Hey there! My name is Nomura, I’m now working as an apprentice at Tachibanaen. Starting today, I’ll be writing articles about men’s kimono on this blog. To be honest, I had no interest in Kimono at all until a few years ago. Kimonos were only seen at historical dramas or on Sunday evening storyteller shows. Who would think that just a few years later, I’d be so fond of them, I wear them even on my day off. Before working here, I had been working in the fashion industry for a long time. With my affection for fashion, working part-time as a college student, I was even promoted to be in charge of purchasing at the time. From used clothes to high-end designer clothes, I’ve wore them all. And as I get older, somehow I find myself starting to lose interest in clothing, the thing once I was so passionate about.
One day, as I was walking along the street of Kanda Myojin mae, three gentlemen caught my attention, they were all wearing Kimonos. One was tall, one was short, one had hair, one doesn’t, one was thin, and one had a big belly. More than that physical characteristics, the three men had a good vibe, possess a dignified presence, had good posture and overall looked very handsome. I wonder what if those three were dressed in normal clothe? I know for a fact that they would not looked as handsome and stylish as they do right now. “It’s Kimono magic!” I thought to myself. As I began to wear Kimonos more frequently myself, I came to realized why those three men looked as good as they did. They had great taste picking out their outfit and they looked like they’re used to wearing Kimonos. So today I’m going to share with you 3 interesting things about Kimono.
Kimono looks better the more you accustomed to wearing it.
This is a major difference between western clothes and Kimonos. The more you wear the kimono, the more you know how to wear it to fit your body type, posture, and habits. A sweatshirt will not get more comfortable and more good looking the more you wear it as a Kimono or Yukata does. It’s like the tie in western clothing. The more you wear it every day, the more you will become accustomed to how to fasten it, and you will know what kind of knot suits you best. Kimono is not a single part of clothes such as a tie, but it covers the whole body from your neck to your feet, so your dress-up experience has a more direct effect on the visuals than a tie. Your know-how will appear everywhere in your outfit, around the collar, around the belt, around your feet, and in your back. One of the interesting things about kimono is that you can be stylish regardless of your body size and shape.
Outfit styling
If you’re wearing a good suit, people will notice. What about a Kimono? The more you know about kimono, the more you will understand the background of the materials and you will know which kimono are more valuable. However, in the case of kimono, it is important to wear a kimono of good material, but coordination is also an important factor. Even if 100 people wear the same kimono, the appearance will be different depending on the figure. To describe in an extreme manner, it’s just a big cloth wrapped around the body. So how do you outshine the others? It is outfit coordination. But coordination is limited for men’s kimonos. For summer it’s neckpiece, sash belt, Japanese socks and footwear. For spring, autumn and winter, Haori, Haori braid, coat and all of the above. Should I match with similar colors? Should I add a seasonal pattern? Should I go with a more playful pattern? Subtle adjustments can express one’s individuality, one of many interesting parts of the Kimono.
Pick out the outfit matching the time, place and occasion.
Can I go anywhere wearing a Kimono and look good? Sometimes this is not necessarily the case. No matter how good your Kimonos is, your outfit may seem inappropriate due to other items, for example, your footwear. Even if you are wearing a Kimono that is made out of cloth worth more the 1 million yen, there is a chance that you can’t have access to a high-end place or event. Depending on the fabric of the Kimono and the footwear you’re wearing, your outfit can match a specific setting. But that is a whole other topic on its own which I’m going to cover in the future. From the early Meiji era to before the war, Kimonos were the everyday clothing. After the war, it became more of a house-wear clothe that people throw on to relax after a day of work. But, I think the important thing is that people are finding their own ways to enjoy it. Kimonos can be fun and stylish if you doing it right.
And those were 3 interesting things about men’s Kimono. In the future, I’ll be covering how to tie the Kimono belt, how to wear a Kimono and Kimono etiquettes on this blog. I hope that Kimono Beginners could learn something useful from my articles, and the more experienced would have fun reading it.
