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?

Sakkou Kanzashi, redux.

I'm not going to post a picture of it again 'cause I don't want to bore you to death, but I have a request.

For those of you who may be familiar, this is my sakkou kanzashi. I got it back at the end of 2009 during one of my last trips to Kyoto. At the time, two maiko (that I am aware of) had worn it/were wearing it during their sakkou period. After that this kanzashi seemed to disappear and I figured it the design had just run its natural course and had been replaced by new designs, never to be seen again.

And then...out of the blue...it popped up again this month!

I would love it if you folks could help me compile a list of the maiko who have worn this kanzashi design for sakkou. So far, the ones I know of are:

Mamechiho (November 2009)
Tsuruha (January 2012)
Kikuyu (December 2009)  (click the picture to get a bigger, clearer view)
Fukusuzu (May 2012)

Maiko who may have worn it (I'm looking for good confirmation photos):
Toshihana (when was her erikae? I found a picture posted in 2007 but it may be older)
Ayakazu (May 2010)
Takasuzu

There must have been more. The day I went to the shop and bought mine there was at least one other one on display, plus the one or two I knew of in use at the time, and obviously Tsuruha was able to get one three years later.

Any help is appreciated!

Merry Christmas, Mameshiba Style

For those unfamiliar with Mameshiba, they have their own website (easily found through Google) and people have posted the videos on YouTube as well. Basically, Mameshiba are little beans (mame) with dog (shiba) faces....or dogs that looks like beans, either way...and they pop up at random times to tell you trivia (mamechishiki). I find them adorable. Because of this, many people find ME odd :p

Anyway, odd or not, Merry Christmas, Merry Yule, Happy Hanukkah (a bit late I'm afraid), Happy Kwanzaa, and general greetings for a wonderful holiday season to everyone.

Friday Photo (a bit early!): Kanzashi Comparison

I made this photo nice and bit in the hopes that you could read the rule easily.

Since I'm going to be away this weekend for Thanksgiving I thought I would post the Friday Photo early.

On the left in this picture you see my largest formal non-maiko kanzashi, and on the right you see my sakkou kanzashi. For the record, I have other formal non-maiko kanzashi that are smaller than this one, and my other full-sized maiko kanzashi (my firework kanzashi) is about the same size as the sakkou one. The size difference is HUGE -- the maiko kanzashi is almost a solid three inches larger in diameter than the non-maiko kanzashi. To me they never really look that huge on maiko when I see pictures of real maiko wearing them...I think it's the hair, really. Maiko hair is just so huge the kanzashi doesn't look that big in comparison.

Anyway, I just thought that was kind of a fun picture. So if you're thinking of dressing as a maiko for Halloween or cosplay or just for fun, remember: The bigger the kanzashi the better, especially if you're wearing an authentic maiko hairstyle.

Friday Photo (a bit late): Sakkou Kanzashi

Folks who follow the maiko world got a couple of eyefuls of this kanzashi back in late 2009-early 2010, since this was the kanzashi worn by several of the maiko who debuted as geiko during that time -- including the famous Kikuyu and my personal favorite, Mamechiho.

For folks who don't follow the maiko and geiko world, sakkou is a special hairstyle worn by young maiko in the weeks leading up to their change from maiko to full geiko (geisha). Maiko typically wear kanzashi that vary according to season, with a new kanzashi set each month. But with sakkou they typically wear special kanzashi that aren't in a particularly seasonal design. Many sakkou kanzashi feature one or more cranes.

This particular kanzashi was on sale at Kazurasei when I went to Kyoto with my parents in December 2009. I had seen pictures of Kikuyu and Mamechiho wearing it and really wanted to get a look at one up close, maybe even buy one...and I did! The lady in the shop that day was pretty surprised that I recognized the kanzashi and knew the names of some of the people who had worn that style. Sadly, this particular kanzashi never got worn by a maiko, but it is still one of the style in use that year. I don't suppose anyone knows the name of any other maiko who wore this style?

We're still here.

Even though I haven't posted for over a month, I am in fact still here. I have just been super-busy lately dealing with a combination of graduate school, personal/family issues, and preparing to move back to the mainland soon. Hopefully I will be able to start posting for real again soon, maybe even this week. In the meantime, there's plenty to browse here, and also feel free to leave me comments on any posts. I'll answer questions ASAP if anyone has any to ask.

So You Want to Be a Geisha for Halloween (part 4B)

This is part 4B of my series on dressing as a geisha or maiko for Halloween (or any other costume-y occasion) and will wrap up the bit of the series dealing with substitutes for authentic items. You may also be interested in reading parts 1, 2, 3A, 3B, and 4A.

