I Would Love to Wear a Kimono... and

 An “Obi”  (not to be confused with the lovely Obi Wan Kinobi, picture thanks to videogamesblogger.com)

is a word that refers to various Japanese belts and sashes used for formal kimonos to martial arts uniforms.
Obi’s worn with kimonos; their function is to secure the robe as well as to decorate.

An obi for a mans kimono is often rectangular and darkly coloured whereas an obi for a woman’s kimono is much wider and longer and is tied under the bust and wrapped around the waist more times. The Yellow butterfly above is from  http://www.jlifeinternational.com/




Obis are also worn with hakama, a type of skirt worn by men with kimonos, and yukata robes, a light summer kimono worn by men and women alike.

The term kimono refers to a form of traditional dress for Japanese men, women and children. Dating back to the 17th century, a kimono is a floor-length garment with square-cut sleeves.
Whether you are attending a Japanese-themed party or want to learn more about Japanese culture, be sure to familiarize yourself with the proper technique for wearing a kimono and the accessories that go with it.

For example never drape the right side of the kimono over the left. This way of wearing a kimono is used only when preparing a corpse for burial. Pictures from www.wikipedia.org/

Read more: How to Wear a Japanese Kimono

http://www.ehow.com/

· Dōura upper lining on a woman's kimono

· Eri collar
· Fuki hem guard
· Furi sleeve below the armhole
· Maemigoro front main panel:excluding sleeves.

Covering portion of the other side of the back maemigoro is divided into "right maemigoro" and "left maemigoro"

· Miyatsukuchi opening under the sleeve
· Okumi front inside panel situated on the front edge of the left and right, excluding the sleeve of a kimono,Until the collar, down to the bottom of the dress goes, up and down part of the strip of cloth.Have sewn the front body.it is also called
· Sode sleeve
· Sodeguchi sleeve opening
· Sodetsuke kimono armhole
· Susomawashi lower lining
· Tamoto sleeve pouch
· Tomoeri over-collar (collar protector)
· Uraeri inner collar
· Ushiromigoro back main panel:excluding sleeves,

I was having a browse on etsy and found these lovely items, a kimono a beautiful flower and an obi belt by the following sellers here on etsy

http://www.etsy.com/shop/flowersun
http://www.etsy.com/shop/PetalMix

http://www.etsy.com/shop/gogovintage

Other  sites to see more examples

http://www.thekimonocompany.co.uk/

http://www.jlifeinternational.com/

And sorry but I could not resist this!  here is a picture of my son and what I think his expression would be like if I wore e a kimono around the house.  I really don't know how he took this shot!, but there seems to be a wire attached to his head! Hard to believe that he is actually quite a  handsome lad: ) Although I can't quite see me mastering the art of carrying lumps of wood to keep the fire going if I were dressed in a kimono but perhaps just for lounging would be great. Think I might go and have a look at a few and treat myself and if I do I will let you see it........later.