Fabulous level of explanation and detail. There was a Rotary exchange student from Japan at Nelson Bay High in NSW when I was teaching there in 1986. At a Rotary function at which she had to speak - and so she was dressed formally in a kimono - one of the wives of the important male Rotary members spilt a glass of orange juice over her kimono! Years later in Japan - she explained to me that she had had to send it back to Japan for careful unpicking and repair. And a kind of severe tongue-lashing from her mother ensued - even when clearly it was something way beyond her control! The woman who spilt the orange juice could have benefited by reading your words - though she did say "Sorry" at the time.
Oh, no, orange juice!!! Nightmarish... I feel so sorry for her, and especially her mother because I know how expensive and labor intensive it is for repairing.
Very entertaining and informative!
Cosign. Loved it. Killing it. But dangerous, because now I’m interested in kimono and can feel my wallet’s future agonies
Hahaha! Join the club!
Thank you for reading!
A beautiful and clear description of the subtle differences in kimono, Hiroko. A very educational and enjoyable read.
I am very curious about what happened to the rained on, and likely quite expensive, kimono…
Here's to hoping it was a costume and not really silk!
I recall reading somewhere that the focus on authenticity extended to the clothing. Let’s indeed hope it was not real silk.
Fabulous level of explanation and detail. There was a Rotary exchange student from Japan at Nelson Bay High in NSW when I was teaching there in 1986. At a Rotary function at which she had to speak - and so she was dressed formally in a kimono - one of the wives of the important male Rotary members spilt a glass of orange juice over her kimono! Years later in Japan - she explained to me that she had had to send it back to Japan for careful unpicking and repair. And a kind of severe tongue-lashing from her mother ensued - even when clearly it was something way beyond her control! The woman who spilt the orange juice could have benefited by reading your words - though she did say "Sorry" at the time.
Oh, no, orange juice!!! Nightmarish... I feel so sorry for her, and especially her mother because I know how expensive and labor intensive it is for repairing.
Quite educational! I’m intrigued by the role clothes play in history.