Have Kimono, will travel...

Yessssssssss. Discovered today that happiness is a summer kimono and obi! Bought one of these bunnies at the "Yukata Square" on the 9th Floor of Tobu for a pretty 40,000 yen total. Matt and I don't convert to Aussie dollars anymore, so this was cheap (I don't want to hear the conversion thanks very much)!

I was contemplating buying a second hand or antique kimono at Lunco in Mejiro, thinking it would be cheaper, but all the kimonos I liked there were 30,000 yen with an obi anyways, so I figured why not just go for something new?

I must admit a lot of the kimono/yukata designs don't fire my cannon - the kimono racks seem to be a sea of pukey, washed out colours or weird combinations of colours like pale blue, dark yellow and royal purple with a hint of off-white or strange hawaiian-esque prints teamed with a dark brown striped obi. Shudder.

So I was not entirely out of place getting a light pink and white swirly summer kimono patterned with dark pink, purple and yellow flowers (not entirely sure whether they are chrysanthemums or plum blossoms) with a burgundy chintz obi. Although it sounds horrific, it is, in fact, quite lovely. I am totally cheating with the obi, as it has the funky bow attachment to wedge on the back of the obi rather than having to tie it which would take years for me to master, but whatever. Obi for the modern woman, I say.

Summer festival yukata are enjoying a bit of a renaissance among the younger generation these days - and there are some general "rules" to follow when choosing a design. The biggest ones are probably;

1. The only people that should wear a completely white kimono are brides or those in mourning;
2. Generally, the brighter colours like pinks and bright purples etc. are chosen by younger women, and the more subdued browns, navies and dark greens are worn by "older" ladies.

I don't think I qualify as the latter quite yet and I am trying to be culturally-sensitive, so I think (I hope) my choice was appropriate. As I'm not Japanese and thus have no insider information when it comes to such matters, I have a fear that someone will come up to my in the street and say; "Didn't you know that chrysanthemum designs are only worn at your fifth husband's funeral?" The gorgeous old ducks at Tobu assured me I had made a lovely choice for the summer festivals, but although I'd made my decision they kept trying to convince me to get hideous purple and green bamboo numbers.

I hope they weren't trying to tell me something...