Saturday, February 14, 2015

Sawako Lilly's February Valentine's Day Kimono

Happy Valentine's Day! For this lovey dovey holiday and the month of February, Sawako Lilly's furisode (long sleeved kimono) is decorated with pink, red, white roses! 

Bara (roses) adorn the furisode panels and sleeves. Bara are not a traditional Japanese flower and you do not see that motif on ancient kimonos. They became more popular once Japan was introduced to the western world and it's symbolisms, but even today not many kimonos will feature bara as it's main flower, which I why I was so stunned and impressed when I received this one in doll size!

I love the embroidery details on the bara, as well as the surihaku (gold foil) around the borders of the stems and petals. The woven pattern of the fabric is not of roses and I don't know what it is called.

Bam! A half dozen bara to overwhelm and delight the senses! :D

Usually, the embroidery details are limited to the front panel and bottom of the kimono. It is unusual to see it on sleeves, though the surihaku gold leaf technique can be seen everywhere. Nonetheless it is understandable in this case because the lady who creates these recycles vintage kimono that can no longer be worn so it's very likely she used this panel for the sleeve since it was clean and the design lovely.

I have no idea what this flower is but it's really stunning! :O It really makes quite the statement when you hold up the sleeve and it's many straight lines on the petals as well as the basic white coloring provides a pleasant contrast to the red/pink bara.

A deep red shibori (polka dot dye method) obiage (scarf on top of the kimono) complements the colors of the furisode, while the green of the obi belt contrasts with it. A purple obijime finishes off the look and holds the obi belt in place.

Back of the obi. The musubi (obi belt knot) is tied in the fukura suzume (plump sparrow), one of the more common musubi to use with a formal furisode kimono.

More embroidered bara and mega sun flower on the back of the sleeves as well! There's no lack of romance and detailing on this furisode! ^_^

And even though the inside right panel is covered by the left panel so it's normally unseen, I love that there is still a fantastic, secret blossom inside only for the wearer to know. There are many elements like that with traditional Japanese attire where there is beauty and details put in places where people won't see normally. (Like wearing sexy lingerie though no one will see it? XD) It's what makes the culture so fascinating and interesting to study because you are always being surprised by beauty when you're not expecting it.

10 comments:

  1. Lovely garment and I enjoyed it much more with your excellent explanation of the details. Love the plump sparrow bow. I love sparrows and all of mine are plump from bird seed that I give them. Is the unknown flower perhaps something like a lotus?

    Ally from AGFMB

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    1. It could be a lotus Ally! I didn't think of that. Thank you for your kind comments and I loved hearing about your sparrows. ^_^ Plump sparrows are happy sparrows after all! :)

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  2. Exquisite! What a beautifully made kimono.

    It is hard to say for sure from the photos but to me it looks as if the fabric underlying the print is a diaper pattern (diamonds, with additional designs in the diamond frames) executed in damask (a satin weave which contrasts the shiny structure with its reverse, which is matte). Anyway, it's absolutely gorgeous!

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    1. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and for your sweet comments! :) The fabric is a rinzu silk, which is traditionally what is used for a furisode kimono, with the pattern woven in. I didn't realize that the diamon with a design inside is called a diaper pattern! :D I find that very hilarious for some reason and now I'm curious as to what it's called in Japanese and if it is similar! ^_^

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  3. Are these Kimonos that you show for sale?

    Our #4 is Korean ...so I am in the middle of finifhing her Hanbok ( that I designed for her) for New Years
    This is beautiful!

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    1. They are not for sale, at least for now. :) Perhaps one day Sawako Lilly will have too many kimono and I'll have to sell some to make room.

      That's fantastic and I admire your talent for creating a hanbok on a doll scale! The only hanbok I've seen for AG sized dolls is by Carpatina but I would love to own one for my dolls. ^_^

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  4. Lilly looks very pretty in this outfit! It's cool that it once was a human sized kimono.

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    1. Thank you! I agree, it's so interesting to think of who originally wore the kimono, why they picked that design and what kind of person they were. ^_^

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  5. It`s beautifully. Congratulations.

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