsisters wear such an ugly thing ^^;;;

I kind of think that if the obi was folded a little in the front to show off a bit of red, it'd look pretty nice with this yukata :)

Outfit Snap: Navy Blue Yukata & Seafoam Green Obi

After working on my blog for a while and surrounding myself with kimono for practically the whole weekend, I had the urge to either buy more kimono or have a dress-up session to distract myself from shopping.

So..... I had a dress-up session! ^_^

I wanted to just throw on something easy, but I had a very specific obi in mind to wear today, so I grabbed both the obi and another yukata that was just lying around.

Here is the result! ^_^

(Please don't mind that the photos are really low quality! My mum is holding my camera for her business trips so I had to make-do with my phone)



I'm carrying the umbrella because.... Well ^^; It matched the colour scheme and it was just there. It's actually an RM5 bit of nonsense that I bought from Daisou just because it was cheap and cute.



I really like that both the yukata and obi have a rose theme :) I also kind of like that the pearls on the obi are a little similar to the false shibori dots on the yukata.



Today's obi musubi was chosen because I was actually experimenting with wearing yukata without any padding and I needed something large that will hide the lower back area of my yukata. I did have to stuff a whole towel underneath the obi to keep the musubi perky, but a few clever folds and some manipulation of how the obi falls and you'd never notice :)

On wearing yukata without padding: I have to say that it does do wonders for managing the heat! I can see now why people say that yukata are cooling to wear. I had to tie my yukata a little looser than usual so that the himo don't cut into my body, but it just makes for a more comfortable kitsuke.

I have to keep practicing this to improve my kitsuke without padding! XD

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;;;;

Outfit Snap: Pink Plaid Kofurisode

This afternoon, I was working on something that was starting to give me an awful headache by 5.30pm, so I decided to stop, rest and take some time to myself.

And.... here's the result XD

I've been feeling particularly inspired to wear kimono for the past few months but never found the time, so I thought I ought to take the chance now when I have the house and a few hours all to myself.

I've been eyeing up a couple of Kitsuke Challenges on the IG forums, namely the Stripes challenge and the Stop Buying, Start Wearing challenge. This kimono just happened to fit both! I've been feeling particularly girly lately, so the pink colour scheme was perfect.

I actually had a couple of other outfits for this kofurisode that used a white obi and purple or yellow accessories, but I felt they were a little bland today, so instead I whipped up another outfit that felt bright and girly enough for today. I chose this dark purple hakata obi that Hong gave me a long time ago because, well, it's hakata XD I paired them with pink accessories because I wanted a really girly outfit, and the original yellow I wanted to wear didn't seem so attractive to me after a while.

The loose side-braid was for a more feminine feeling (that, and I was lazy to do a bun), complete with purple accessory at the end of the braid, and I'm wearing matching grape-shaped purple earrings. The bag was a free gift that just happened to match the colour scheme.

I'm always told that kofurisode shouldn't be worn with otaiko musubi (something that I do way too often), but this kofurisode's pattern is so informal that it seems weird to me to wear even a bunko musubi with it!

It's been sooooo long since I last wore kimono! (Well, kimono outside of yukata at any rate hahaha). I think it's been about 10 months since the last time I tried to tie an otaiko on myself! That would kind of explain why my back is so ugly today... :P (=no back pictures! :P)

Today's kitsuke is not as neat as my usual standards, but I suppose for not having dressed in 10 months, it'll have to do XD; Still, I'm happy with the way it turned out, even if it did take much longer than usual :)

P/S: I've been meaning to post something about the Japan earthquake, but at first, I didn't know how to put my thoughts into words, then came that incredibly embarrassing ordeal with Berita Mingguan and the PM's wife.... well, I really had no idea what to say then! I can only offer my sincerest apologies to all who were offended :/ Please believe me when say that no one I know agreed with either of them, and we were all mortally embarrassed to be called Malaysian when we found out as well.

