say hello to my very first tsumugi !!

hiya friends ! 

I was on a bit of a spring cleaning kick this weekend & managed to take out some old clothing that I was unreasonably attached to from my closet for donation. I'm also working on donating my formal dress to a charity that provides disadvantaged young people with the clothing that they need in order to attend their school formals.

I seem to have racked up some good karma in doing so, because yesterday, at my dearly loved local secondhand store (do forgive the messy kitchen):

I don't know what else you expected of me, to be honest ...

I can't believe that it's been almost a year since the last time I bought a kimono & I STILL don't have a juban !! 🤦‍♀️ hence why I'm not wearing one in my photos; though I don't recommend EVER wearing a kimono without a juban (or at least some other underlayer like a hoodie or turtleneck if you're not a traditionalist) on, especially not an awase, such as this one. even though I only dressed for photo purposes, I made sure to wear a layer underneath to offer the silk SOME protection from sweat. 

"spacehey user kitkatanddog! if it's an awase what's the colour of the hakkake!!"

rusty orange !!!! a colour that I would, to be so honest, never have chosen for myself, because I very much dislike orange. 

this kimono does have a few features that didn't put me off from buying it, though, such as-

the lovely woven pattern !! I really quite like tsumugi for their cozy, relaxed feeling. I've no idea what the black & orange (which itself is a rusty orange, probably inspiring the hakkake colour) pattern is called, though it looks like bows & arrows (archery mention?!), or perhaps birds in flight. additionally, as a komon (I don't think that tsumugi are ever very formal anyway), I'd be able to wear this with both hanhaba & nagoya obi, greatly increasing my options during the winter-time (which has actually been cold this year, god bless america).

while I'm on the topic, I've been window shopping for a few nagoya obi, & in doing so I'm reminded of a piece of kitsuke advice I saw somewhere once, along the lines of "best to pair a woven kimono with a silk obi, & a silk kimono with a woven obi". I don't necessarily agree with the latter, as I think silk kimono with silk obi (note that the majority of kimono & obi are silk; mine probably is too; we're simply referring to the texture in this case) work just fine together, but I DO see the merit in pairing a tsumugi such as mine with a nice, smooth silk obi, such as this one for example:

moving on, though, to:

the very agreeable mitake ! now, I did try to measure this earlier, however the number I got seems far too short to make an ohashori, especially in comparison to my height, so I'd estimate its mitake to be about 168cm (I'm 165). it touched the floor when I first put it on, which is enough info at a glance to know that I could work with it. (& while we're here, the sleeves are about 51cm, which are suitable for a young woman such as myself & make me very happy.)

the yukata I made, by contrast, is SO difficult to squeeze an ohashori out of because it doesn't even touch the floor when I put it on. this was quite bad for morale, as not only could I hardly make an ohashori, I never had enough space to wear it at the proper length, & so it always sat a good 5-7 centimetres above my ankles, which felt quite improper (kimono should typically not go above the ankle when worn properly; some women wear theirs with the hem almost brushing the floor). the longer mitake was thus a huge reason for my purchasing of it. I also appreciate that, unlike that yukata, which is made of the shiniest slipperiest silk high school money could buy, this tsumugi is not very slippery at all & is happy to sit in whatever position I korin belt it into, which feels like an absolute mercy after the former. 

finally, moving onto the price:

this kimono was, quite evidently, bought for 1,100 yen in japan at a place called きらく屋- which approximately converts to AUD$11. I feel like an absolute sucker, then, for having bought it for $40 (at which my friends gawked), though one must also appreciate the fact that the overwhelming majority of kimono online start at around the $65+ price tag, not including shipping. that's on the more reasonable end too; I'm here to tell you that you're most likely being overcharged for the kimono you want to buy, especially online.

I was grateful to finish up the weekend in a fantastic mood because of my find, & although I won't get to wear this piece until next winter now, I'm so excited to know that it'll be waiting for me when the weather's right. if I do end up moving to japan shortly after leaving high school, I'm excited to bring my pieces 'back home' per se & to let them live out the rest of their lives with an owner who will honour them by wearing them out & about. I actually got that feeling when I tried this kimono on yesterday! it seemed to say, "please take me home with you! I want to be looked after properly!", a request I was more than happy to listen to. 

sidenote: I understand keeping a wedding hikizuri for example for display, but it hurts my soul to see nagoya obi relegated to the role of a dining table runner. this is because, in my opinion, kimono should be worn as the clothing that they are. that's their job! who am I to deny the kimono of the job it wants to do? I should help it do so by developing my own kitsuke skills, if anything.

on the kitsuke note... it also appears that my phone camera has flipped the collar; I would like you to know that I take great care to NOT wrap my collars in the way of the deceased. I would also like you to know that I purposefully excluded definitions for the kitsuke terms I've used; this is because I don't like explaining myself away anymore. there's a time & place for educating others on kitsuke terms, & it's not on my own blog posts, which I mainly write for personal enjoyment. 

with that said, though, thank you as always for stopping by & indulging my love for kimono; every time I get to work with one in person I'm reminded that I was worried about nothing, for my passion for them is still very much alive & thriving. I hope you're also thriving, & hydrated. I'll be off to bed now, so aside from the 'thank you', I'd also like to bid you goodnight ! 🌙🏹