Kimono Jack at Deco Japan, part 1

Hello everyone~! I hope you are all enjoying a beautiful Spring! Today was a Kimono Jack gathering in Seattle! This time the Kimono Jack was held at the Seattle Asian Art Museum in conjunction with a special exhibition currently on display - Deco Japan: Shaping Art & Culture, 1920-1945.

This exhibit displays various items such as household items, handbills, kimono, and ceramics, from the art deco movement of Japan, which are distinctive with modern forms combined with traditional flair and technique. Those who love the glamour of the Taisho and Showa eras will love this collection. In particular, I enjoyed the images of the Moga, Modern Girls, Japan's version of flapper girls. You can see some examples of some of the items in the collection by clicking the link above, or in this Youtube video from when the collection was in NY: http://youtu.be/GbsixuOyHfo

My favorite pieces of the collection are an obi dyed in the theme of the Olympic Games, and a lacquered box for stationery emblazoned with a silver Pegasus! (squee!)

In addition to seeing the Deco Japan collection on display, today's Kimono Jack included a private reception which featured a kimono fashion show by Yu Ugawa and Kimono Art. This fashion show was especially exciting, as the theme was Retro Modern, showcasing kimono from the Taisho and Showa eras!

I decided to sew one of the kimono bolts that I had gotten as my Mother's Day gift, and knew that the tsuzumi drum fabric would pair well with a red and yellow Taisho obi that I own.

Here is my newly sewn kimono! (photographed before ironing, what can I say, I was pretty excited)

I wanted a green obijime so my coordinate wouldn't be all red and yellow, so I ended up making one! I had a bundle of vintage kumihimo-style braided rayon cording, so I sewed together two lengths of round cord to make the obijime.

This is such an easy idea for a casual obijime! But I recommend using very strong thread. I ended up redoing this with embroidery floss since I feared thread would break if pulled tightly.

Here is my coordinate:




The obidome is a converted brooch. I made the loops for the obijime to pass through using gold wire and attached it to the back.

I didn't get any good photos, but I also made a big yellow peony hairclip, and a rose embroided han'eri using the same rose pattern as the last one I made, but in the colors of orangey red, lime green, and yellow to match this ensemble.

I also needed a purse to go with this! Since I was a teenager I had kept this scrap fabric from an old 60s or 70s ladies polyester pants suit that had adorable bees embroidery. I had an eclectic sense of "fashion".

This scrap is a pant's leg, the embroidery was originally near the hem of the bellbottom pants.

Completed purse! I used a thick interfacing so it keeps it's shape, and added a board at the base so that it will not sag when filled.


The backside also has a few stray bees.




Lined in satin. I didn't add a clasp, since the top stays mostly closed and the opening is relatively small. If I had more time I would have liked to add some interior pockets, but I tend to not use those anyways.

Completed ensemble~


Super blurry... It was my one sad attempt to get a photo to show my han'eri. Ah well, you get the gist. 

I did my typical hairdo that I seem to do when I dress up: hair pulled back in a curly ponytail thingie (technical term). Originally I wanted to do a hairstyle inspired by the ladies in those eras of the Japan Deco exhibit, a Moga/Gatsby style bob! I recently donated 14 inches of my hair, so I've now got shoulder length hair that I get to experiment with. Here is my first attempt at a Moga inspired faux bob.

It would have looked very cute with kimono! Unfortunately I seem to be very sensitive to the extra heat to comes with even a small amount of hair touching my neck. I didn't want to be a miserable puddle of sweat during the Kimono Jack, so I had to go with a ponytail. Come Autumn when the weather is cooler, I think I will have to try doing this sort of style with a Taisho Roman or Showa Retro kimono style!

I've still got a lot of photographs to sort through of the Kimono Jack and Retro Modern fashion show. Part #2 is next!

Weekend Plans

Memorial Day weekend, there is no shortage of things to do! I found out yesterday through the Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Washington that there will be a Haru Matsuri this Saturday. It is a 1st annual event being put on by the Seattle University's Japanese Student Association.

I am going to go to the event dressed in yukata with my son, it is a great opportunity for him to wear his dinosaur yukata! I am going to wear a very simple yukata in very bold colors.

Black, lime green, and yellow. I haven't decided yet if I will wear the green or red geta. The green ones have vinyl straps, so I may go with the red geta for the sake of comfort. I don't plan of bringing a stroller with me, so comfort is key since I will likely be carrying my son the whole time!

It has been a long time since I have been to a student ran event. It sounds like the Japanese Student Association is having a good time with preparations. I know it is last moment, but if anyone in the Seattle area wants to check out the matsuri, it is at Seattle University, Student Center 160, from 2-6pm on Saturday, May 26th. It is $6, and that includes $2 worth of food and game tickets.


There will be food: yakisoba, yakitori, dango, and andagi. I have never had andagi, but it sounds delicious! There will be performances, including Okinawa Kenjin-Kai Taiko. I wish I knew when the Okinawa taiko will perform, my son loves it, but I don't think we will arrive at the matsuri until around 4pm because of naptime and the long commute. I hope we don't miss the taiko!

The SU JSA's Haru Matsuri promo video.

There are other events going on this weekend in the Seattle area. Most notably probably is the Folklife Festival at Seattle Center. This is one of the largest free music festivals, and it is supposed to be even larger this year since it coincides with the 50th anniversery of the Space Needle. There will be performances representing a variety of international and folk music. I recommend seeing Inochi Taiko, they will perform at 4:30 on Monday. Northwest Taiko is performing today at 4:30.


