Mannequin kitsuke- Purple hikizuri with orange darari obi

So I'm trying again with this kimono.
A while ago I tried to pair this kimono and my black darari obi together and was disappointed with the results.

Read all about it here

I wanted to do some kimono-y before the baby arrives.

I knew I wouldn't be able to wear kimono myself and I'd been disappointed that I wasn't able to buy any of the maiko hikizuri and darari obi that have been on YJA auctions lately so I figured I needed to suck it up as I already own some lovely pieces that don't see daylight enough as it is.

This combo came to mind as it was the last hikizuri kitsuke I'd done and I thought to myself  "It would've been better with the orange obi"

So that's what I did.

And I think this ensemble looks pretty good, if I say so myself ;)

I've been working on getting the collar lower and obi higher.

Not quiet right but getting there.

I really like this photo, the colours of the obi are so vibrant.

Although badly stained this kimono really is beautiful.

The various shades of green and the ivy leaves changing colours is stunning.

The past times I tried to photograph this kimono I felt I couldn't capture the colours and feeling of the kimono just right so I'm glad these photos give you a better representation of its colour.

So this was the first darari obi I bought, purchased back in 2010.

I think it was from Ryu Japan, either just before or just after Shinei took over? I can't remember honestly.

I remember one thing that always bugged me was when it was sewn up, it didn't have the bottom bar underneath the mon.

So i unpicked it to see what was inside. Turns out it does have the bottom bar! And as you can also see from the above photo it has a nice dirty line where it was sewn up.

Mind you I unpicked it about 4 years ago but never sewed it back up... obviously I did for these photos though.

I've never cleaned an obi before but at some time I'd like to unpick it ( again) and try to clean that mark away and re-sew it so the bottom bar is visible.

Whether that actually ever happens I can't say.

I still think the obi is from a henshin studio, the unusal mon combined with the fact its only patterned on one side is... Odd.

It could be a legit maiko obi that was owned by a struggling okiya and this was a cost saving measure?

Who knows.

I have seen this pattern on two other maiko darari obi, one is white and gold and the other in black and gold.

Here is the white and gold version.

Here is the black version ( stunning!)

It gives me a tiny glimmer of hope that my obi is the real thing, but then its more likely that the pattern is just a popular one.

But I think the obi matches well with the kimono :)

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New purchases

Kimono wise I've hardly bought anything for myself this year, I suppose that's partially because once you've been collecting kimono for a few years generally you start to create a well balanced collection, one or two of everything.

I've bought a few dance programs, a few pre-ww2 Kamogawa and a couple 1970s Miyako and Kyo odori. I really need to make time to scan a few of those in.

So a couple of dance programs and also something special!
A few weeks ago on YJA there was a couple of maiko hikizuri up for auction ( also a few han'eri and one darari!)
I was incredibly lucky in those auctions.
I managed to snag a han'eri and a hikizuri!

The three han'eri that sold went cheaply, I think that's because most people were throwing the big money at the hikizuri and darari.
The han'eri has seen better days, it has heavily dirty with red marks... Perhaps it could be spot cleaned?
Has anyone had any experience cleaning embroidery?

The maiko hikizuri isn't in good condition either, it does have some slight discolouration on the body and some prominent stains on the front, nevertheless the actual design is beautiful, subtle and elegant.

Enough talk, photos!

Sorry for the lame photos, I would like to sew the collar up and dress up my mannequin later :)

Yeah I was really having a bad photo day huh? Blurry as...
Anyway, I tried to capture all the subtle shading on the leaves, I must seriously have a thing for autumn leaves on my kimono...
The combination of ivy and bamboo is a bit different, or at least I haven't seen it many times.
Bamboo is a pretty common theme on kimono as is ivy I spose but I guess I just don't see it as much.
Plus the purple background really makes the greens and reds pop :)

The han'eri is a senior maiko collar, my first, the others I have are more for younger maiko. But like I mentioned before it'll need a clean somehow, we'll see how that goes.
Because if I'm honest with myself it'll take me 4 months just to sew it onto a chikara-nuno/emon-nuki.
Poor time management skills? I gots them.

To top it off I'm going to make an ivy obidome!
It'll look all matchy-matchy like my waterlily ensemble
(In a good way I hope)

Which darari obi do you think I should use?
Black with gold ume
Orange with gold kiku and kiri
or the white and gold two piece obi

I personally think all would go ok, but the black would really make a strong impression (junior) or the white and gold for a more subtle look (senior).