KIMONO

Is the Kimono fashion or history?

If you consider the white wedding dress a fashion item, and our fashion industry certainly does. Then you would have to consider the kimono a fashion item too. Most modern Japanese women do not wear the kimono as an everyday item, but it is still a very important part of a Japanese woman's wardrobe.

The kimono is a form of traditional Japanese clothing that people used to wear in every day life until in the middle of 19th century (the opening of the Japan to the rest of the world). Today kimono are mainly worn for special occasions or events, but in a major Japanese city you can still see some Japanese women wearing them. There are many different kinds of kimono. They are all different in design, who wears them, when and why.

Most Japanese kimono require the assistance from someone experience in putting on these complex outfits. Traditionally this knowledge was pasted down from mother to daughter, but today many Japanese girls attend classes to learn the finer details of this very old tradition.

The first kimono we will look at is the Furisode.