#half-width

Two more neat yukata I found at Global Rakuten seller Yukata Lab.

The first yukata is just ¥ 3,500 (~$30 USD) while the 4 piece yukata set (yukata, hanhaba (half-width) obi, geta (wooden clogs) and kago-kinchaku (woven bamboo bag with fabric pouch) was just ¥ 6,900 (~$59 USD).

Here are pictures of 3 different washable reversible han-haba (half-width) obi I bought in Sou’s New Year’s Sale. They were $25 each (including EMS shipping).

I wanted to show you a kind of ‘lazy’ kimono shopping & coordination trick I use. It is partially based on a Japanese rule of kimono coordination known as “1 kimono 3 obi” . It is also partly a way to take advantage of clearance sales on newer kimono items (this would be hard to do with vintage items over the internet but it’s a very ‘safe’ thing to do with newer kimono items, especially in everyday kimono wearing).

Note that the 3 obi all have the same colors in them...they’re all blues and oranges. They’re also likely made by the same manufacturer (note the identical pink label on each hanhaba obi). So I’m guessing but Sou/Shinei bought out someone’s overstock hanhaba obi and is reselling them to their customers at a discount.

Here’s a pretty simple navy blue & white striped cotton kimono I bought a few months ago (a detail shot anyway)

Notice how the blue & orange color palette works fine for this kimono. The first obi might be the weakest in terms of the patterns being a bit too matchy-matchy (in this case if the obi manufacturer had made the stripes in the obi HORIZONTAL rather than VERTICAL the obi would contrast better to this kimono, but luckily the irregular vertical stripes on the first obi are irregularly placed and broken up by the light blue cats in the design so it’s not too bad).

The other 2 patterns are different enough that they contrast very nicely with the same kimono, especially the rounded curved floral design of the second obi.

Here are 3 Taisho Roman inspired spider chrysanthemum yukata sets (cotton yukata, polyester obi and geta (wooden sandals) included).  At 3980 Yen each (~ USD $33.10) from Global Rakuten seller yukatalab before shipping they’re a pretty good deal.

The last set has a tsuke (pre-tied) obi for faster dressing. Tsuke obi can be a bit more expensive to buy new than hanhaba (half-width) obi because someone had to sew them up into their knot and separate band and the additional labor adds to the cost, but if you want to make a variety of different knots with a particular obi or you don’t like the shape of the knot the tsuke has been sewn into, the hanhaba obi is the right choice.

I’ve had great luck buying things from yukatalab over the last few years...about now is when they rock bottom clearance price last year’s (and a few strays from earlier years) yukata for final sale to get ready for the 2015 yukata season (which more or less starts in May). 

Need a washable polyester puppy dog hanhaba (half-width) obi for your yukata or your casual kimono? These are only 1500 Yen (~USD $12.48) each before shipping at Global Rakuten seller yukatalab

2 color variations of a Roman Moon brand hanhaba (half-width) kingyo (goldfish) obi. They're 100% polyester (and therefore washable) and meant to be worn with komon or casual kimono including denim kimono (or possibly yukata if you want to dress up the yukata to look more like a casual kimono).

Roman Moon (ひさかたろまん) obis reference both the Taisho Roman (& Roman means romantic) era (1912-1926 the late Edwardian early Art Deco period in the Western world) and also modern non-traditional patterned designs (sometimes they take their inspiration from brands like Mamechiyo Modern and Modern Antenna). They typically sell for about 5,000 yen ( ~US$50.00) and up on Rakuten but nowhere near the hundreds of dollars Mamechiyo or Modern Antenna charge for their obi.

When I see a Roman Moon brand hanhaba obi for under 5000 yen and the pattern appeals to me I snap it up...I think the lowest price I've paid for a Roman Moon hanhaba obi is about 2,800 yen (~ US $28.00). They usually inject a note of whimsy and chic and pop culture into a kimono coordination so they definitely appeal to us fans of wafuku (traditional Japanese clothing) outside of Japan.

Two out of three of these charming cotton hanhaba (half-width) obis with all the many mons (mostly round family crests, these are usually seen on the backs of formal kimono) just arrived at my house...where is my camera when I need it?

The red & black have that wonderful tea stained beige ground to them...I can't wait to see the blue obi in person.

I grabbed these images off of Global Rakuten Market...a nice little shop called Dogwood, auc-hanamizuki on Rakuten in Kyoto makes up these new retro cotton hanhaba obi that I can't get enough of. They cost 2,940 yen (US$28.43) each.

Hanamizuki (Dogwood) has really earthy retro Edo-ish things I associate with the Japanese small towns and not the glitzy modernstuff of bigger towns...still I think they're very shibui (cool).

PS I left behind the purple version of this hanhaba for someone else to adopt (I'm not big on purple)

...two big boxes full of 1000 yen han-haba obi from Global Rakuten seller Tosen just arrived at my house today (and one more is on the way). I would have started shooting pictures and blogging today but we have a bit of snow on the way sometime tonight and more predicted for Friday so I had to go grocery shopping. If I get snowed in, I'll have food to eat and wafuku to play with. Fun!