Monday, March 8, 2010

Men's Clothing: Kamishimo

After the Saigo Takamori book review I did yesterday, I saw Ichiroya's update for tomorrow/Tuesday and thought I'd keep the samurai love going for another day.

Ichiroya's put up two vintage kamishimo (裃), which normally refer to a whole men's outfit made up of three things: hakama pants, a formal kimono, and a kataginu, a sleeveless jacket/vest with giant, reinforced anime-sized shoulders sticking out to either side. I'm not sure if Ichiroya's two were for actual wear or stage costumes of some kind, as they're not lined and I don't know if actual ones usually were or not.

Kamishimo were traditionally worn by samurai and courtiers back in the Edo period (1600s to mid-1800s) and is not an outfit you'd normally see around today on a guy. But if you're interested in history or cosplay, it's handy to know what the whole look is called!

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