Tsuke obi gallore

Hello Everyone,

For the past couple of weeks I've been on a serious reversible tsuke obi kick. It all started with this obi right here, which April gave me last year because she would never wear it. It is a reversible tsuke obi, the other side is identical in design, except the fabric is a brighter/darker red. The moment I saw it, I had the wheels turning in my head about making one of these myself. Of course, that's easier said than done, because it took me over a year to actually do anything!

The first obi I've made is the one I wore to October's Anniversary Kimono de Jack (Bad, bad Lyuba didn't update her own blog, but you can see more photos at the official KDJ blog).

Below you can see two sides of the obi. While making tsuke obi is not exactly a rocket science, I still had to figure out the best way to do things at this point, and let's just say this obi left a LOT to be desired. Thankfully, you can't really tell when it's worn, but I KNOW it and it bothers me.

Few weeks ago I've decided that  I need to have an obi with strawberries in honor of my blog's name, Strawberry Kimono. Here is the result:

Next, I've been quietly obsessing over the Union Jack obi that I've seen in Kimono Hime #10. The actual obi is made by Modern Antenna (the brand that makes me re-think my love for Mamechiyo Modern. While I still love the style of Mamechiyo, I much prefer the actual kimono and obi from Modern Antenna). Well, the original obi is sold out now, but it cost 58,800 yen when it was on sale, or $760 according to my handy-dandy currency converter. Yeah, so NOT happening no matter how much I love the obi.

Instead, I've decided that I can make my own version of the obi and set out to search for the appropriate fabric. I didn't actually find any fabric online, but I did came across jut the perfect size Union Jack fabric at one of my local stores! I went  home and made two obi which you can see below (only three photos, because Union Jack is on both of them).

I tried to make the obi as close to the "original" as I could, but I will probably not do it again. Instead I will just use the Union Jack fabric all the way, unless I find red fabric that matches the red on the Union Jack perfectly. The problem I have with this obi is that reds don't match. It's not a big deal in the long run, but it bothers me because I know it doesn't match. On the bright side, I've finally figured out the perfect amount of interfacing to use!

Here is this obi in action.

And here is a sneak peak of two obi that I've made in the past 2 days. I'm not showing the whole thing because I will put these up in my Etsy store next week! You're right, one of them is a Valentine's Day themed obi!

What do you think about my tsuke obi ideas? I would love to know what you think about fabric combos too.

~ Lyuba

Cambridge in Kimono January 2012

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday I went to Cambridge with my husband and friends. We didn't do much, other than walking around and enjoying the nice crisp weather. One good thing about UK is the weather, which most of the time is perfect for kimono wearing! I'm dreading the time when we get back to US and get something like.... NEW MEXICO or VEGAS! (Ok, maybe not, and I'm thinking the worst case scenario, but I really don't want to go to a place where it's HOT all the time).

The central element of this coordination was my reversible nagoya tsuke obi. I wore the bunny side not long ago, so yesterday I wanted to wear the Union Jack side. Originally I was going to pair it up with a different kimono, but, as it turned out, the juban sleeves were too long and so instead of changing the juban, I changed the kimono! :)

This vintage blue kimono is interesting because the lining of the sleeves is red, but lining at the bottom of kimono is yellow. Talk about fun. In order to play up the lining color at the bottom, I choose a mustard yellow obiage. The obijime are pretty plain, one is light pink, and another is off-white, but they are the ones I use when I want to put an obidome-brooch on, because once crisscrossed, they hold the brooch pretty well in place. I wish this shot was taken from the other side, because this obiage has some gorgeous embroidery, but it's not visible in this shot.

I also wore my favorite red boots which matched my new red gloves perfectly. I could have worn a red hat too (and I only have like 5 of them, if not more), but I felt that blue will be a better choice. The only thing I didn't want to really think about was the haneri, because I kept the same one. Maybe it could be better, but it also mean that I would need to sew on a new one. I kinda like this haneri, and want to wear it some more before I change it, so for now it will match everything, because I said so! :)

We came across this cute sofa in one of the dressing rooms, so of course I had to take photos! :)

My faithful pink Harajuku Lovers bag, which goes with me everywhere, because it has kimono girls on it! I don't even care if the color doesn't match. Kimono girls design matches EVERYTHING!

EPIC kimono shot! :)

I'm thinking I'll wear this obi again, with the kimono I originally intended to wear it, before sending it off to Florida. What do you think?

~ Lyuba

P.S. If you want to see all the photos from the day, like my Facebook page. I will be posting all of my kimono photos there from now on.

Kimono Challenge Tag #8

My dream kitsuke items...


Oh there are so many of them. Mostly I want the shoes and various accessories, but I don't really have any saved photos of them. I tend to not save photos of stuff I can't get, since I don't see a point in looking at those photos and only wish, wish, wish. I do save photos of styles or coordinations that I like, and I guess those could be my dream items too. 

I'm pretty sure that's the same kimono as in Kimono Hime coordination haha :) 

What are your dream kitsuke items? 


~ Lyuba


1. How did you discover and got into kimono? 
2. Your dearest kimono item(s).
3. Your most used kimono item(s) (not counting jubans, datejimes etc.).
4. Your least used kimono item(s).
5. Your favourite coordination(s) so far.
6. What do you like and don't like about kimono. 
7. Kimono confessions. Did you know that... 
8. Your dream kitsuke items (or at least items you really really want but can't get for whatever reason).
9. Your biggest kimono fears. 
10. Your biggest kimono inspiration. 
11. Your kimono collection. 
12. The evolution of your kitsuke.
13. Your special kimono memory.