28 Monday May 2012
Posted in Kimono Projects, maiko, Geisha
Tags
Kimono, Fashion, Maiko, Geisha, Katsura, Wig, Japanese, Geiko, sakkou, wareshinobu, kanzashi, wisteria, crane
I recently became the proud owner of two pairs of maiko kanzashi. 
The first was a custom order from the etsy seller ImlothMelui. I asked her to re-create the wisteria hana-kanzashi worn by maiko in May. They came out so beautiful, I am so happy with her work!
14 Monday May 2012
Tags
Kimono, Fashion, Geisha, Obi, Kitsuke, Vintage, Hikizuri, Susohiki, Hiki, Wig, Japanese, KimonoHime
It rained all day today, so please forgive the indoor shots. I wanted to wear my green hikizuri again, and I wasn’t going to let a little bit of weather stop me!
This is only the second time I’ve ever worn hikizuri (trailing kimono)….and I’m not convinced that I’m doing it right lol. I tried to make the hem fall nicely and make the hikizuri nice and tight around my thighs so it would sweep out on the bottom like it’s supposed to, but it’s much harder than it looks!
Also, I wore an easy collar with no juban (under kimono) because even though it was raining, it was also very muggy and hot. For that same reason, I wore a wig instead of trying to get my wild hair tamed today lol.
25 Wednesday Apr 2012
Every once in a while, I buy old magazines, books, and various knick-knacks with pictures of maiko and geiko on them, then scan them and upload to Flickr to share with you all. I like to think that I’m helping keep the memories of these ladies alive. Plus, it’s always fun to admire their hikizuri kimono! 
The Sun Magazine, June 1972 Issue:
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19 Thursday Apr 2012
Posted in coordination, kimono, Kitsuke
Well, today was the kimono debut of my friend, Kat. We went to an art show at our university, and she was excited to wear kimono out in public for the first time! She was very adamant that she wear my hakama, so we coordinated matching outfits around them.
We took these photos before heading out. There was a photographer at the art show, and we made quite the splash, so who knows….we may end up in print somewhere soon!
05 Thursday Apr 2012
Tags
Darari, Fashion, Geiko, Geisha, Hassaku, Hiki, Hikizuri, Holiday, Japanese, Kimono, Kitsuke, Maiko, Mon, Obi, Okiya, Susohiki
This is an ongoing series of posts. To learn more, please read the previous posts in this series:
Dude, It’s A Darari!
Mystery Mon…Kind of Solved?
Darari Mystery Mon 3.0
Kikyou Knot Mon Part 4
To recap, I have been researching an alternate mon (crest) which is used by the Tama okiya (geisha house) of Gion Kobu, which is known as the “Kikyo Knot” 結び桔梗, seen here:
08 Thursday Mar 2012
Posted in coordination, kimono, Kitsuke
This kimono is one which literally took my breath away when I first saw it. I just had to buy it! I decided to wear it with hakama, but one day I will wear it normally, because it really is too beautiful to hide! Tsubodare is a pattern that looks like jar drips…a sort of pottery glaze effect. It’s one of my favorite patterns, and I am so glad that I finally have a kimono with it!
01 Thursday Mar 2012
Tags
Fashion, Geiko, Geisha, Japanese, Katsura, Kimono, Kitsuke, Maiko, sakkou, taka shimada, wareshinobu, Wig
So, today I decided I’d try on my traditional Japanese-style wigs (katsura) to see how they fit. They are in the style that geisha/geiko and apprentice maiko wear. I didn’t wear kimono or makeup, as these were just test runs, but I thought I’d share some pictures anyway.
First-up, Taka Shimada-style Geiko Katsura:
16 Thursday Feb 2012
Posted in coordination, kimono, Kitsuke
Tags
Fashion, Holiday, Japanese, Kimono, KimonoHime, Kitsuke, Obi, valentines day, Vintage, winter
I was working on Valentines Day, so I wasn’t able to wear kimono like I wanted to. So today, I dressed really quickly after school. This kimono is a pink and blue meisen weave silk which has an igeta pattern, and the obi has an abstract pink and yellow square design.
02 Thursday Feb 2012
Posted in coordination, kimono, Kitsuke
I’m hoping to continue to wear kimono at least once a month this year. That being said, I was supposed to wear this in January….but silly me, I forgot how busy life would get once school started again, so here we are in February! (I say this still counts for my January kitsuke though, since it’s only the 2nd of February and I’ll wear another later this month. )
21 Saturday Jan 2012
Tags
Fashion, Geiko, Geisha, Hiki, Hikizuri, Japanese, Katsura, Kimono, Mon, Okiya, Susohiki, Vintage, Wig
Thanks everyone who responded about the blog sale! I was able to match almost every item I had for sale up with a loving home. So glad to know that they’ll be going to people who will take care of them. 
So, I have a confession to make….one of my resolutions this year was to not buy any more kimono. For the same reasons that I held the sale, actually…no room, and needing to start saving money. Well, as it turns out, as soon as I got the money in from the sale, this gorgeous hikizuri I had been watching (but never planned to buy) went down in price by over half. I told myself I would not buy it even at that price, but made the seller an offer just for fun. They counter-offered, and it just so happened that it was about the amount I had made from the sale, so….I bought it. Looking at the pictures, I think you can tell why:
