Kitsuke Rensho

I got some really good Kitsuke Rensho (kimono dressing practice) in on Friday, November 11.

I recently purchased a young girl's kimono set, and wanted to practice kitsuke with it. The set came with a lot, from the shoes to hair decorations. However, it was incomplete in as much as it did not include a little girl. I don't own one of those (they're expensive), so I had to go about finding one to borrow. Call me picky, but I didn't wanna be messing with an ugly-ass little girl, so I needed to locate a pretty one. I borrowed Amber, who is lovely, from Nic and Lue. Here is Amber in my Tatami room, ready to start!

The first step in the kitsuke is to put on the shoes, but I did that out of order because I didn't want my Tatami to get damaged. Instead, I started with the nagajuban (underrobe) first. It comes with built-in himo (ties) and Amber is so skinny the ties went around her something like thirty times. I have more pictures of this part, but in all of them, my stripey underwear is hanging out and it looks kowaii (scary) so I'm not using any of them.

Now comes the kimono itself. Here I am clipping the collar of the kimono to the color of the nagajuban. It helps keep everything aligned, making it easier as I progress. Then I clipped a bunch of things, including Amber's hairdo. She didn't think it was as funny as I did, but she was a good sport.











If you look closely at the himo on the kimono, you can see a bit of embroidery. Not only does the stitching serve to hold the himo on, but it also is considered a protective talisman. Here's the kimono being tied shut and here it is tied.











Next comes the obi, which was pretty simple.
About this time, it started getting boring for Amber, I think.











Then you place the bow. I say place, because I have a two piece cheater bow, which is pre-tied. On that went. When the obiage went
on, there was much pulling and poking involved. Then the other scarf on the bottom. Then the big puffy obijime (cord)went on, too. What a trooper!











When I wore my kimono, the lady who dressed me showed me a very Japanese way of holding my hands. Amber did it easily and she looks very graceful.

アンバーチャンはきれいです！
Amber-chan wa kireii desu!
Miss Amber is pretty!

Then I railroaded Lue into letting me practice on her. I dressed Amber again (in her own kimono--one they purchased from me when I was working the Bazaar) and took some pictures.

Nic thought he could escape. Ha! Ha! Ha!
He tried looking stern, but I'm used to that, so I wasn't dissuaded.











And then we took a picture of everybody!





















Thanks to the Nannengas for letting me practice on them!