• Juban SUBSTITUTES: It’s kind of hard to substitute something for a juban. They’re rather essential parts of the ensemble, after all. If you can sew you might be able to make your own from scratch or you might be able to alter a premade juban to work properly. The most important thing is that the sleeves and the skirt from at least the knees down are the proper colors.

• Footwear SUBSTITUTES: Again, this is something for which there really isn’t a good substitute. That said, zori and tabi are kind of like han eri in that they are a regular part of kitsuke for anyone who practices it, so decent zori and tabi are easy to find. You can even get okobo on eBay. Fortunately you can “downgrade” into a cheaper category for footwear, i.e. maiko can wear zori instead of okobo and geisha can wear geta instead of zori. However, for the most authentic look, you really can’t get away with substituting something like flip-flops for zori. Tabi are also hard to substitute, though you may be able to use the less-formal stretch tabi instead of the super-formal and therefore somewhat more expensive variety. Google searches for both split-toe socks and tabi socks turned up results for both traditional Japanese tabi and Western socks with a tabi-style split toe. If you go the sock route, just make sure you only get the kind with a split between the big toe and the rest of the toe, not the kind that have separate little spaces for each toe.

• Kanzashi SUBSTITUTES: If you’re going for the geisha look, you might not even need a substitute, since nice and inexpensive combs are easy to obtain. If you do decide to try using a substitute, look for a larger comb that isn’t drowning in rhinestones. The maiko look is going to be much harder to find substitutes for, especially if you want an authentic look and especially if you want to remain seasonal. Part of this is because kanzashi for regular people aren’t always meant to be seasonal, and part of this is because maiko kanzashi are HUGE and even the largest meant for regular people aren’t anywhere near as big. That said, you could in fact substitute kanzashi appropriate for a furisode if you needed to (see, for example, many of the kanzashi on Maya Kanzashi). A large brooch might work well as a substitute for a kanoko dome. Just make sure you get a really really big one. You will also need a silver ougi kanzashi, which might be hard to find or make a substitute for, as well as some red shibori fabric or a reasonable substitute for use in the hair style. There will be slight variations on this if you should choose a style like ofuku or sakkou instead, but since wareshinobu is probably the easiest to fake I’ll leave it at that for now. Please note that maiko sometimes wear tortoise shell kanzashi for special events like their misedashi or Hassaku. Making substitutes for this look would be tough. If you are particularly crafty and use to working with things like resin you might be able to make your own. Wedding kanzashi sets might also provide a good (if expensive) substitute.

• Wig SUBSTITUTES: If you can’t or don’t want to buy one, your only other real option is to make your own. You can find instructions on how to do wareshinobu or takashimada around the internet. Consider checking someplace like Immortal Geisha for some directions. In some ways looking for a wig substitute for a maiko might wind up making you more authentic, since you can get a friend to help style your natural hair just like a real maiko instead of using a wig. You should be aware that wigs like this one or this one that basically look like a giant bun or some kind of Gibson Girl-esque style will not work for a proper maiko or geisha look.

• Makeup SUBSTITUTES: Your goal is to find something that will be opaque and matte without cracking or flaking. I have heard good things about Ben Nye and Mehron stage makeup for this purpose. You may be able to substitute regular Western cosmetics for some things, like colorfast lipsticks and certain blushes (for the pink), and things like black eyeliner and mascara are regular parts of geisha and maiko makeup anyway. If you want an even more complete list of things that make good substitutes, this thread on Immortal Geisha explains it all much better than I ever could.

• Accessory SUBSTITUTES: Again, this category is hard to substitute. Either you have a paper umbrella/parasol or you don’t. You have a white and red uchiwa or you don’t. The easiest substitution you can make is using a decorative fan in place of maiogi (dancing fan). You should be aware that buying a decorative fan instead of a maiogi isn’t really a great way to save money, though -- both types of fans average around $50 and it is possible to find cheaper or more expensive versions of both. If you’re going to spend the money it seems to me like you would be better off just getting the maiogi. That said, you might be able to find plain white “blank” fans (of either the decorative or maiogi variety) to decorate on your own, or if you want to try your hand at fan making you might be able to make a decent maiogi or uchiwa yourself. Note that a regular folding fan (sensu) of the kind used to fan yourself in hot weather really doesn’t work as a substitute in this case. Also note that, like I mentioned in part 3B, these items are nice to have but are not required for your costume.