Gofuku no hi (呉服の日) 2016

Hello dear Kimono lovers!

Today is a special day - May 29th is the international 'Wear Kimono Day', called Gofuku no hi in Japanese. 

But why is it called Gofuku (no hi; の connects two nouns and 日 means day )? 

First of all, the Japanese people are writing the date in the following way (only for all those who didn´t know about that yet): first comes the year, then the month and lastly followed by the date of the month. Here in Germany we´re doing it the other way around ;-) 

That means that May 29th would be written like that in Japanese: 2016年5月29日 

The numbers 5-2-9 can be read as go-fu-ku in Japanese! I think that it´s a nice wordplay :) Further, Gofuku (呉服) refers to the fabric you are using to make Kimono (and for Japanese traditional clothes in general). Kimono shop in Japan are also often called Gofuku-ya (呉服屋) instead of Kimono-ya (着物屋). 

But let´s come to the more interesting part ;-) Well, since I knew that I probably wouldn´t have the time nor a real occasion (like going to a Japanese restaurant) would occur during which I could wear one of my Kimono today, I prepared at least a Kimono ensemble beforehand :) Now get ready for a flood of pictures *haha*


THE PHOENIX ENSEMBLE

For my 呉服の日 entry I chose my phoenix Kuro-tomesode called Senko fumetsu (千古不滅), which means 'Immortality'. I bought this beauty about 5 years ago and 2014 I had finally found a matching Obi for it. What made it a little bit hard to find a matching Obi for it was, that I wanted to have one which has similar colors like the ones that can be found in the Kimono´s design, further it also should have phoenixes in it. I like Kimono outfits where the design of the Kimono and Obi are similar/the same :-P And one day I was lucky to find exactly what I was looking for! ♡ I think it really was worth the patience :-)

The wonderful Fukuro obi with karabana (imaginary Chinese flower), houou (phoenix), shippou (interlocking circles), kikkou (hexagonal, honeycomb tortoiseshell) and fuji (wisteria) ~

Here are a few more detailed pics of the Obi´s design and the formal Obijime:

the small, golden 'birds' are the phoenixes ♥

The karabana design can be found both on the Obijime and Obi ♥

Now let´s continue with the accessories:

Of course, when going out in a Kimono, you will need shoes and a nice bag as well ;-) And that the design of the set I used here also has karabana in it, really is a coincidence! *haha*

... with Tabi socks

... without the Tabi, now the whole design can be seen :-)

The bag´s design only ♥ By the way, karabana is a multi-seasonal motif ;-)

Last but not least, the Kimono´s motif itself, enjoy:

I adore it that the flower petals look like they are floating around together with the phoenix :-)

cute ume (plum) blossoms in different colours ~

Yeah, I hope you like this coord as much as I do and it would be nice if you leave a comment below. I hope my love and enthusiasm for this ensemble wasn´t too much, but I simply couldn´t hide it *laughs* I don´t want to sound conceited but I think that´s one of the most beautiful coords I have ever created ~

Thanks for reading and maybe you´ll see me wearing this Kimono one day ;-) 
Wishing you all a nice Gofuku no hi! ♪

Project - 1 Kimono, 3 different Obi -

Hi there dear Kimono enthusiasts!

As the title of my new blog post implies, I was working on a small project. At first I had the idea to create some 'winter/early spring' coords but in the end I took out only one Kimono and created 3 styles by changing the Obi (and a few accessories).

Of course I wanted to follow the seasonality, therefore I chose the almost salmon pink Tsukesage I got for Christmas 2 years ago, which has primarily ume (plum) as motif. Since the plum blossoms are still blooming, I thought this Kimono would be perfect for this post ♡  Further, there aren't any proper 'Kimono coords' pics with this Kimono yet.


Let´s start with style No.1 (as always, click on the pics to enlarge them)

Pinkish Tsukesage paired with a silver-gold Fukuro Obi which has senmen (paper centres of folding fans),
manju-giku (stylised, rounded chrysanthemum), kasamatsu (dense pine branch, 'mushroom' shaped) and eda-ume
(plum on the branch) as motif

Detail shot of the lovely eda-ume on the sleeves

Detail shot of the Obi, Obiage and Obijime. The Obiage & Obijime are a set

Front part of the Kimono´s design.
You can see the plums on the branch, fans (senmen), peonies and kumihimo (cords)

Chose also a pink bag and silver-pink Zori

Now let´s continue with style No.2

Here I paired the Tsukesage with my sasa (bamboo) Fukuro Obi

Detail shot of the Obi ~ The bamboo comes in silver, light pink and of course green
I used the same Obiage as before but changed the Obijime

The silver of the Obijime also can be found in the Obi

Last but not least - style No.3

The Tsukesage paired with one of my fav Obi from my collection,
This Fukurou Obi has enmen (paper centres of folding fans),
botan (peony), ayame (iris) and eda-ume (plum on the branch) as motif.
Most of those motive also can be found on the Kimono, except the irises.
Iris is also one of those typcial spring flowers

Detail shot of the Obi ~ As for the Obiage, I used a light lavender one.
The gold and silver of the Obijime can be found in the Obi as well

Details of the lovely Kimono design ♥

So, which one do you like the most? Would be nice to hear what you think about the different styles. 

