How many layers kimono

With the collar in your left hand, wrap the kimono around your legs, pulling the left edge of the kimono around to the right side of your body.

The left edge should end up about 7cm higher than the point above your feet. This is just for measuring. After measuring, keep your arm at that height and unwrap yourself. Next, wrap the right side of the kimono around to the left side of your body, this time raising the right edge of the kimono cm above the top of your feet.

Hold it there and re-wrap the left edge of the kimono over the top. Because the right side was lifted higher than the left and is now under the left side, it will not be visible, which is how it is supposed to look.

It is crucial that you wrap the left side of the kimono over the right , because the opposite way is only used to dress dead bodies for funerals! There are some mistakes you can get away with while wearing kimono, but this is not one of them. Now that you have everything in place, make sure your koshi-himo is handy because you have to tie it down. Tie the kimono right over your belly button, and tie it well, because this is the primary sash holding the whole thing together.

All of the excess kimono material should be above the koshi-himo, which you can now fold down over the sash to give the kimono a flat and neat look. It is perfectly normal to have this excess material, which will be mostly hidden under the obi later. During this step, you might have to readjust the collar to ensure you have the fist-sized gap between the collar and your neck. After the excess material is neatly folded over the koshi-himo sash, you need to arrange your kimono collars.

This can be done using the third koshi-himo or the korin belt. If you use a belt, clip it to the right side of the kimono, through the hole under your left arm. Pull it around your back and clip the other end to the left front collar on your right side, adjusting the collars so they are symmetrical with about 2 cm of the nagajuban collar showing. Pull all the creases at the back towards the side seams.

If you are using a koshi-himo , arrange the collars to be symmetrical and then put the middle of the tie at the center of your chest, draw it back with both hands, cross it at the back and return it to the front.

Tie it in the center. Again, move any creases in the back to the side seams. Tie your second date-jime over the koshi-himo in the same fashion, again just below the bustline. Tuck in the ends of the sash so it looks neat, and you are finished putting on the kimono and ready for the next step, putting on an obi sash! So there you have it, a step-by-step guide to how to wear a kimono by yourself. In our next articles, Sheila and Nichole will demonstrate how to tie several types of obi, from super simple and casual to formal and elegant.

Sheila Cliffe has lived in Japan for over 30 years and is a noted expert on kimono history and fashion. As a professor she has extensive experience teaching kimono in a variety of settings, but the art and joy of dressing is her greatest pleasure. Under this, you may also wear a hadajuban , which is like an undershirt that prevents the nagajuban from becoming soiled.

The kimono layers are tied down with a thin sash called a koshi himo. Over the underclothing you wear the outer kimono layer. Remember to put this on with the left panel over the right. The upper center line on the back of the kimono should be in line with your spine. The full length of the kimono should be within 5 cm 2 inches of your full height. Lift the kimono so the hem is at your ankles, tie it in place with a koshi himo , and then fold down the remaining fabric. This creates a special fold in the fabric called an ohashori.

Next, a colorful belt called an obi goes over the outer kimono layer. There are many different lengths, fabrics, and styles of obi. Hanhaba obi is the informal obi for everyday kimono wear, while a fukuro obi is the ceremonial one worn for formal occasions. There are also obi accessories like the obiage , a length of silk tied around the torso and underneath the obi that helps to give the body a tube-like shape, and the obijime , which is a decorative cord tied around the obi that helps to keep its knot in place.

Zori are the traditional kimono footwear. Nowadays, you can also get other non-traditional colors of tabi socks such as the light blue one you see below. For formal occasions, men wear a montsuki , which is a formal black silk kimono worn over a white under-kimono and hakama , traditional Japanese trousers. Men also wear zori , usually made of imitation plastic straw, but they are not required to wear tabi socks with their zori like women.

