February 15, 2008
Coordinating Kimono and Obi: Indigo Tsumugi Kimono
Because it is so very cold out, I haven't had the energy to wear a kimono in a couple of weeks, so once again I am going through withdrawal symptoms, which I deal with by fantasizing about the various possible kimono and obi combinations I can do with what I own, and what type of obi bow-tying I want to try out next.
I like to wear my indigo kimono (dyed with indigo in the kasuri resist-dye technique on tsumugi spun silk) out to my local place because it is a very informal kimono and since it is a dark color I am less worried about spills.
So far I have worn it with three different obi's, a cotton tsumugi half-size obi (seen here), a hakata-weave silk half-size obi, and a solid pinkish-purple hakata-weave Nagoya obi. Of the three, the cotton tsumugi half-size obi turned out best. It was easy to tie and matched well with the kimono. The hakata Nagoya obi was the least exciting combination so far, and was a struggle to tie. The material is only a single layer, so it was too floppy to get a proper bunko bow and the makura cushion kept sliding down, so I finally gave up and tied the Nagoya obi in the "Kai no Guchi" style.
I seldom end up wearing the obi with the kimono I bought it to match, and in this case I never bought a specific obi to go with this Indigo Tsumugi. An indigo kimono is a lot of fun because like jeans it can go with almost any color obi, although the correct level of (in)formality should be maintained between the obi and the kimono. In other words, a formal fukuro (double-fold) obi worn with a formal Houmongi kimono, or an obi with gold or silver added, would not be appropriate for this kimono. I have also read that traditionally a dyed obi is worn with a tsumugi silk kimono, but I have seen many examples in real life and in magazines where woven obi's are worn. If anything, the latter seems to be more common.
For inspiration of what obi to wear with what kimono, I usually look for examples in magazines and on the web. If possible I try to find an example resembling something I already have, to see if it is acceptable to make the combination I want or just to get new ideas. I have found that I seem to be less conservative than kimono magazines and more conservative than online shops (who probably want to show the most options, so you will buy more).
Anyway below are some combinations I am thinking about inspired by online ideas. Although I probably won't wear any of these this year, because by March when it is warmer I will wear my dark purple Komon and for cherry blossom viewing season in April probably my pink solid color kimono.
One of the earliest kimonos I bought, once I decided I wanted to wear kimono regularly with the same informality as a yukata, was a cotton kasuri unlined kimono appropriate only around the neighborhood in spring and fall. Once I bought this kimono, I found that the used antique obi’s I had were both too formal, and didn’t match anyway.
So I looked online for inspiration and found this example of a similar kimono matched with a white Nagoya obi that had a motif of a large flower on the bunko bow. I then realized that possibly the white Nagoya obi with an ink painting on the bunko bow, that I had bought to go with my pink unlined kimono printed with a bamboo-in-haze motif (seen on the side bar to the right under the heading of kimono), might work. Since this obi matches my cotton indigo kimono, it should also match my indigo kasuri tsumugi silk kimono. It does seem a bit plain to me though.
Recently I bought this adorable white Nagoya obi with machine-embroidered little Japanese wedgy sandals called Koppori that are worn by Maiko-san. I certainly didn’t need yet another Nagoya obi, but could just not resist. It all started when I saw a similar black Nagoya obi with machine-embroidered motifs at the Takashimaya department store in Shinjuku. I went to visit it a couple of times, but decided it was too expensive and besides was on plain silk ground instead of figured silk which I prefer.
So I searched online and bought a Nagoya obi with machine-embroidered Japanese Mari balls on black figured silk ground, for much less than the Takashimaya one. In the process of searching for this black obi, I accidentally spied this white one, and the rest is history. I thought I would wear this white Nagoya obi with my purple arabesque kimono kimono, which I do, but I also saw that the Yukataya online shop was selling a similar (nearly identical) Nagoya obi and had paired it with a what looks like a blue kasuri dyed tsumugi kimono similar to mine. However, I suspect this semi-formal Nagoya obi is actually a bit too formal to wear with an indigo tsumugi kimono, but what the heck if a kimono shop thinks it works.
I bought both of these used plain hakata weave Nagoya obi’s for a pittance off of the Japanese Yahoo auction site. The peach colored one I bought to go with a yukata, but it is simply too cheap looking in real life and I doubt I will ever wear it. The purple one I bought simply because it was cheap and purple.
Also, I have a similar half-size used purple hakata obi that I like very much and often wear with my indigo camellia design yukata, so I thought a similar full-size Nagoya obi might be nice to have. Recently I have worn this purple hakata Nagoya obi with my indigo tsumugi kimono, but the purple color is much duller in reality than it appears here and it makes for an extremely plain combination. In any case, either of these plain hakata obi’s match the indigo tsumugi kimono.
I will not. I repeat, I will not buy another obi. Really. But anyhow, if I were to, I would buy a cotton tsumugi Nagoya obi to go with this kimono. This kimono looks so good with the half-size cranberry colored tsumugi obi (seen above) that I wish I had bought a full-size one, but the same color wasn’t available in a Nagoya obi.
I bought this half-size one originally to go with the same indigo camellia yukata mentioned above, but never did wear it with that. Instead I mostly wear it with a cotton kasuri dyed unlined kimono. Even though supposedly dyed obi’s, not woven ones, are matched with tsumugi kimono, it is not just me who thinks the two go together as I found online a suggested pairing of a silk tsumugi kimono with a cotton tsumugi obi (seen to the right).
