Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Geisha Princess & a bit pUnk roCk

kimono style... yes! I'm back! :)..after a long absence. Apologies to all my darhling ones reading this. I am still kicking reboot after a couple of weeks so check back often as I am about to start a whirlwind of postings. ;) In the meantime, I am in love with all things kimono. I have been for years but my fever is just now returning...

Can you imagine vintage, silk kimonos redone as jackets and dresses...with little ballet slippers covered in punk-rock studs? I can..

When ebay first hit the scene as the first virtual, everyman auction house, you could find the most delicious vintage kimonos online for about as much money $ as a couple of lattes. There was this one kimono style that I adored called the 1920's "paper" kimono. Drew Barrymore and other actresses would wear this kind of kimono in movies as bathrobes...ie. "50 First Dates". It's kimono done flapper style - straight from your grandma's era. Paper kimonos were selling for like $35 USD but I never bought one. Now you can hardly find them and if you do they're upwards of $250-$300 USD. All the lovely kimonos and hand-embroidered vintage pieces I so easily found online a few years ago are now practically impossible to find (big sigh)...lesson to the wise, when you find something you love, and you can, buy it...


I can still be inspired though by fashion and interior designs taking their cue from the land of the rising sun...and I think mala beads are a beautiful reminder of what is important in life...centering yourself while sharing a wink and smile at inner style...

Inspiration also comes from books like the great Omiyage by Kumiko Suda. She does amazing books on Japanese handmade crafts and I have made delicate little butterfly pouches from instructions straight from Omiyage. Omiyage is the Japanese word for gift. Butterflies gilded in kimono fabric (I will post my kimono creations back into this post when I get the chance)....


And then I came across this beautiful flurry of getas in the photo below- which reminds me of what Anna Karenina would wear if she were a Geisha dancing through the snow on the way to meet her true love. And the vintage Japanese FireFighter kimonos shown further below are so lovely and cool...I would love to deconstruct one and redo it up as a tight-fitting jacket and pair it with some black and white stripe-down-the-side Adidas track pants...how cool would that be...
Ja

I am also dreaming of re-creating this lovely vintage handbag...jade handles... embroidery, and tassles..all done up in good luck & silk threads...

Finally, who doesn't love a little Yoshitomo Nara...
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In dreaming of all things Japanese, I am obssessed with his clock...different drawings on the hour...this is something else I should have bought when I first saw it...from $150 USD a few years ago you can no only get your hands on one of these puppies for $350 USD...



Champagne tastes on a beer budget...thank heavens there's always window shopping and sewing machines!

With Love,
;) K.

2 comments:

  1. I'm so with you on the kimonos and mala beads, and, always, Nara. Great post to come back on!

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  2. ;) thank you...seems like we have similar tastes kindred spirit! back online and now catching up on all my favorite blogs...:)

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