Japanese Kimono

Posts Tagged ‘obi’

Below is a chart of different types of obi and specifications. Different types of obi are compared by average length, width and occasions worn.

Maru Obi

Width	Length	Occasion worn
32 cm	420 cm	Formal, ceremonial, weddings

Fukuro Obi

Width	Length	Occasion worn
30 cm	420 cm	Formal, ceremonial (less formal than the Maru obi)

Nagoya obi

Width	Length	Occasion worn
30 cm	360 cm	Casual, in town

Fukuro Nagoya obi

Width	Length	Occasion worn
30 cm	360 cm	Traveling, casual

Odori obi

Width	Length	Occasion worn
31 cm	450 cm	Ceremonial in Odori

Haraawase obi

Width	Length	Occasion worn
31 cm	420 cm	Occasions other than ceremonial or formal

Hotoe obi

Width	Length	Occasion worn
30 cm 23 cm 15 cm	390 cm 320 cm 320 cm	Traveling, summer festival, casual

HanHaba obi

Width	Length	Occasion worn
15 cm	320-360 cm	Casual and children's wear

Question: where can i get a traditonal japanese kimono?

and and tell where to get the obi or yutaka, those eri-sugata, white tabi socks, koshi-himo belt, date-jime belt, and those sandals.

Answer: For kimono, I would suggest Ichiroya, Yamatoku, Kimono Lily, or Ryu Japan. Most of their pieces are second-hand and they're all very good at highlighting flaws, and their prices are reasonable for what you're getting. They usually have a selection of various accessories as well, and sometimes they also carry yukata. However, yukata aren't in season right now so the only yukata left on those sights are the leftovers from the summer. They should start getting new ones around April or May in preparation for summer. Ichiroya often has second-hand yukata as well.

You can also get brand-new yukata from Kimono Market Sakura. They also sell polyester komon, some simple two-piece juban and slips, and hanhaba obi. Jshoppers.com sells komon and in the summer they have yukata and the appropriate accessories. Bokunan-do has some kimon and yukata, but you want to be careful because a lot of their things are for the stage performances. You can buy brand-new yukata, kimono, and accessories of all kind from Rakuten, though I'm not sure how the selection of yukata would be right now. You can also find geta and zori (those would be your sandals and you have to be careful because ALL kimono accessories, including footwear, must match the kimono in terms of formality and season) on those sites.

You CAN look on eBay, but I wouldn't suggest it unless you really know what you're looking for and have a good eye for when something is worth the price or not. If you do go on eBay, I would suggest avoiding sellers who don't give you many detailed pictures of the item. You don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a kimono that turns out to be unwearable, since it wounds like your goal is to actually wear kimono.

How to tie an OBI on a Kimono