*Click Blogmura logo for other blogs (in Japanese) on Kimono--and increase my ranking there!
I like to wear my indigo kimono (dyed with indigo in the kasuri resist-dye technique on tsumugi spun silk) out to my local place because it is a very informal kimono and since it is a dark color I am less worried about spills.
So far I have worn it with three different obi's, a cotton tsumugi half-size obi (seen here), a hakata-weave silk half-size obi, and a solid pinkish-purple hakata-weave Nagoya obi. Of the three, the cotton tsumugi half-size obi turned out best. It was easy to tie and matched well with the kimono. The hakata Nagoya obi was the least exciting combination so far, and was a struggle to tie. The material is only a single layer, so it was too floppy to get a proper bunko bow and the makura cushion kept sliding down, so I finally gave up and tied the Nagoya obi in the "Kai no Guchi" style.
I seldom end up wearing the obi with the kimono I bought it to match, and in this case I never bought a specific obi to go with this Indigo Tsumugi. An indigo kimono is a lot of fun because like jeans it can go with almost any color obi, although the correct level of (in)formality should be maintained between the obi and the kimono. In other words, a formal fukuro (double-fold) obi worn with a formal Houmongi kimono, or an obi with gold or silver added, would not be appropriate for this kimono. I have also read that traditionally a dyed obi is worn with a tsumugi silk kimono, but I have seen many examples in real life and in magazines where woven obi's are worn. If anything, the latter seems to be more common.
For inspiration of what obi to wear with what kimono, I usually look for examples in magazines and on the web. If possible I try to find an example resembling something I already have, to see if it is acceptable to make the combination I want or just to get new ideas. I have found that I seem to be less conservative than kimono magazines and more conservative than online shops (who probably want to show the most options, so you will buy more).
Anyway below are some combinations I am thinking about inspired by online ideas. Although I probably won't wear any of these this year, because by March when it is warmer I will wear my dark purple Komon and for cherry blossom viewing season in April probably my pink solid color kimono.
One of the earliest kimonos I bought, once I decided I wanted to wear kimono regularly with the same informality as a yukata, was a cotton kasuri unlined kimono appropriate only around the neighborhood in spring and fall. Once I bought this kimono, I found that the used antique obi’s I had were both too formal, and didn’t match anyway.
So I looked online for inspiration and found this example of a similar kimono matched with a white Nagoya obi that had a motif of a large flower on the bunko bow. I then realized that possibly the white Nagoya obi with an ink painting on the bunko bow, that I had bought to go with my pink unlined kimono printed with a bamboo-in-haze motif (seen on the side bar to the right under the heading of kimono), might work. Since this obi matches my cotton indigo kimono, it should also match my indigo kasuri tsumugi silk kimono. It does seem a bit plain to me though.
Recently I bought this adorable white Nagoya obi with machine-embroidered little Japanese wedgy sandals called Koppori that are worn by Maiko-san. I certainly didn’t need yet another Nagoya obi, but could just not resist. It all started when I saw a similar black Nagoya obi with machine-embroidered motifs at the Takashimaya department store in Shinjuku. I went to visit it a couple of times, but decided it was too expensive and besides was on plain silk ground instead of figured silk which I prefer.
So I searched online and bought a Nagoya obi with machine-embroidered Japanese Mari balls on black figured silk ground, for much less than the Takashimaya one. In the process of searching for this black obi, I accidentally spied this white one, and the rest is history. I thought I would wear this white Nagoya obi with my purple arabesque kimono kimono, which I do, but I also saw that the Yukataya online shop was selling a similar (nearly identical) Nagoya obi and had paired it with a what looks like a blue kasuri dyed tsumugi kimono similar to mine. However, I suspect this semi-formal Nagoya obi is actually a bit too formal to wear with an indigo tsumugi kimono, but what the heck if a kimono shop thinks it works.
I bought both of these used plain hakata weave Nagoya obi’s for a pittance off of the Japanese Yahoo auction site. The peach colored one I bought to go with a yukata, but it is simply too cheap looking in real life and I doubt I will ever wear it. The purple one I bought simply because it was cheap and purple.
Also, I have a similar half-size used purple hakata obi that I like very much and often wear with my indigo camellia design yukata, so I thought a similar full-size Nagoya obi might be nice to have. Recently I have worn this purple hakata Nagoya obi with my indigo tsumugi kimono, but the purple color is much duller in reality than it appears here and it makes for an extremely plain combination. In any case, either of these plain hakata obi’s match the indigo tsumugi kimono.
I will not. I repeat, I will not buy another obi. Really. But anyhow, if I were to, I would buy a cotton tsumugi Nagoya obi to go with this kimono. This kimono looks so good with the half-size cranberry colored tsumugi obi (seen above) that I wish I had bought a full-size one, but the same color wasn’t available in a Nagoya obi.
I bought this half-size one originally to go with the same indigo camellia yukata mentioned above, but never did wear it with that. Instead I mostly wear it with a cotton kasuri dyed unlined kimono. Even though supposedly dyed obi’s, not woven ones, are matched with tsumugi kimono, it is not just me who thinks the two go together as I found online a suggested pairing of a silk tsumugi kimono with a cotton tsumugi obi (seen to the right).
*Click Blogmura logo for other blogs (in Japanese) on Kimono--and increase my ranking there!
