Welcome to Gaia! ::

We've been growing slowly the past few weeks here, but it's nice to see new people joining!

My name's Rachel and I love anything and everything Japanese.
I've been fascinated with the culture for as long as I can remember and have wanted a Kimono pretty much since I first saw one.
I may not know all the names of all the items and tons of information about them, but I'm learning more everyday.
One day I hope to have a Kimono. Maybe purple since that's my favorite color. And REAL geta. Mine are not genuine. It's upsetting. D:

Anyone else feel like sharing? I check the guild forums regularly. (:

I don't know...my geta are a lot more comfortable than my zori. I wore my geta on Seijin no Hi this year (looked a bit silly with tabi, I'm sure, but Americans don't know any different and the thongs on my zori always kill me. x.x)

But yes, zori go with kimono, geta go with yukata. Also, zori are a bit like wedge heels, and give you a little bit of lift; it's much easier to walk in a kimono and zori than in a kimono and flats. (Been there. Yikes!)

I think my current plan is to get one kimono in every color. An expensive plan, but it gives my collecting a bit of direction. So far, I've got:

One furisode (green with black dip-dyed hem and sleeves and red susomawashi; designs are botan, ume, kiri, momiji, fuji all in a hanaguruma, gold flowing water)
One shiromuku (separate red lining; designs are tsuru, naturally)
One mofuku (definitely going to breathe life into it by turning it into a black houmongi; I want to give it blue designs with silver and gold)
One tsumugi (brown, purple and goldenrod striped; lining is purple and red)
Three haori:
-One blue, made from a retailored iromuji (you can still find two old mon on it); this one has been through the mill, but the owner didn't want to let it go. Pretty moth-eaten, but well-loved in its former lives.
-One white with black komon. Was never worn; the haorihimo were never tied, and the tassel ends are still wrapped in plastic.
-One dark teal with matsu designs in rinzu (I believe). Might as well be brand new, too; the haorihimo look like they were tied once.
One yukata (typical yukata colors: indigo and white; repeating block design of wavy lines, kiku and dots)
-One tourist kimono my grandmother bought me, which isn't as hideous as some are (salmon pink, heavy embroidered patterns of flowers and birds)
-One "Junoesque Vintage Yukata Japanese Haori Kimono with Obi". It's too bad, because I love the color...

And I will never have enough obi. Current count: 4! (one very jimi gold Fukuro obi (which my teacher would love to relieve me of), one red Nagoya obi with cute bamboo designs, and 2 hanhaba.)

I really love dressing in kimono...I wish I had more opportunities to wear my beauties.

No, I need to take more pictures of my babies, but my dorm room is...um. lol (And the pictures that I have of them right now are even worse...I took those pictures while I was at home over Christmas, and my house is a wreck. XD)

No, I haven't tried that with my zori...the only tools available to me right now are what my grandpa sent me off to college with, though. lol! I think it's mostly because my feet are so wide...I have trouble fitting into Western shoes, too.

My zori also have an annoying design...the hanao have 3 separate parts, so when I put them on, they tend to get wrapped around each other, which is uncomfortable, too.

I wanted to do that, but I want to ask Naomi if she minds first. And her baby is due.. uh.. yesterday XD So she's a little busy right now and may have to run off to the hospital any minute.

My screen name is Joseph Paul. IRL, I am female and my real name is Adrienne, and sadly, I cannot afford a Kimono. I'm almost 27 years old, which means I'm too old for a Furisode Kimono. crying crying crying

I'm very big, aka obese. I can only wear Kimono or Yukata that range from L - 2X. I do own a Yukata I got from Rising Sun Imports, which is blue and has a scene of Maiko-san walking along on a bridge. I'll provide a picture as soon as I get some AA Batteries and a Kimono Hanger.

I'm more of a cheater when it comes to Yukata dress-up. I prefer pre-tied Obi to the more traditional types of Obi. For the Kimono itself, I tend to cheat, again, by using an Eri Sugata Collar instead of a full Juban.

That's really it. I don't have many places to wear my Yukata, because I don't travel or go to many anime conventions. However, if my anime club goes to the Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. -- I will probably wear my Yukata then.

My main problem is my size. I'd have to get a Kimono, Furisode or not, that has hip size of more the 50 inches. I know I should lose weight, but I'm also dealing with other medical issues that make me big.

Next month, I plan to blow $100.00 for a Kimono Hanger, pre-tied Obi, Koshi-Himo, Velcro Datejime, and Yukata Underwear. If my anime club is able to do presentations on Japanese culture, as well as anime, I plan to do an interactive booth about Yukata.

Busy month for me... gonk gonk gonk

The Datejime is going to be placed on my waist after I've bloused the extra Yukata fabric over the Koshi-Himo. It's nowhere near my breasts, so I don't think it'll be too hot.

Besides, after that, it's the obi. I'm debating if I should pull out my Obi Ita and put it under my Obi.