NOTE: These are our opinions & are not necessarily the definitive answers. We welcome more informed input to share with all who visit here. Also, as you are dealing with mostly vintage, one of a kind items, we recommend that in making an individual purchase-- from us or anyone-- please make sure you are satisfied with all the details before finalizing your purchase. If getting from us, please see our other statements re our quality & return practices. Thanks for visiting! Yoko Lewis

  This section was last updated: Saturday, October 13,2007

There is an excellent list of books about kimono & obi (using Amazon's listmania feature) can be found by clicking HERE.

• Can you tell me more about 'vintage kimono'? What does the term mean?
  
  We give our best and most thorough answer to this in an audio interview conducted by ePubliceye.com. To hear it click HERE. Also, for thorough information on vintage kimono please see the links section of our site. In brief, vintage is defined differently by different people. For our use, used and recycled kimono from the 1970's or earlier are vintage. Our kimonos and fabrics are generally from the 1930's-1960's. Things earlier than that we classify as antique.

We received the following unsolicited email (November 23,2002) from Marylis Sevilla-Gonzaga, and thank her for sharing this with us. This is a most helpful tip in answer to a question we get quite often, and, important, is based on her experience with her personal collection of vintage kimonos and obi.

• Can I use a "Jiffy" hand steamer on my vintage kimono?

  I collect haori and obi and rotate them often on my walls for decoration. I also wear most of my haori to the ballet and opera, usually getting outright praise or looks of admiration. But to get to the point, I have been steaming all of my haori and some obi (I use a standard "Jiffy" steamer) and so far, no problem. Just don't put the nozzle right on the fabric, as this can cause water spots. I do store each folded and separated by acid-free tissue paper.Of course, I do not own anything of "museum" quality---just some pretty nice vintage stuff that I love. Thanks for sharing all the info on your website.

Marylis Sevilla-Gonzaga

• Do you have patterns for making my own kimono or kimono style garment?

Check out a great article in the on-line version of Threads Magazine:Threads Website .

Susan Fatemi may have added some patterns for antique Japanese garments. To learn more about Susan's offerings you can find more about her site on our links page.

Updated August 2006:Also, in the last year or so (since 2005) a number of patterns for making kimono (and other Japanese garments) have become available. A search on google for kimono patterns turns up quite a few we didn't know existed.(You can go to that google search page by clicking HERE). Also, there are a number of patterns available from Folkwear.com, http://folkwear.com/patternindex.html

• Lady's Question: Will this haori fit me? I wear a size __?

(Thanks to a customer who pointed out the need for the following clarification of this section of our FAQ: This section refers to haori & michiyuki measurement, not full-length kimono.) If you buy a haori (jacket) which has a size tag in it, it is of more recent manufacture, in all likelihood is machine made, and is produced for sale to tourists. This is fine for most folks & they can be nice in their own way.

However, what we carry are the traditional haori jackets for men & women. In general the women's haori are all fairly much one size. Historically, the average body size of Japanese was within a standard range size. Therefore, our garments fall under the generally traditional way of being made, as follows:

1. Shoulder to shoulder is 2 panels @ approx 12" each panel, around 24 inches.
2. For general purposes estimate a girth of 48 inches, except for the michiyuki style which button (& therefore restricts the waist/chest size).
3. The fact that you fold haori & kimono overlapping means there is considerable flexibility in the girth measurements.
4. Sleeves are always short (by US/Western standards), but they are short even for Japanese women, that's the general way.
5. As a guideline, most women size 14 & lower can wear the vintage haori which we sell.
6. Another thing to try (men or womena), is take our "sleeve tip to sleeve tip" measurement & then compare it to your own measured arms out, measuring wrist to wrist. That can give you an idea.
7. The thing to remember about all this is that almost all of our garments (those which are machine-made will be identified) are originally hand-made for someone, thus no standard sizing applies

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• I really love the obi (kimono/haori) I bought. Can I clean it? And how? Unless you are knowledgeable about such things, we advise customers as a rule of thumb, to exercise great care. We recommend that you NOT wash any of our traditional Japanese garments: ALWAYS DRY CLEAN. In fact, depending on the type,age & quality of your purchase, it might be wise to have a specialist advise you before even doing that.
  
