Welcome to Gaia! ::

I bought this on my birthday trip to Colorado, and couldn't wait to wear it. Some of you may have seen my musings on it in the "I won" thread - it's a strange hybrid of kurotomesode and houmongi. At first glance, it looks like a subdued kurotomesode, and that is where it was hanging at the kimono showroom. I was going to skip over the whole rack, having no real need for more formal items, but I can never pass up a good ogle. While I was rummaging, I noticed something a bit out of the ordinary about this particular piece – there were designs on the sleeves!

For the ensemble, I was inspired by the subdued, chic look of geiko in their formal outfits. I paired it up with a warm gold fukuro obi I received as a birthday gift, a white obiage with red shibori clouds, a green and gold obijime to highlight the green in the kimono. Underneath it all I wore a red juban with a lushly textured white and silver haneri. I also put my pearl necklace on, since it was a birthday gift from my best friend, and I felt it was subtle and classy enough not to look out of place.











More images, and close-ups of the kimono, in my blog:
http://moonblossom.net/blog/?p=124