Just Arrived #1

Hello Everyone,

I got some stuff in the mail last week! Actually, I'm *trying* to not buy as much kimono and obi, since I already have sooooo many, but we all know how THAT goes. Instead, I'm trying to focus on more accessories, because there are never enough of those, and they take up way less space!

This kimono doesn't look like much from far away, but boy is it gorgeous up close! Just look at the close up photos. The flowers on there are very season appropriate right now, so I think I'll wear this kimono on Saturday to Japan Day in Cambridge.

Don't ask me why I had to get this BOY'S seaman hat, but I just had to, ok? I can't stay away from cute hats, and I figured I could use it in a pin-up outfit, or nautical inspired kimono outfit. Plus, it's L size, and fits me pretty well. Who cares that it's boy's hat, right?

Oh yeah, I did say that I am trying to buy more accessories. Of course all these obijime are much more gorgeous in life, and the blue one is actually a royal purple. I'm really happy with them.

And, the prize of the whole bunch is this LL silk/synthetic blend GREEN men's kimono! When I saw Shinei listed it, I was prepared to get it no matter what, because my husband loves green, and always wanted a dark green kimono.

Have you gotten anything in the mail lately? :)

~ Lyuba

Leap Day Kitsuke

Hello Everyone,

I have to tell you that I REALLY wanted to wear kimono today, because how many times do you get to do anything on February 29th?! Not often enough! I didn't think I would have time to put it on before going to class because my day kinda went downhill right before class, but at the end I thought if I don't wear kimono, I will regret it a lot and so I've made time!

My best friend from Florida sent me this kimono few weeks ago, but I didn't get a chance to wear it until today. Let's just say that it was love at first sight for me, so she knows me TOO well :) And since today was the last day of February, so the last day to wear ume, right? Even if not, to me it feels like it's the last day, since it got so warm here in the last week. I'm ready to get into full spring mode people! :)

Originally I was going to wear a totally different obi with this outfit, but it turned out unwearable :( because it had a big dirt stain (or something) that I thought would be hidden when worn... but it wasn't :( So I choose this obi as Plan B, although if I had more time to actually think of anything, I would have probably picked something different. At first I thought that red obiage will match, since I was wearing my red haneri and red tabi, but it looked wrong to me, so I changed it. The other obiage I picked looks better, but still not good enough in my opinion. Either way, I'm just happy that I got to wear kimono on the Leap Day, and I've decided to not worry about accessories too much. I would change the obijime too, I think a darker obijime and lighter obiage would balance this outfit out nicely.

Before

After

You too can power walk in kimono! 

Did you do anything special today?

~ Lyuba

P.S. DID you notice that I've went TRADITIONAL for this outfit?! :)

Spring is in the air!

Hello Everyone,

Can you believe that less than two weeks ago there was snow on the ground? Looking outside, I can't believe it either! I didn't wear kimono at all last week, because I got a FUGLY cold sore on my lip and I didn't want anything to do with cameras, so this week is my make up week.

Originally I wanted to go with all red and pink ensemble, but then mom just had to go and buy me this scarf and I just had to receive it couple of day ago. And this scarf just had to be so cool and squishy and pretty, that I just had to wear it. In order to tie the whole outfit together, I kept the blue haneri and added my light blue obiage. Instead of obijime, I used two think belts that I've bought in one of the high street stores, I believe H&M. I need to get back and see if they have some other ones with cute buckles, because these belts work like a charm. If you think of using belts for obijime, remember to buy at least a size larger than you would normally get, because with all the padding and obi, you will be larger. Or better yet, go shopping in kimono, so you can try them right there.

It was so nice and warm out, that I've decided to completely go with the spring theme and wear my pink lace tabi with shoes (not boots!). Usually, I don't like when bare leg is showing while wearing kimono, but I think the look works with the socks. Now I need to get myself some more cute lace socks.

I attempted to do a tsunodashi musubi for the first time. I've used my one and only chuya obi, which is just too gorgeous for its own good. It is actually very bright and vibrant in real life, but I think this kimono tones it down in pictures. I need to wear it with a plain kimono, and let it shine on its own! My husband took this picture so I could see how I did, since we don't have a second mirror in the house. I fixed it afterwords, so don't worry, I didn't go out all crooked like that. For my first time, I don't think it was such a bad result, although it's not as puffy as it supposed to be on the bottom. Is is bad that I don't really care that it was pretty flat? I've decided not to worry too much that it didn't turn out, otherwise I wouldn't have left the house at all. It stayed together and didn't fall apart, and I think I figured out what I could do differently next time to make it puffier.

Have spring gotten to your area yet?

~ Lyuba

So not dressed for the weather!

Hello Everyone,

Last Saturday my friend and I went to a Sweetheart Bazaar at the local elementary school. While the bazaar itself was nothing big, it was a perfect opportunity to wear kimono! Few days before I posted this coordination, and it's the same as what I attempted to wear on the day.

As you can see, this doesn't look like what I had in mind. Allow me to explain. I honestly started out with the original coordination, but while I was waiting for my friend to come over I tried to take photos. While going outside I've discovered that I'm cold, and that I don't like they way I look. I wasn't too worried about being cold, because I wasn't going to spend much time outside, but at the same time I still wanted to be more comfortable.

So here is the original coordination, and yes I look like a total dolt. In my defense, the camera and I were not getting along at that moment.

I went back inside and changed my hat and the scarf. I actually like this coordination the most, but I was still cold!

Still not happy, I changed the gloves to my blue ones, which reach all the way past my elbows! It felt like I was wearing a sweater in reverse, and guess what? I was much warmer just because of the gloves! It's amazing what covering your arms does, because they end up pretty exposed from the under-arm openings in the kimono. I also grabbed the brown hat. At the end I ended up wearing this coordination, because my friend showed up right at the same time and I left in whatever I was wearing.

I'm pretty happy with the way my obiage turned out. Actually there are two obiage, twisted together and laid one on top of another to get that braided effect.

Just for fun, here is an image from my Tumblr. It's nice when designers and I get the same idea, isn't it? :)

Which is your favorite coordination out of three?

~ Lyuba

Japanese themed events in East Anglia

Hello Everyone, 


It might seem like there is never anything going on in East Anglia that is Japanese related, but it is not true. There are surprisingly a large amount of things happening, but I don't go to them mostly because of the traveling. Sure it's not far, but when there is no place to park... well there is no reason to go. And I can't even take Park and Ride because the events either happen on Sunday (when some P&R is not open), or late in the evenings (when P&R shuts down pretty early in the evening). 


However, there are two events that are happening in March that I think I will go too, and in hopes that some of my followers are local to East Anglia, I'm posting a call for anyone who would want to go there too and meet up with me. 


Too Kawaii: The Power of the Super Cute


When: March 9, 2012 (Friday)
Where: Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Nowrich
Time: 11-4:30pm
Price: £10, booking essential and probably should be done ASAP, as spaces are limited. To book, call 01603 593199.
More information: Here and here. 

Japan Day 


When: March 10, 2012
Where: Kaetsu Educational & Cultural Centre, Cambridge. 
Time: 12:30
Price: Free
More information: Here. 


I've actually went to this event last year, and I'm interested to see how different this year will be. I can tell that they have a lot more things going on this year, so I'm hoping it will be a lot more fun too.