Kimono Coordination: Bold Butterflies

This fantasy coordination is more of a fun one than any strict example, using the strong contrasts of black and white (softened to gray here) and some playful touches in the patterns and colors.

- Kimono: grey and white komon
- Obi: Butterfly Nagoya
- Blue obiage (scarf worn tucked into obi) and obijime (cord around middle of obi)
- Green obidome (obijime ornament)
- Red Taisho haori
- Red zori sandals

Inspiration: Bold, fun looks for a casual dinner or day at a museum.

All images copyright Ichiroya and used with permission.

Youtube Video: Heian Robes

A little snippet of a video, this Youtube clip is still a cool peek into the clothing of the Japanese noblewomen of the Heian period around 1,000 years ago, the juu-ni-hitoe 十二単 (12 layer robe).

In reality 5-20 robes worn atop each other, the most important aspect of this look was coordinating the colors of the underrobes, usually to suggest romanticized themes in nature. The colors used here are a fall combination, meant to evoke maple leaves changing from green to red.

(Juunihitoe is the more common term, while the formal one is itsutsu-ginu-kara-ginu-mo 五衣唐衣裳 (5 layer Chinese-style robe).)