Thank you (*^_^*)

'Seijin no hi' coordinations

Happy 'Seijin no hi' (成人の日)! It´s the 'coming-of-age day' in Japan, celebrated on January 11th this year 
and when the young Japanese women wear wonderful ‪Furisode‬ Kimono. For this event, I created 3 outifts!

Same Furisode, but different accessories ~

Left outfit:

A very princess-like/pinkish style. Personally, I am a fan of tone on tone outfits. I like the tassel on the Obijime, it´s a cute detail ♥ The peonies on the Kimono also can be found on the Kimono (pls click on the pics to enlarge)

Right outfit:

I used the same Furisode like in the 1st coordination but changed the Obi, Obijime, the bag and added an adorable bow-shaped Obidome *°

Further details of my 1st 'Seijin no hi' coordination - Obi, Obijime with tassel, embroidered Tabi socks and Han-eri/Kasane-eri with rhinestones (sorry that my camera couldn´t make a better pic of that detail) ♡

Further details of my 2nd 'Seijin no hi' Kimono outfit. I changed the Obi, Obijime, the bag and added a cute bow-shaped Obidome. Like on the Obi, there's also a peacock on the bag ♡

As a contrast to my black Furisode, here's my cream-white one, which is the 3rd 'Seijin no hi' coordination I created. This piece was the very first Furisode I bought about 6 years ago, which even can be washed since it's synthetic. 

Also the Obi was one of my very first Kimono purchases back then, bought only for this Furi. The bag and Zouri are a set. I love it that the butterflies can be found on the Kimono and as well on the Obi.

A few further details of my 3rd 'Seijin no hi' ensemble: Obi, Obijime, two Date-eri and the Zouri with matching bag and embroidered Tabi socks.

Which ensemble do you like the most? 

New Year Kitsuke coordinations

Following the ‘New Year Kitsuke coordination’ tradition - here are two Kuro-tomesode ensembles.

In the first pic (upper left corner), I layed out the Kimono a little bit wider than usually worn, simply because I wanted to show more of the lovely design, same with the Fukuro-Obi ♡

This coord shows how Kuro-tomesode are normally worn nowadays - with a white Obiage and a golden/silver (or one of those colors only) Obijime to complete the formal look.

The 2nd outfit is a Kuro-tomesode from the Taishou era (with its typical red inner lining and longer sleeves), the Maru-Obi as well. They are the oldest pieces in my collection and I think they look as if they were made for each other ♡

I wanted to created a ‘Geiko-/Geisha-inspired’ look.

The last two pics reveal a few more details:

the Han-eri is also rather an older piece and I think it suits the ensemble very well ~ The bag which I’ve used for both coords, was one of the first Kimono related things I bought when I started my collection ♡

What do you think about those coords? 

Christmas Kimono

The Christmas season came and went as fast as every year - I hope you all had a nice time together with your dearest people! ♥ Unfortunately I couldn´t feel the Christmas vibe as much as in the past years, surely due to the stress caused by all the preparations we had to make *sighs* Though another reason could be that we had rather warm Christmas days, who knows!?

My family and me have spent Christmas at my sister´s and her husband´s house this time which was very nice. A few impressions for you all:

yummy *u*

I got many lovely presents and the ones which certainly interest you the most are the two Kimono *smile* Here they are ~

Hakubai -Tsukesage

Hakubai (白梅) - White plum
... with eda-ume (plum on the branch), botan (peony),
senmen (paper centres of folding fans), ougi (folding fans)
and kumihimo (cords)

I already made a first coordination try with it. What do you think? ♥

And now my fantastic new Furisode - in real it´s much more impressive, you cannot imagine *o*

Hana matsuri - Ooburisode

Hana matsuri (花祭り) - Flower festival
... with hana guruma (flower cart), peony (botan),
sakura (cherry blossoms), fuji (wisteria), ayame (iris),
nadeshiko (dianthus/pinks), kiku (chrysanthemum),
kikyou (bellflower) and hagi (bushclover)

I am still unsure about which Obi is better? 1st or 2nd one (・−・)・・・？

Somehow I totally forgot to show you my new Tabi socks (>_<). They go perfectly with the Furisode, right?

Kohaze Tabi with beautiful rhinestones ♡

I wish you all already a good and save start into 2014! Feel hugged by me ヽ(´▽｀)/*

Spring has come - Kimono coordination project Part 3

I want to present you now the last part of my Kimono coordination project "Spring has come".

I created different outfits with the same Kimono only by changing the Obi or Komomo (accessoires).

Please tell me which one you like the most. Thank you! ♥

1st outfit

Pale lilac Tsukesage with peony motive,
Fukuro Obi with kanzemizu (whirlpool) design,
salmon pink Obiage with Shibori pattern and green/pink Obijime

Along with orange-gold Zori and matching bag

2nd outfit

I want to wear this outfit one day before the Japanday in Düsseldorf.
My bfriend and me will be there already on Friday and go to a
japanese Restaurant with friends.

here with another Fukuro Obi
(senmen, ayame, peony and eda-ume design),
a green shibori Obiage and silver Obijime.

Along with silver/pink Zori and matching bag

same outfit but with a gold/silver Obijime

3rd outfit

I think I will wear this for my birthday party ♥

here with Rokutsuu Fukuro Obi
(ryusui - flowing water motive),
salmon pink Obiage with shibori pattern
and shiny pink Obijime