Aya's Opinions on Common Kimono Questions: I Have This Kimono I Want to Sell...

So, I've been gone for a while -- long enough that Blogger has made a ton of changes and I'm not sure how I feel about them. Eh, I think the old system was easier to navigate. But I'll figure this one out. Anyway, I was gone for a while for a whole host of reasons, but now I'm hoping to start posting again. Maybe not 1-2 times a week like I did before, when I was most active with this blog (I will run out of pictures and topics to talk about eventually, after all), but hopefully more than once every six months.

I need to go digging through my pictures and figure out what I haven't posted and talked about yet, but in the meantime, here's a written post to keep you occupied. As always, feel free to comment if you have questions or input.

Aya's Opinions on Common Kimono Questions: I Have This Kimono I Want to Sell...

As a kimono buyer, I have some fairly strong opinions on how sellers who wish to develop and maintain a good reputation should present their items for sale. However, there are plenty of people out there who only have one or two kimono (or items they think are kimono) and want to sell those items. Sometimes folks like that will wind up short-changing themselves by posting a lovely, high-quality piece with inaccurate labels, poor pictures, and terribly high or low starting prices, and as a result they won’t earn anywhere near what their kimono is truly worth. Other people will go in the opposite direction, overstating the value of a low-quality, casual, or badly-damaged piece, and trying to charge way too much for it. Here is my advice for people wanting to sell kimono.

1) EDUCATE YOURSELF. Take the time to research what kind of kimono you have -- assuming it really is a kimono, which is something the research process will help you figure out if you’re not sure. If you can’t figure out what you have on your own, don’t be afraid to find someone who might know and ask them. I’m happy to offer my thoughts on pictures or links to pictures you post in the comments here. Just be aware that I'm not a professional appraiser or anything like that.

2) Label accurately. Yes, labeling your item as a “geisha maiko wedding princess kimono furisode hikizuri antique” might bring in more views, but unless your item is actually a “geisha maiko wedding princess kimono furisode hikizuri antique,” you’re not doing yourself or potential buyers any favors by lying. If your item is just a komon, there is no shame in labeling it as a komon. A komon might be just what many buyers are looking for.

3) Take good pictures. I and other kimono buyers I know would like to see at least a back view with the kimono open (so the pattern can be seen), a close-up or two of the pattern, and pictures of any damages. It’s also a good idea to provide a picture of the inside of the kimono, because stains and discolorations on the lining might show up when the item is worn.

4) Be honest about damages. Mention anything like stains, discolorations, snags, holes, seams coming loose, areas where it seems like paint has worn off, and the like. Take photos of the damages and post them along with your other photos. You might want to consider copying sellers like Ichiroya who include a diagram showing where the damages are, and then show actual photos of damages with some kind of item to show the scale, like a ruler or a brightly-colored square of paper or fabric in a certain size. When choosing an item to show scale, try to use things that people across cultures can understand. A ruler with both inches and centimeters or a square of brightly-colored paper that you provide the measurements for (in both inches and centimeters or millimeters) are good choices because pretty much everyone can figure out how big 1cm/0.5inch square is. But not everybody knows how big the coins in your local currency are or how big that button from your button collection is.

5) Provide measurements. At the very least you should give the kimono length (shoulder to hem) and the length of the hem (total kimono width). You might also consider giving measurements like shoulder width and “wingspan,” the length from one hand hole to the other.

6) Put some effort into displaying your kimono. Ideally you would hang it on a kimono stand or kimono hanger, but that’s not possible for everyone. Which is fine. It just means you might have to do a little more work to find a good spot for your pictures. You’ll want to find a place where you can spread the kimono out a bit so people can see the pattern well (like in point #3), a place where the lighting is good, and most of all a place where the background is CLEAN (or at least not noticeably dirty!).

7) Use your own photos of items already in your possession. There has been some drama in the past about items being sold on eBay where the seller used pictures from elsewhere (e.g. pictures from someone else's sale of the item) as their pictures. To my knowledge that kind of thing is against the eBay terms of service, but you also need to be aware that experienced kimono shoppers can often recognize items that are being resold -- especially if you’re trying to sell something special, like a maiko or geisha item. Using your own pictures will go a long way towards putting everyone at ease about the authenticity and honesty of your sale.


8) Educate yourself some more. I recently bought a lovely shiromuku (white uchikake) that is in perfect condition (something that's almost impossible to find with shiromuku) for $15. Let that sink in for a second. Imperfect polyester shiromuku usually go for $50-150, depending on things like the extent of the damage and the reputation of the seller. A silk one, especially a silk one in good condition, can go for more. The seller claimed that mine was silk, and based on the feel of the fabric I'm inclined to believe her. How on earth did I get a kimono like that for so little? It's hard to find komon and yukata for that kind of price! My honest opinion is that the seller didn't do her research to see what kimono like hers usually sell for. She tried to sell it with the "buy it now" option twice, in both cases charging several hundred dollars more than kimono like hers usually sell for. I'm sure that drove more than a few potential buyers away. Obviously part of my winning $15 bid was sheer dumb luck -- the bidding started low, only a couple of other people bid, none of them bid very high amounts, etc. -- but I think that if this seller had started the bidding or "buy it now" sale of her kimono at a more reasonable price, she would have made more money off of it (just not from me -- I'm going back to school again this fall so I'm on a kimono-buying hiatus at the moment).

