Kimono Nagoya

Hello! Thanks for the question!This question falls under the “how formal do you want your kimono kitsuke to be” category, I think.

There are really two major schools/branches of kimono these days, like so many other Japanese crafts (like sushi!). There’s the Formal (c), Correct (TM), Traditional (c) way of wearing kimono, that is proper and serious for things like tea ceremony, coming-of-age ceremony, 7-5-3 Festival, formal family portraits and kimono school.

And of course there’s the modern fashion branch of kimono (just like a California Roll) that’s just as valid, it’s just modern, creative and completely understood to be worn as a fashion choice. 

One really quick way you can signal that your all-black yukata (and black is a very valid yukata choice, see here: https://lifulu.shop-pro.jp/?pid=78345074&view=smartphone) is for fashion is in the treatment of the accessories. Fluffy,  fashionable obi, a hat, hair accessories, purse, jewelry, all will show that of course you know all-black is uncommon and you’re OWNING IT. 

Compare to this all-black furisode that, by all laws of Traditional Kimono, should not exist: (https://sokid.exblog.jp/29242002/) 

It’s absolutely stunning, goth and looks fresh as hell! 

As you can see, it’s absolutely acceptable as high fashion (or High Fashion, if you will), so have confidence and show that you know precisely what you’re doing and subverting it with grace and purpose. :)

This is a difficult question that could probably be more accurately answered by your local community (considering the local ethics, sentiments etc. around Japanese culture and how people are likely to react). 

When making a decision like this, you should consider things like: 

1. Will other people likely be in kimono? Will you look like an organized group (such as a kimono display/explanation event), or perhaps will enough kimono be present to not look out of place? 

2. Will the other people at the con be able to tell the difference between a regular kimono and a cosplay costume? If not, can you explain it many times?

3. Even at weddings in Japan, kimono are very rare. When I attended a wedding with about 150 guests only 3 people were in kimono, all of them women. It’s an uncommon thing for Japanese people to wear kimono in Japan except yukata at festivals, or a rented furisode for graduation or your own wedding, or very specific traditional-culture events (koto, tea ceremony, workers at certain bars, etc). When a kimono is spotted “in the wild” people tend to react with excitement. :)

4. It’s got to be mentioned-- is there a worry of cultural appropriation? Again, this is best decided by analyzing your own local culture and community to find out if wearing a kimono will be tolerated, celebrated, reviled, rejected, or enthusiastically accepted. I’d also put it out there that kimono in and of themselves are not a religious or holy garment.

5. Although kuro tomesode are formal and intended for married people,  many kimono teachers & enthusiasts have told me, “kimono are meant to be worn!” They don’t do any good laying in a box in your closet! Can you provide educational answers to curious passersby and spread good info and the love of the craft of kimono? 

In the end, I’d say that a kuro tomesode would be ‘way overdressed’ for a con, and a yukata would be tonally appropriate, but on the other hand, if you are wearing it as a demonstration piece to show people a beautiful example of Japanese textile they’ve probably never come across, that educational opportunity might be too good to pass up. Again, consider carefully the culture around you and other people’s feelings when encountering a flagship example of Japanese culture, and do your best to conduct everything with care.

Yes, it will be quite difficult! Kimono are cut in a shape that you could describe as a “column”-- absolutely flat, intended to be worn absolutely flat. The obi should properly be the widest point of the body when seen from the side, never the bust. And if your waist is slimmer than your hips and ribs, the obi will collapse, wrinkles will form above and below it, and there will be too much fabric, the collar will slip etc. What to do?

Put simply, everything is either bound or padded!

Wearing kimono is never as simple as throwing a kimono on over a slip (unless you’re wearing a male kimono). If you have a bust, it’s bound--traditionally with a long roll of cotton fabric, these days with a binding bra. 

(Image here http://xn--4buq53cmyl.xyz/240.html)

(Bra available on Rakuten )

What if you have a waist?

You gotta wrap it up! People use a dishtowel or a face cloth to pad the small of the back, the upper chest, shoulders or ribs as needed. Check out the following diagrams at https://yukatamusubi.com/contents_02.html . 

Further instructions for padding here: https://yukatamusubi.com/contents_02.html

The Nagoya Osu festival is happening today (and yesterday)! And for any followers who have wondered or asked how Japanese people feel about foreigners wearing yukata in Japan, whether it’s proper, whether it’s offensive, whether it’s appropriative or questionable, you may see how the Osu Festival organizers feel about it ;3

“Special Campaign! Free Yukata Rental for Foreigners! At the Osu Summer Festival we have a special campaign going on: free yukata rental for foreign people! Of course we will also help you put it on! Click here for details!”

The details say it was only available yesterday :c and it requires a 3,000 yen returnable deposit, and men’s yukata are available for men between 160 and 190cm tall ;)

and also mentions  (※日本人の方はご利用いただけません) , Lit. “Japanese people can’t use it”, This offer is not for Japanese people. 

This is a really fun offer for visitors or foreign residents to try out yukata, even if they don’t have the benefit of a Japanese grandma to dress you and teach you kitsuke XD 

Hello, thanks for the ask!

Something pretty different-- a yukata with little vignette spot illustrations of cats in windows, cats in baskets, cats on pillows, all on a deep navy background, paired with a delightfully modern black and white obi with a picture of a--- rabbit??

Great one from Muromachi Kato! Guys can look super cool in yukata too. Note how low men wear their obi-- it should be below the belly (no matter how big the belly is, it should hug the lower curve of it), just across the hip bones. Women’s obi are just on, or just barely under the lower half of the breast and stop at the upper part of the hip bone.

Also note that male yukata have no “Ohashori”, the fold of extra fabric under the lower edge of the obi. Male kimono must be the proper actual length of the body, without the trouble of holding up and tying extra fabric. This is (like many things) a holdover from centuries ago when rich families would advertise their wealth by buying kimono much longer than needed and letting the extra fabric trail like a train when wearing around the house. But when going outside they held the extra fabric up with the obi, leaving  a fold underneath. Copying this style of advertised wealth the ohashori was born (and is now absolutely ‘required’ on female kimono)!

Parts of kimono-- transparent version!

It’s past graduation season, but I couldn’t pass up this super retro hakama and kimono with boots found at Senbamuromachi.