>>>>After all, they made bustle gowns out of kimonos, y'know. >>> I'm sure you meant kimono fabric. There's hardly enough material in one >>> kimono to make a 2005 dress, let alone anything more voluminous. >> Nope. I meant Kimonos...picked apart and re sewn. There's an example of >> this very thing in the Kyoto book....page 291 in the big 1 volume book. >And anyway, there's about just enough fabric on a roll of kimono fabric to >make one kimono, so it doesn't make a big difference (except having to deal >with seams).
And the pattern is specifically designed so that the center back seam will have the L & R halves of a design. Frequently the design continues on the front panels. The collar & sleeves might also be incorp'd into the all-over design. The skill of the kimono designer is in dyeing "yardage" with the all-over design firmly in mind. Careful cutting on the part of the western costumer can make fabulous use of these larger designs. A quick stroll thru the kimono dept of Takashimaya will convince you. You buy the 14m length and they tailor it for you. When I lived in Tokyo I spent many a weekend day seeking out fabric shops for japanese silk fabrics. Scarce as hen's teeth! The yardage shops sell silks in minuscule amounts for doll makers. They are unprepared for 6 meter buys. Heck, I couldnt even find a roll of silk brocade in a Japanese design with that much on it! Good thing there's flea markets at temples & shrines all over town. There are several styles of kimono, and in the 1880s were even more. Other kimono facts: The garment someone attributed to geisha that has long sleeves is not for geisha, it's for Maiko (pretty child) an apprentice geisha. There is a modern kimono variant, called furosode (wave sleeve) worn by unmarried ladies to festivals like Shichi-Go-San or New Years, in spring to Sakura parties (cherry blossom) and in summer to the Hana-bi (fire-flowers) fireworks displays. Supposedly the sleeves are so beautiful that one need but wave the sleeve to catch a man. The wedding kimono style is Uchikake, longer wider & with longer furosode style sleeves. Mine is embroidered with several Phoenix. The shinto wedding kimono is pure white (shiromoku = pure white). I have a regency style jacket that I made from an obi. Doesnt take much! A maru style obi runs roughly 5 yds and 24" wide (folded longways). Other obi styles are smaller or have less of the fancy pattern. Someone mentioned menswear as a yardage source. The kamishimo is sadly out of fashion, as are the samurai who wore them with hakama & men's kimono. Never saw one at the flea markets. (Yes, I was looking every weekend.) Western 1880s fashions appeared frequently in Tokyo on Japanese ladies. Happily, the fashion was for coordinating fabrics. I have several hand colored 1860-1880 Japanese woodcuts illustrating this. Kayta, you're welcome to come paw thru my kimonos, obi & japanese costume books & museum catalogs. Others are welcome, too. You've got my email address. --cin Cynthia Barnes [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
