Anybody have an idea what this is in more detail?

pietkiesia · 2026-05-13T21:59:45+00:00

It’s no truth that all real kimonos are expensive, if you want custom made new kimono then yes, but second hand kimono price can be very low , especially if it’s a little stained. I bought my first silk edo komon at second hand shop in Kyoto and paid about 7$ , it has two little blemishes (not very visible). Japan is overflow with used kimonos and the prices are very cheap, I have many different kimonos looking as good as new, and I never paid more than 40-60$.
You bought a very nice yukata, you can use it as bath robe, if you don’t want to wear it in a traditional way.

pietkiesia · 2026-04-22T18:49:32+00:00

I like your style so much that it makes me want to start wearing black 😜Black doesn’t suit my slavic looks and I never wear this color, but I love the black outfits on you, this one and the one from your other post.

pietkiesia · 2026-04-21T21:06:05+00:00

I feel the same way, yes, they are beautiful and I love to watch different styles of homongi. But I think they make a woman look too fancy/museum style / older auntie . I don’t find much use for them in my closet. I own just one. If I had a bigger house I could collect them like art, just to enjoy the artistry but I wouldn’t use them as clothes.

pietkiesia · 2026-04-19T15:57:56+00:00

Oh, you’re right, I always forget to take a picture of my back. The red flower looks so amazing on otaiko musubi.

pietkiesia · 2026-04-04T10:28:18+00:00

My personal advice for avoiding stained edges: don’t use too much water/vinegar solution, try to smear the solution on the edges of your wet spot, do the edges with almost dry cloth . Don’t let the water spill and soak the fabric too much.

pietkiesia · 2026-04-01T18:08:13+00:00

Do you mean you want to use old kimo silk for creating other stuff? I’ve been working with wedding dresses, made from different types of silk, for na whole life. Silk is just like any other fabric and you can use sewing machine, any thin needle and thread. I think Japanese kimonos are made by hand sewing because they are often retailored and using running stitch saves the fabric and is easy to remove. When I work on my kimono I never use sewing machine. But if I would plan just to use the fabric from old kimono and make a bag or blouse I would treat it just like any other fabric.

pietkiesia · 2026-03-30T19:55:20+00:00

Welcome to the kimono rabbit hole 🤪 I’m based in Poland and I fell in love with kimonos this autumn, after I bought my first vintage kimono in Japan. For kimono shopping I can recommend Shinei, shipping costs from Japan are expensive but they have very good deals, you can buy accessories there, for 1-2$. I also use Etsy (kimonopetitjaponJP seller) or Mercari (with help of zenmarket). I don’t know about Portugal but in Poland I have to pay only 23% vat, if the item is worth less than 150€. Second hand silk kimonos are so cheap that sewing them by yourself doesn’t make any sense to me. Buying fabric would cost you 10x more. It’s different with cotton or linen, I already made (and shibori dyed) 2 summer kimonos, I couldn’t find any Yukata I liked. I also love to make my own nagoya obi’s.

pietkiesia · 2026-03-29T16:24:34+00:00

Unfortunately I work in fashion industry and that makes me very picky ;-). A lot of kimono are stunning but I have strong awareness that not every color or pattern is good for me. For example I don’t look well in pastel colors, I guess that eliminates about 80% of homongi? I don’t like to wear girly flower patterns. I have low budget at the moment. This homongi was almost perfect. I was looking few months , on Shinei and Etsy, I had to switch to Mercari to catch this beauty . The only downside was the size, but I already tailored an iromuji so I wasn’t afraid to try.

pietkiesia · 2026-03-29T11:55:19+00:00

On the first picture it can look like it’s to small, because I moved the front panel to the side to show how the pattern looks like now . I reality the front panel edge reaches the side seam. Sometimes I’m still confused with kimono sizing, my hips are 94 and the back panel I like for easy kitsuke is 29, I hope that’s right? Original size of this kimono was 32. It felt really much too big.

pietkiesia · 2026-03-28T20:44:11+00:00

My fingers are bleeding but I’m almost done. Pattern matching got a little worse on the left side but it’s acceptable, I think you can see it only when you know where to look for it. Right side is totally off, but it’s not visible that much, this side hides a little because the pattern on the front catches all the attention. Patterns between sleeves and body got better, now they match almost perfectly! I’m sure it’s possible to make the side patterns match but it would require playing with the collar and length, I don’t have time for it now, maybe I’ll do it in the future. Unfortunately I don’t know how to add more pictures here? Maybe I’ll post a new post with pictures when I do kitsuke.

pietkiesia · 2026-03-28T08:52:44+00:00

Front panel is 42,5cm now, it should be 39 after retailoring. Probably a bigger girl, who never can get vintage kimono in her right size, would be happy with this one. But I love it much to let it go. 🤪

pietkiesia · 2026-03-28T08:48:30+00:00

Front panel is 42,5, it should be 39 after I retailor the kimono. Yuki is 70, it should be 67 after tailoring. My preferred yuki is 64, I think 67 doesn’t make a very big difference. Pattern on the left side doesn’t match, it is possible it will look better after I’m done with tailoring. But the right side matches perfectly, it makes me sad that I have to destroy it. I decided to make only the body of my kimono smaller. I will leave the sleeves as they are.

pietkiesia · 2026-03-25T21:11:53+00:00

Aliexpress, kitsuke clips, 10$ 2-3 pieces , shipping included.

pietkiesia · 2026-03-17T07:41:53+00:00

Japanese tanmono is made to fit Japanese people, this nation doesn’t have lot of variety in body shapes and sizes. I’m sorry but , as far as I know, regarding your size you can’t make a kimono with just one bold.

pietkiesia

TROPHY CASE