Planning another winter project

[athenagrey]

 It's that time of year again for me to pick a topic and explore it in depth through the winter months.  This year I am going to study kimono and kitsuke (the art of dressing in kimono). 

When I was a young child, we spent a lot of time in Japan, and on occasion I wore kimono there.  Fond memories. I don't care that kimono are now considered by some to be bourgeois and anti-feminist. If I wear one out of nostalgia rather than obligation, I'm not going to feel oppressed by the experience. I am going to savor it.

Collecting all the necessary parts of the outfit will be half the fun. I have a few pieces, but they are very casual, like the yukata and obi shown here. I'd like to have something stylish to wear to the cherry blossom festival in the spring.

I really should keep a running list of the winter projects I've done over the years, because I am forgetting most of them.  These are the ones I can remember or have found notes about.

2010 - Geocaching, which was mildly amusing, and got me outdoors a lot.
2009 - I don't recall having a formal project, but weaving filled my winter with wool and joy.
2008 - Yoga
2007 - Japanese cookery
2006 - Embodiment, a daily art journal project
2005 - Tarot
2004 - Livejournal
2003 - Art Journalling
1999 - Draping and pattern making
If there were winter projects in these wasteland years, I don't remember them.
1979 - Darts
1977 -  Knitting

Comments

[seaivy.livejournal.com]

If you have a book list on the subject I'd love to have it.
I have fallen in love with some aspects of Japanese culture.
Blessings

[athenagrey.livejournal.com]

IF I have a book list? IF? Of course I have a book list, m'dear.

Kimono by Liza Dalby discusses the kimono from an anthropological viewpoint. Dr. Dalby spent time studying as a geisha when preparing her dissertation, so she has worn kimono. I get the feeling she doesn't love them.

The Book of Kimono by Norio Yamanaka is a conservative and detailed how-to guide to kitsuke. I have no plans of dressing that conservatively, but I want to know the rules so that I can break them thoughtfully and not accidentally.

Kimono Hime Issue 10. This was the magazine that chronicled the development of the modern kimono style. Hime means princess, and some of the styles are very sugary and young. It's a good way to see how the current generation is adopting kimono and making them their own.

Okimono Kimono by CLAMP Monoka. She's an illlustrator for Japanese comics, and presents a slightly less sugary version of modern style.

Make your own Japanese Clothing by John Marshall is not a well organized book, but presents accurate details for how to sew kimono by hand.

What aspects of Japanese culture appeal to you? In addition to kimono and Japanese cuisine, I have an interest in traditional architecture, pottery and tea ceremony.

[readthisandweep.livejournal.com]

What a splendid project ~
& a gorgeous kimono!

Enjoy yourself!

[athenagrey.livejournal.com]

Thank you. This kimono has been my everyday bathrobe for years. Fortunately for me, the yukata or bathrobe can be worn as an informal kimono, for doing errands and shopping. I supppose it's not all that different from going shopping in yoga or gym wear.