Japan, we're all praying for you! :)

Suggestions?: Obi-Matching Dilemma

As mentioned in my earlier posts, my godsis Carolyn bought a yukata at the Jusco Yukata Fair. Since the fair didn't have any proper undies or even koshihimo (shocking!) and she hated the obi her yukata came with, I decided to get her a proper matching obi and yukata undies set for her birthday. (Don't worry about my posting this in public - she already knows what she's getting for her birthday :P)

My only problem is deciding what colour obi I should get her. Her yukata has a base colour of dark purple, with lighter shades of purple and white, and a motif of sakura. I can see it matching with so many colours - mustard yellow, pale yellow, pale green, light blue, all sorts of pinks, white, lilac.... I just don't know what to get her :/

I did ask her what sort of colour she'd like, but she said it'd be very difficult to decide without actually seeing the obi in person. Also, her taste is generally a less bright and more sedate sort of colour combination. Her favourite motif is sakura, but I'm afraid of accidentally turning her outfit into a sakura overload ^^;;;

Soooo..... Any suggestions?

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 Snap: Dinner @ Iketeru

I've been a little tense and irritable lately, so I felt like I really needed to relax over the weekend. Since my sister had recently found out about the new spring menu at Iketeru in KL Hilton and my parents were away for the weekend, the three of us (me, Pig and Pot) decided to try it out on Saturday night. My sister had also wanted to test out her new camera and lens on good food pics :P

I saw an opportunity to dress up in kimono and snatched it up right away! Here are some pictures of my outfit. These were taken after dinner.

(Sorry the yukata is so rumpled... ^^;;;)

Near the pool-bar-area thing. (So articulate)


Again, near the pool.


Back shot. Yeah, it's a walking-pose, but just standing there was so boring, and the pics are really blurry if I actually walk ^^;;


Outside the lift. I really like this shot! The colours are more accurate here, and you can see my musubi more clearly. I think it kind of looks like it's pre-tied LOL!


It took us forever to take this shot of me pouring the dobinmushi (a type of soup) into the serving cup! By the time we were satisfied by the pics, the pot was nearly empty XD Funny how the best-looking one ended up being one of the earlier pics!

We had fun setting a time limit for my sister. "Take the pic, take the pic, take the pic! Oh... The cup is full... So who wants some soup?"

My ensemble on Saturday was a second-hand UNIQLO yukata that I got on YJA. It actually came with a maroon obi, but I wanted something different this time. Green and purple is one of my favourite colour combinations, especially for kimono, so I thought I'd go with it. I think it kind of brings out the colour of the wisteria. The bag and earrings are from my mum's closet, and the fan is a cheap buy from Daisou, with a pattern of bunnies.

I uhhh really meant to wear proper kimono, but my sister's boyfriend and I were playing Prince of Persia on the PS3 and we got carried away ^^; I didn't start getting ready till too late, and (shockingly) I hadn't even decided on an outfit to wear! So I just threw on the simplest thing I could find and put together in a few minutes ^^; Then again, given the recent heatwave, it was probably for the best.

I was really pleased with how neatly my kitsuke turned out, given that I haven't dressed up in two months. It took me about half an hour to dress, which is shockingly long - I must be getting out of practice!

I didn't really realise that just wearing kimono would make me feel so relaxed. It's like any stress just melted off me. And to think that I haven't worn kimono just to go out and have fun in 4 months! Therapeutic, it is.

Of course, the moment I stepped into the office yesterday, whatever stress relief I had was all zapped up immediately haha :P Hmmm, another excuse to dress up and go out again? XD

Anyway, just wanted to share some random food pics:

My sister's starter course.


Her sashimi course.


Her garlic fried rice.


The ice cream looked better than it tastes haha.


Rommel's dessert course from his hanami bento.


My choices were kind of boring for photos, and other photos didn't turn out so well, so just these pics.

I'm really sorry you can't see how nice the pics really are, coz they go rather wonky once we shrink them, but we have to shrink them - our house internet can't take the stress of uploading very large photos ^^;; So, we're stuck with small not-so-nice pics *sigh*

Ta, people! I'm off to eat dinner.