By Naomi, on April 16th, 2012 A few weeks ago we went to Fillmore Street in San Francisco to have brunch with Arian’s friend. Afterwards, we walked around window shopping when we unexpectedly stumbled across a tiny Japanese antique store. I could see through the doorway a rack of kimono along the back door and of course, immediately became excited! Ever since Genji Antiques closed, while there are a few places around, (including my favourite, Shiraku in Japan Town), I have missed having variety.
It turned out that the back rack was of more modern kimono and haori – really not to my taste. But in my haste to zoom in and look at them, I had overlooked a rack in a small alcove by the front door which had wonderful Taishō and early Shōwa pieces! Immediately, a gorgeous soft blue (eau-de-nil) background with solid, dark purple branches and leaves in silhouette form caught my eye. Upon closer inspection, I discovered it had creamy white sakura so delicately tinted with pink paired against the bolder style of the branches and leaves. It was love at first site and I knew I wanted to wear it for the festival. We got talking with the owner, and discovered he was going to be at the festival, helping a friend out with the booth – so we promised to drop by and visit him. If ever you are in Fillmore Street, SF, please be sure to check out Narumi Antiques! Not only does he have lovely kimono, he has a wide selection of dolls and other interesting antiques.
Initially, I had planned on wearing my indigo sakura and parrot chūya obi with it. In my head I could see how the branches and sakura would become an extension of the kimono. However, once I had them paired together, it just wasn’t clicking – so the parrot obi went back to the original ensemble I had planned with it and I tried to find another obi to work with this one. After a few false starts, it turned out my embroidered tsuzumi shusu obi was perfect. For fun and added contrast, I went with reds for the han’eri, obi-age and obi-jime.
We found the stall where the owner was working, and he seemed quite happy to see the kimono being worn, and loved the colour combinations. Overall, I was quite pleased. Not initially what I had planned, but I did love the outcome. Please click on the photos for larger versions.
 
Lily decided she wanted to pose with me. I love how she’s doing a pretty decent job of mimicking my stance!:
 
I love my Lily-boo!
 
And a close-up of my hair at the back. Because of the fun boldness of the red in the ensemble, I decided to go with a slightly more contemporary and playful hairstyle. I had it pulled back into an off-centred bun with a shape similar to marumage, accented with my bird kushi and flowers.
By Naomi, on April 16th, 2012 
Saturday evening, Arian and I had an extremely rare “date night”! With both our families either in other states or in my case, Australia, we don’t very often have toddler free time. Arian’s good friend, Katie, came by the hotel room to spend the evening with Lily so we could go out to enjoy the evening and to have dinner.
I had undressed from my morning ensemble for Lily’s nap time, so for the evening, [...]
By Naomi, on April 16th, 2012 
It was Cherry Blossom Festival time again in Japan Town, San Francisco. Unlike last year where the trees were in full bloom, this year they had only just started blooming. The weather has been extremely erratic around here swinging from being unseasonally warm and wet, back to bitterly Winter cold. My guess is it delayed blooming. However, despite the late bloom – there were still enough sakura to get everyone excited!
As with last year, [...]
By Naomi, on March 24th, 2012 
The kimono challenge questions are:
1. How did you discover and get into kimono? 2. Your dearest kimono item(s). 3. Your most used kimono item(s) (not counting jubans, datejimes etc.). 4. Your least used kimono item(s). 5. Your favourite coordination(s) so far. 6. What do you like and don’t like about kimono. 7. Kimono confessions. Did you know that… 8. Your dream kitsuke items (or at least items you really really want but can’t get [...]
By Naomi, on March 13th, 2012 
The 20th Kimono Day was held on the 11th of March, the one year anniversary of the devastating earthquakes and tsunami that rocked Japan, taking so many lives, destroying towns and leaving many more people left with nothing trying to rebuild their lives. I remember all too clearly being glued in front of the television watching in utter shock, worried about all my friends in Japan, and crying at the loss. Many of us rallied around to help [...]
By Naomi, on March 7th, 2012 
This is a lovely mother and daughter photograph I have in my collection. While I was drawn to it for a number of reasons, the fact all three of them were wearing plaid kimono really captivated my attention.
In the West, we might call this particular pattern (or variations of it) plaid, tartan, tattersall or madras. It may also fall within some variation of gingham. In Japan however, it is called kōshi (格子), which [...]
By Naomi, on March 4th, 2012 
Yesterday (3rd of March), girls all over Japan celebrated Hinamatsuri, alternatively known as Girl’s Day. We don’t have a Hinamatsuri display yet, but I thought it would be fun to dress Lily and myself in kimono to celebrate!
Being “Girl’s Day” and early Spring, I thought rather than my usual bold combinations, soft, pastel colours would be whimsical and feminine, and also the most appropriate. For my ensemble, I chose my salmon pink bamboo houmongi, [...]
By Naomi, on February 18th, 2012 
The kimono challenge questions are:
1. How did you discover and get into kimono? 2. Your dearest kimono item(s). 3. Your most used kimono item(s) (not counting jubans, datejimes etc.). 4. Your least used kimono item(s). 5. Your favourite coordination(s) so far. 6. What do you like and don’t like about kimono. 7. Kimono confessions. Did you know that… 8. Your dream kitsuke items (or at least items you really really want but can’t get [...]
By Naomi, on February 1st, 2012 
The previous Kitsuke of Yesteryear post showed early Showa kitsuke. Today, I thought it would be interesting to view Meiji era kitsuke, at least, from the back!
From the wonderful OkinawaSoba‘s collection.
I find this photograph interesting in a number of different ways – the various hairstyles (which Okinawa Soba and his readers discuss), the more relaxed kitsuke, the black covers on the collars and the stripes – however, what caught my eye is [...]
By Naomi, on January 27th, 2012 
The kimono challenge questions are:
1. How did you discover and get into kimono? 2. Your dearest kimono item(s). 3. Your most used kimono item(s) (not counting jubans, datejimes etc.). 4. Your least used kimono item(s). 5. Your favourite coordination(s) so far. 6. What do you like and don’t like about kimono. 7. Kimono confessions. Did you know that… 8. Your dream kitsuke items (or at least items you really really want but can’t get [...]
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