  For our own needs with these garments, we have found a small, family-owned dry cleaner in our area. We point out stains & tell them the fabric etc. They have done alright by us. We are not sure that the dry-cleaning chain stores would be as careful (Just an opinion), you would just have to know your merchant. Also, we are overly specific in telling our dry cleaners which things we want specially cleaned. We even attach little notes, with arrows & everything, as well as WRITING DOWN very specifically what we may tell them in person. No losses yet.

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• Yes, washable, BUT, treat the fabric this way when washing:
• Perhaps some folks do wash in machines, but I cannot recommend it.
• Wash gently by hand in cold water, light soap.
• NEVER let fabric sit in water for very long, remove it immediately after washing it.
• Tumble dry (no heat) until a bit moist, then lay flat.
• If it is still a bit wrinkled after washing & drying, use low heat iron to press it but to avoid making the fabric shiney, put a thin cotton towel or somesuch over the fabric before ironing. This way it can be neatly pressed & not get that shine to it.
  (We welcome anyone's wisdom in this area, send it along & we'll gladly share it here. Yoko)

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We asked an expert & this is a paraphrase of what he said, "If this is a silk garment which you have been dry cleaning, then do NOT attempt any home remedies, as they'll make it worse in all probability. If it is a garment you've NEVER dry cleaned, such silk has none of the residual effects (chemical) of drycleaning so it may respond to cleaning with plain water (cool). Still, once the cleaners opened it would be best to have it done professionally. In most cases it pays to just take it to the drycleaners however."

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• How do I care for or clean this wonderful old (silk) kimono I bought from you?

For the really special garments, with hand-painting & quite old, we recommend getting a professional opinion on cleaning. (We recommend Frank Connet a textile expert conservator and artist in Chicago, contact is below). However, we can share with you the common practice we know from being raised in Japan. So, here are some pointers on the care of the older silk:

1. When folded in chest, always fold in rice paper.
2. The wardrobe/bureau in which it is stored must not be in any direct sunlight
3. Dry heat is bad for it. **Direct sunlight is bad for it. **When displaying, choose a place which is cooler & shaded (ex: being near a forced air heat vent would be very BAD for it)
4. In Japan, after the rainy season we air them out in a shaded area for a day.
5. For questions about antique textile restoration etc.we recommend an expert, Frank Connet in Chicago.
6. There are some great suggestions on washing and caring for silk on Anneli's info page.

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How do your customers use your by-pound damaged kimono?

Stephanie Masae Kimura has published 2 lovely books, her latest May of 2004: Bags With Style; Prior to this (Septemer, 2001) she published Art to Wear with Asian Flair. Stephanie is a visitor to our site and a customer of ours. We first heard of her work with vintage kimono fabric at our 2001 fall Quilt show from a number of quilters who recommended her book of that year. The 2004 book is a marvelous,beautiful AND useful book -- complete with patterns! To learn more about/order her books, click below:

Art to Wear With Asian Flair


Bags With Style

Also, check out Kathy Pippin's book called Quilting with Japanese Fabrics. It comes highly recommended by some of our customers as well, and the reviews of users on Amazon.com are very positive. Learn more by clicking logo below:

Quilting With Japanese Fabrics, by Kathy Pippin

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...I have a beautiful Kimono, and have just purchased a lovely Nagajuban from YOKODANA...however, in the BOOK OF KIMONO, they say you must wear a type of undershirt and under skirt (wrap around type)....I am wondering where I can buy these things - or if I can make them - what are the dimensions and materials to use? What do others suggest wearing under their Kimono?

We thank Marie Couey-Strobel for her thorough & kind reply to this:

Get a copy of Make Your Own Japanese Clothes (by John Marshall) if you want to make your undergarments. This book does a very nice job of detailing how to make a kimono because there is no pattern per se, the garment is based on your own body measurements.

