wafuku – noun: traditional Japanese clothing
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My daughter owns zillions of kimonos but only had one Japanese haori, the long, kimono sleeved jackets. She recently wore it to a party and got so many compliments that she decided she wanted another. She chose a load to try on and went home with 13 of them. If she finds that there are any she hasn’t worn within the next couple of years, she’ll give me those ones back for the website.
We took some photos, mainly to let her see what they looked like, as sometimes it helps to see yourself in a photo as well as in a mirror (that’s a handy tip if you are ever choosing new spectacle frames, take a photo and look at yourself in that) and it made it easier for her to see the backs. In these photos she wears them slightly open at the front and pleated or gathered at the back, with them fastened with a deep belt, though the Japanese do not wear them belted, they wear them loose. Sometimes she wears the fronts closed and slightly overlapped, then they lie smooth at the back, but she particularly likes them worn with the fronts parted as you see in the photos.
You can see some of those photos below. Most of the haori in the photos are ones she kept for herself but there are a few there that she didn’t, so those are still available on my website. The photos weren’t actually taken for public display, so her expression isn’t as smiley as it could be and she is wearing her specs, which she wouldn’t normally do when modelling, as she doesn’t need them all the time, but I decided, nonetheless, to put some of the photos here on my blog, to let you see some more haoris being worn. The shoes she is wearing came from Japan, she has wanted some of those for a long time and managed to get herself a red pair and a black pair.
This is one of my favourites, with a most unusual design of staircases and cherry blossom. I was surprised it wasn’t snapped up when available on my site but it’s too late now, my daughter has nabbed it.
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She struggled to not keep all the haori she tried on and this is one of the few she didn’t keep, only because the pink didn’t go with her scarlet hair.
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This is a 1930s haori, in lovely soft silk, with chirashi design. You can see the back of it in the photo below.
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This dark red one is from the 1920s. Notice how long it is, these 1920s and 30s ones are often extra long and tend to be made of very soft silk.
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This one has oultines of clouds. This one is still available on the website. Back view below.
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This haori has a magnificent spider chrysanthemum on it. Front view below.
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This haori is her favourite and is also her fiancé’s favourite of the ones she took home. It’s a synthetic textile.
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A long, Meisen silk haori, with ume (plum blossom) branches design. I can’t remember if she kept this one. Meisen silk is a bit like silk taffeta.
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My daughter had reservations about trying this one on then loved it when she did, so this is another she kept
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This haori has a lovely abstract folding fans design, on silk satin. I don’t think she kept this one but I may be wrong. You can see the back view below.
Notice the way she wears it, with pleats folded into the back and held in place with the belt. This is because she has it belted with a gap between the front edges, so the excess material that creates is at the back. When she wears them with the fronts overlapped, there is no need to pleat or gather the back, as they lie smoothly since some of that fabric is then pulled to the front. Sometimes, when wearing them with the fronts parted, she pleats them at the back like this one and sometimes she wears them lying in little folds that are evenly spread across the back.
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This one has especially deep sleeves and fabulous leafy vines on it. There are some little foxing spots on the light parts of the pattern but they don’t spoil it and she doesn’t mind them at all. See the back in the photo below, where you can see that it has a round, gold, embroidered mon (crest) at the centre of the shoulders.
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This one is my favourite, with stylised waves. It is very soft silk. Three more views of this one below
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This one is a very slightly peachy cream silk, with a traditional, stylised pampas grass design. This is one that is still available on my www.wafuku.co.uk website
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Orizuru design haori. Orizuru are origami cranes. This was her fiancé’s second favourite of the 13 she took home
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That’s all the photos I have prepared so far. I may put more on a future post. If you want to see more haori, check out my www.wafuku.co.uk website. I have haori for both men and women on it.
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Finally, here is a YouTube film of a maiko being dressed. Her kimono is especially lovely in its rich burgundy with simple but dramatic waves design.
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If you want something else to browse, there’s always my Wafuku.co.uk website.
To see a vast selection of fabulous, vintage and antique Japanese kimonos, visit wafuku.co.uk. Based in Scotland and selling worldwide. Whether you want to own and wear a real kimono, a beautiful piece of wearable Japanese textile art, or hang one for display or even just have a look at stunningly beautiful kimonos, you may enjoy browsing through the selection on my site. I have high quality, vintage kimonos, obis and accessories (and much more) for men, women and children. Pop over to wafuku.co.uk and have a look.
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Rabbit Netsuke
The story goes that the tiny Issun Boshi was in love with a princess who was the daughter of his employer, however, he was ridiculed for his diminutive size. He is given a job of accompanying the princess he loves on a trip. Along the way, they run foul of an Oni who has the mallet and swallows Issun Boshi whole. Issun Boshi forces the Oni to spit him out by poking him on the inside with his tiny needle sword. The Oni spits him out but drops the Uchide no kozuchi in his haste to escape. As his reward, the Princess uses the mallet to grow Issun Boshi to full size. At the end of the story, Issun Boshi and the princess are married.
). intuitive ideas on everyday wearing are scattered throughout the site, like wearing a girls kimono as a striking long jacket. For me, it will always be haori jackets (I have brought a few from this site) a real overlooked gem of the clothing world (though rediscovered by both high-street and high-end fashion recently). They add a real striking contrast with western clothes and are ideal for creating a signature look, this site has the biggest variety on the net in the UK I’ve seen so far. I cannot recommend this site highly enough, you won’t be disappointed!”