A yukata is a casual kimono-like garment worn during the summer. From the Nara period until the Heian period , Japanese people typically wore either ensembles consisting of separate upper and lower garments trousers or skirts , or one-piece garments. Beneath the Kimono, the warrior wore a loincloth. The traditional Kimono is hard to wear and is very expensive for the common person.

Newer versions of Kimono have been designed from linen, rayon and polyester to cater to all seasons and help the wearer move easily. These have lesser layers and do not cost as much as the silk variety. Pale colors such as light green are appropriate for spring, while cool colors such as lavender or dark blue are good for summer. Autumn calls for colors that imitate the hues of the turning leaves, and winter is the season for strong colors like black and red.

Intricate embroideries enhance the beauty of a plain silk Kimono. Printed Kimonos in both light and dark colors are popular for casual wear among men as well as women. For formal occasions, men wear a montsuki , which is a formal black silk kimono worn over a white under-kimono and hakama , traditional Japanese trousers.

Since twelve layers are very heavy, it has since been reduced. Formal obis worn by men are much narrower than those of women the width is about 10 centimetres 3. The biggest reason for relatively high cost of even the most casual Kimonos is that they cannot be mass produced effectively. The structure of the garment is such that the vast majority of seams and edges cannot be sewn by machine: they are finished and often also attached with blind stitches.

Another reason is the material used to design the Kimono. The Kimono and Obi are traditionally made of hemp, linen, silk, silk brocade, silk crepes such as chirimen and satin weaves such as rinzu. Modern Kimono are widely available in less-expensive easy-care fabrics such as rayon, cotton satIn, cotton, polyester and other synthetic fibers.

Yukata is an informal kind of Kimono. It is ideal for wearing in warmer months to events such as Japanese street festivals, anime conventions, and just having fun around town.

Due to how few accessories are required to wear this type of Kimono, they are widely considered ideal for anyone new to wearing Kimono. For many people, this is the first kind of Kimono they are exposed to in Japan, due to the tourist dressing services which offer Yukata dressings. Yukata are normally constructed from a cotton print fabric, and most modern ones are mass produced. Each gender wears their Yukata differently. Yukata are most popular during the summer months, where the unlined cotton fabric is most suited to combat the hot temperature.

They can be worn around every day. However, it is most common to see young people enjoying them during the firework viewing festivals, known as hanabi in Japanese.

Yukata functions both as a bathrobe and loungewear. It can be worn at all times during your stay including the bath, to both dinner and breakfast, and to bed as sleepwear. The Yukata was later also worn by Japanese warriors and by the Edo era , it was widely worn by the public when public baths became a popular recreation in Japan. The Yukata is a casual version of the kimono.

Clothing styles changed throughout Japanese history. Fashion of the Nara period was highly influenced by Chinese styles, especially in the use of silk. During the Heian period , it was popular to wear many layers of clothing in fact; women of the elite class would wear as many as 15 to 40 layers! The practice of wearing these layers was later discarded during the Kamukura period , when people wore just the under-robe, called the kosode, which means small sleeve, referring to the opening at the wrist.

The kimono style we know today is derived from the kosode. One of the most important fashion eras in Japan was the Edo period During this time a new dyeing process was developed and detailed patterns became popular.

In the late s, Japanese dress was increasingly influenced by the West. Many Japanese men and women combined their traditional clothing with Western apparel. For example, a man wore his short coat haori with Western-style trousers. Some women wore American-style blouses or European-style shoes under their kimonos. While Japan embraced Western fashion, the fashionable society in both Europe and the United States became interested in Japanese arts and culture. Stylish Western women began wearing Japanese kimonos to society functions.

Each traditional Japanese garment provided clues about its owner. It could reveal the age and social or marital status of the wearer. For example, a married woman wore a robe with short sleeves and small patterns, while an unmarried woman, who wanted to announce her single status, wore a vibrantly colored, boldly patterned, long-sleeved robe that would attract admirers.

Colors were important indicators of status. Because red dye was expensive and labor-intensive to produce, a brilliant red robe announced the financial status and high social rank of its owner.