The moral of the story is that if you take the time to figure out what kind of kimono you have and then take the time to figure out how much kimono that are similar to your (in terms of type, condition, etc.) sell for, you can ask for a much more reasonable price to begin with. In my opinion, that increases the chance that you will successfully sell your kimono and make a reasonable amount of money off of it. Yes, you could be the lucky one who sells a yukata for $500. There are so many people out there who believe that they can only get a authentic kimono by spending thousands of dollars that it wouldn't surprise me if some sellers have luck selling their items for much more than they are really worth. But wouldn't it be better to ask a reasonable price to begin with?

To my readers, whether you only buy kimono, only sell kimono, or do a bit of each: What tips would you give an inexperienced kimono seller so they could make the best sale possible?

Friday Photo: Custom Summer Komon

I believe I may have mentioned my custom kimono before. This is one of them. It was the first one I ever had made, and I kind of stumbled into it by accident. See, shortly after arriving for my year in Japan back in 2009, I made my way to the city a few train stops over to go to the mall. And in said mall I discovered a small branch of the Sagami chain (I think it's a chain anyway) of kimono shops. They happened to be having a sale to get rid of the remains of their summer-weight fabrics, since we were about to enter fall, and it just so happened that they had enough of this fabric to make a kimono in my size. And that's how I wound up with my first custom kimono.

It's a kind of grayed-out shade of purple, with a nice pattern of white tendrils and leaves. For variety, some of the leaves are a very pale green or a brownish-peachey color (the two leaves along the seam near the middle of my second picture are examples, though the colors aren't terribly obvious here). The color is probably a bit too mature for me, seeing as it's rather dark and subdued and I'm only 27, but I like to brighten it up a bit with pink and yellow accessories. I usually wear this with my custom pink obi and the yellow obi age and obi jime I found to go with them.

Friday Photo (a few hours late): Iromuji

When I first got into kimono, I didn't really care much for iromuji. I mean come on, compared to other types of kimono, they're just so plain. One solid color, with the pattern -- if there even is one -- just woven into the fabric? How could that ever compare to a lively komon, an elegant houmongi, or a opulent furisode? Even the relatively staid kurotomesode (which I love, even if I haven't bought one yet) seemed more interesting in comparison. But after a while, iromuji started to grow on me. These days I really like the simple elegance of a nice iromuji and how versatile they are.

Friday Photo: Summer Tsukesage

No close-up shots of the pattern at the moment, I'm afraid. Blogger apparently hates my photos of this kimono and it took me forever just to get it to accept this one.

But anyway, today was quite a bit warmer than any other  day we've had all year and it made me think of summer. Most of my kimono are lined late fall - early spring pieces, but I have a few summer items, like this one. I believe it's a tsukesage based on where and how the pattern falls, but tsukesage are the toughest kimono for me to identify so I'm not entirely certain! It's a mostly-white kimono with areas of a lovely, summery lime green, and mid-to-late-summer flowers like pinks and bellflowers. And the best part? I grabbed it up for 1500 yen (less than $20 at the time) at a little shop in Nara.

Friday Photo: Yukata

I love yukata. Love love love them. And for some reason, it's much easier to find ready-made yukata in my size (or close to my size) than it is any other kind of kimono, even casual polyester ones. Yukata to me represent everything I know about summers in Japan -- the ridiculous heat and the humidity that makes everything cling to your skin, the heavy rains and awesome thunderstorms of the rainy season, the fireworks festivals, Tanabata and all the colorful streamers (and the fact that it happens twice!), the stalls of street food you see at festivals throughout the year. My first experience wearing kimono didn't involve a kimono at all, but rather involved the yukata-dressing class at the language school I attended on my first trip to Japan in 2007. Maybe I'm romanticizing yukata a little too much, but for me every yukata really does bring back a flood of happy memories -- even if it's just a picture of a yukata on the internet or in a magazine.

Aya’s Opinions on Common Kimono Questions: What’s a good kimono for a kimono newbie?

So you’re thinking about buying your first kimono. Congratulations! Buying your first kimono is pretty exciting. But there are so many options to choose from. What to buy first? What kind of kimono is best for someone new to kimono wearing?

This is one of those questions for which there is no real One Right Answers (hence why my answer is going in my opinions column). A lot of this is going to depend on the resources you have available, whether or not you can find a kimono in your size, whether or not this is going to be your only kimono, and whether or not you even intend to wear it at all. Now, if you don’t plan on wearing your kimono and you just want it for display or to say you own one, any kimono that fits within your budget is the perfect first kimono for you.

If you actually want to wear you kimono, my suggestion for a good first kimono is technically not even a kimono at all (though for the sake of this blog we’ll include it in the kimono category). I suggest starting with a yukata.