Also going on this weekend is the Seattle Japanese Garden's Children's Day event. It will be from 1-5pm on Monday. There will be performances and hands-on activities for kids, including taiko and a puppet show by Mimibunko. I don't know if there will be dance performances this year, it doesn't say on the website. I don't think we will go since we've already gone to one Children's Day event this month, although the giant koi fish at the gardens are great to watch! I think we will try and go to the Japanese garden during Tanabata celebrations this year.


Alright, I hope to take pictures tomorrow at the Haru Matsuri! Everyone, enjoy the weekend!

Getting Ready for Kimono de Jack!

I've been busily getting everything together for the Seattle Kimono de Jack this Friday.

Originally I was going to wear this kimono to the Kimono Jack/Concert:
It's actually a furisode, but I was going to cut the sleeves short to make it a houmongi, so I can wear it publicly since I'm almost 30 and married. Here's an older photo of it when I wore it in 2005. The obi was a kakeshita obi, and it was so floppy that it ended up sagging and looking sad.

I love the pattern and colors of this ensemble with the peacock feather obi, and I feel it matches the ritzy concert event I'm going to, however I did not like it on me once I put it on:
No makeup and hurried kitsuke. Honestly it doesn't look bad and I still like it. But I didn't like the way it looked with the sleeves shortened to fit my nagajuban:
I don't know why, but I didn't feel like it was as flattering as my second option once I had tried it on.

Here was my option number two, the outfit I've decided to go with! Immortal Geisha forums members helped convince me that this was a great option for the event, and after I tried it on I was totally convinced that this one is flattering on me.
Dark picture and no makeup (not that you could tell, it's so dark.) I'm starting to love dark colors more and more. I'm actually not going to use a date'eri like when I took this pic.

I actually consider this to be one of my favorite kimono. It is an irotomesode, even though it has a design on the back of the right sleeve. I've probably worn it the most often. It is burgundy chirimen with a woven design using gold and silvery thread. It's not very shiny metallic, but it looks like glitter when in the light. Its actually constructed strangely in the sleeves. The sleeves are rather narrow, only 12 inches wide. My nagajuban sleeves are much wider than this kimono's sleeves. The sleeves are long, just the way I like them! But the sleeve with the design woven on it isn't lined up correctly. The design actually stops nearly an inch from the bottom and open edge of the sleeve. I think that the person who sewed it made a measuring mistake and that is why the design is off on the sleeve and why the sleeves are so narrow.

I like the pattern of this obi very much, but when I got it I found that it really is in terrible shape. The backside is discolored and the front had deep fold lines that I could not iron out. It is also too short for me to tie. I decided to turn it into a tsuke obi. I had to plan my cuts very carefully to make sure I had enough fabric to make a tsuke obi out of it. Honestly I didn't have enough initially to make it so that the te section could be patterned (I just didn't like having the discolored cream part visible inside my otaiko musubi) so I cut some of the patterned fabric that was on the inside part of the waist section that you can't see when worn in order to make the te section of the musubi.

After I had unstitched the obi I was able to get rid of most of the stubburn creases. There are still a few, but the whole of the fabric is a big improvement from what it was!
Here is the finished product!

I don't actually have a nagajuban with sleeves that can be extended long enough to fit this kimono, so I ended up making some. I ended up going with some plain off-white lining material I had. It fit best with the subdued look I was going for. I only had enough material to make hitoe juban sleeves, but that's fine by me, it's been getting warm around here. I actually prefer to wear nibushiki-style juban, with sleeves attached to a hadajuban I have that is specifically meant to be worn that way. I actually attached the juban sleeves to the kimono, I feel it keeps the sleeves layered better that way.

I did a practice kitsuke today. More small, dark pictures. I hope to figure out a better way to take pictures soon.

Practiced how I want to do my hair. I've got no real experience with doing side swept bangs, so I need all the practice I can get. I decided to do a smoky eyeshadow using a shade of greyish green in the design of the kimono.

My son wouldn't let daddy take pictures of mommy unless he could be in them too!
You can see on my right sleeve how the design stops before reaching the edge of the sleeve.
Yes, I'm very glad I turned this into a tsuke obi. It looks soo pretty! On a personal note, I didn't realize how different I look now that I'm 50lbs skinnier. I dug up a picture from 2008 where I am wearing this same kimono, when I was 50lbs bigger. Part of me doesn't like seeing this on the internet, but I feel it's great to show how much progress I've made!

You can really see it in my face, and how my obi seems to be disappearing into some unknown abyss.

I wanted to show some of the little things in the ensemble you can't see well in the other photos (how long can I make this blog post!)
High heeled black zouri (3.5 inch heels!), handmade flowers for my hair, black kanzashi, gold fan, and beaded bag.

The kanzashi has chrysanthemum, bamboo, and ume.

Zouri have chrysanthemum. I suppose I have a theme to this outfit.

The flowers match the obi. I thought about adding more peach to the coordination, but I didn't feel it benefited the design of the kimono very well, so I opted for more black and white and just one accessory of a different color.

My bag is very small, so I have to be picky about what I bring with me. I've only got enough room for my cell phone, camera, comb, mirror and lip gloss.

Alright, I've rattled on long enough! I hope to take tons of pictures at the Kimono de Jack and concert! I tend to take a lot of pictures, even though I'm terrible with a camera. Oh well, I look forward to sharing!