Although the undershirt isn't specifically discussed, the undershirt could be made based on the directions for the jimbei or wraparound top. Just make it a little tighter for an undergarment and skip the separate neckpiece. If you look carefully at the picture in The Book of Kimono, you can see that the undershirt is based on rectangular pieces. The back neckline appears to be cut a little lower than for a kimono and the two front pieces overlap. The sleeves are also rectangles, much smaller than a kimono sleeve. Turn under all edges and stitch down.

The wraparound halfslip is basically a rectangular piece of fabric (no darts) with a tie attached to each top corner (kind like an apron). The fabric goes in front of you at the waist, overlaps in the back and the ties are brought to the front. Just like the kimono, there is no pattern; the dimensions depend on your own body measurements. The length from waist to hem edge should probably be a little shorter than the kimono you are wearing and the wraparound length is whatever feels comfortable to you. Page 74, The Book of Kimono, states that "the hem of the half-slip should be just long enough to hide the tops of the tabi". One nice thing about the wrap underskirt is that it can still fit with small to medium fluctuations in your body measurements. I'd used cotton tape for the ties to minimize bulk.

And you could do the skirt-type halfslip also mentioned in the Kimono book. A long, straight skirt with or without a waistband pattern would work. Skip the zipper and just leave open, finish the edges by turning under and stitching, and use a hook and eye at the waist or on the waistband.

Lightweight cotton or cotton gauze seems to be the choice for undergarments. It's the most comfortable and launders easily. Marie.

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Marie then added another resource on this subject a bit later -- Thanks again Marie:

I was cruising around some new (to me) costuming sites and ran across a Men's Kimono and Hakama pattern by Costume Connection. I found this on the G Street Fabrics web site (http://www.gstreetfabrics.com/) and I believe AlterYears also carries this line of patterns.

-Marie Couey-Strobel

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• Where can I learn more about how to tie obi, about kimono etc in general?
• I spent hours...still I can't figure out how to tie this obi! Help!
• How do I best get out the wrinkles from this silk haori after it's been packed awhile? Click here.
  
  Well, FINALLY, someone has found a book which they say should help folks with the whole matter of tying obis etc. Please find below an email we recently received, for which we are most grateful:

I read your FAQ page on kimonos and I have a suggestion that people who are trying to wear a kimono might want to try. I bought a book called "The Book of Kimono" by Norio Yamanaka from Amazon.com. The book shows how to put on a kimono, tie an obi in a drum bow, and how to store it. I also showed it to the owners of a small kimono store nearby, who could barely speak English. They said the book was pretty accurate. You might suggest this book to people who say they want to learn to wear a kimono. It was good enough to help me wear a furisode, 2 yukatas, a haori, 2 nagoya obis and a fukuro obi!

Read about/order BOOK OF KIMONO Today!

Update 2001: Several customers tell us that they prefer a book by John Marshall as a reference over the above, but both are helpful in their own way: "Make Your Own Japanese Clothes: Patterns and Ideas for Modern Wear

Here's a link to see learn more/order this book :

For, everyday Kimonos, haori and nagajuban only (NOT CEREMONIAL KIMONOS): As for those wrinkles after it has been folded, you can let it hang a period of time and many will come out; If you are knowledgeable about fabric use whatever method has worked for you in the past; though risky and not necessarily recommended, you can carefully use lowest heat iron to press wrinkled area, but to avoid damage, you must put a thin cotton towel or somesuch over the fabric before ironing and only do this for a few seconds at at time. We have not used the hand-steamers so do not know if they are even appropriate for this. IF IN DOUBT, SEND TO PROFESSIONAL (rather than risk ruining a one-of-a-kind piece); Any pointers, please drop a line and we'll share them here.

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There is a wonderful web site we recently came across. It is well designed with abundant links. There are full pictures & a great deal of helpful information on kimono/obi, as well as other Japanese cultural things. This page is provided by a joint venture of MIT (Massachussets Intitute of Technology) & JP.NET. It is a very fine resource on things Japanese; Main Page is at:

http://web.mit.edu/jpnet/index.html

Glossary of Terms: We recently came across a nice reference site which has a handly list of definitions of many Japanese things; start here:

http://www.japanlink.co.jp/ka/home.html

(See pictures of sample shipments)

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