The pros of starting with a yukata include:

• Yukata are easy to care for. You can toss your yukata in the washing machine and it will most likely be fine. I do suggest washing it in cold water on the gentle cycle (or a short cycle if your machine doesn’t have a gentle setting) with a gentle detergent like Woolite, then hanging it to dry rather than putting it in the dryer. Just don’t hang it in direct sunlight.
• You can learn kitsuke basics with a yukata. The basic rules of kitsuke, like crossing your kimono left over right and making an ohashori on women’s kimono, apply to yukata as well.
• They are generally less expensive than kimono*.
• They require fewer accessories to be worn properly. All you need is a hanhaba obi, a kimono slip or acceptable substitute, a couple of ties to hold things together, an obi ita, and a pair of geta. 
• They are very casual, so you can get away with a lot of experimentation you might not be able to do on other kinds of kimono.  
• Though most of them are made to fit a typical smaller Japanese build, it is possible to find larger ones that will fit Western bodies and/or plus-size individuals. It can be difficult or even impossible to find very large kimono, particularly at the more formal end of the spectrum.
• You CAN dress your yukata up a bit by adding a juban and a Nagoya obi, obi age, and obi jime.

The cons of starting with a yukata include:

• You probably won’t learn how to put a kimono on over a juban and get the collars right.
• You probably won’t learn how to tie anything more complicated than the musubi (obi knots or bows) possible with a hanhaba obi. For example, you won’t get practice tying a Nagoya obi. Of course, both this and the point about the juban do not apply if you plan on dressing your yukata up at some point.
• Because yukata are so informal and bound to one particular season (summer), you won’t be able to do much with it even if you do dress it up with a juban and Nagoya obi. If you want something more formal or more appropriate for another season, you might be better off with a komon or even an iromuji as your first kimono.

But the most important factor in picking your first kimono is that you pick something you really love and will enjoy wearing.


* A designer yukata set (yes, there is such a thing as designer yukata) can cost several hundred dollars. However, there are plenty of yukata out there for much more  reasonable prices that are just as pretty as designer yukata, so you shouldn't have a problem finding a set that suits your taste and your wallet.

Photo Friday: Houmongi

Many of my kimono don't really have much of a story attached to them. They were just really pretty and I decided to buy them (or ask for them as a birthday or holiday present). This particular kimono is one of those cases. I got this one as a birthday gift several years ago after seeing it on Ichiroya and falling in love with the motif of Heian nobles. It was in absolutely perfect condition, and though nothing was ever said about where it came from I always kind of figured it never got used -- perhaps it was stock from a store that closed, as were many of the accessories offered for sale around the same time. The design appears to be woven in rather than dyed, painted, or embroidered, and it has design done in gold on the inside of the left panel (last picture). This is one of my favorite kimono, and so far is my only houmongi.

Friday Photo: Furisode

Just a couple of pictures and a story to get this blog rolling. This is a lovely green furisode I bought in Kyoto during my trip there in April 2009. And yes, it has a story!

I have been to Japan a grand total of three times so far. The first trip in the summer of 2007 also saw the beginning of my kimono collection, when I bought my first several pieces (seriously, they covered my bed at home when I laid them out after returning home). I often went to Nagoya on the weekends, and discovered a street near the Uso Kannon shrine filled to bursting with all kinds of second-hand shops, including at least two kimono shops. Before leaving Aichi prefecture for my grand tour through the rest of the country, I made one final trip to Nagoya to visit the kimono shops and see if an item I had previously wanted to buy -- a lovely iro-uchikake (colored wedding kimono) -- but had been short on cash for was still there. The uchikake was still there, but I decided it was too heavy to carry around or ship home and it didn't really interest me all that much anyway*. I wandered into the rest of the shop to see if there was anything else I wanted, and there it was. A gorgeous, deep-green furisode with red, white, and yellow camellias on it. It was perfect, too, not a snag or stain anywhere. But it was $200 or so, the shop didn't take credit cards, and I didn't have the cash for it, so I had to let it go.

Fast-forward to April 2009. My collection had grown substantially in the nearly two years since that visit to Nagoya. I had several other furisode, my iro-uchikake, my awesome houmongi (which you will see later!), more yukata than you can shake a sensu at...but I had never really forgotten about the green camellia furisode, and was still on the hunt for one in that lovely shade of green. I wandered in to the Chicago Harajuku shop on Teramachi-dori and went upstairs to the second level, where they keep the kimono, and began looking around. I found this one with the other furisode near the stairs. It was pretty shocking, really, since it's tough to find kimono that look so much alike. Granted that there are some small differences, but they're similar enough that I felt like it was fate for me to find that green furisode in Kyoto, and bought it immediately.

So now I have my lovely green camellia furisode, and I hope the green camellia furisode from Nagoya went to a loving home.



* This turned out to be a good thing because several months later, I found the iro-uchikake I currently own, and have never once regretted it. In fact, in the four years between buying that uchikake and now, I have only seen one other iro- uchikake I would even remotely consider buying.