Kimono de Jack Aus Winter Challenge

So the Kimono de Jack Aus group have started doing monthly challenges as its so difficult for kimono lovers to actually meet up, just a good reason to wear kimono really :)

The first challenge was your first kitsuke, but I never took photos of my kitsuke because I was so embarrassed for a long time... So I didn't participate.
The next ( and current) challenge is winter themed.
Its a great chance for me to finally wear a bare tree houmongi I bought from Shinei last year that just got stashed away and never worn.
Part of the challenge was to stack on the wintery accessories. I'm not really an accessory person so I don't think this kitsuke is a strong as it could've been.

I would've worn boots but I don't have a nice pair, so instead I froze my ankles off while taking photos XD!

I mentally had this kitsuke prepared for a few days, all the icy blue and green hues came together nicely.

The michiyuki is also something that I've had for years and never worn with kimono ( I've worn it with tights tho, as I've done with a couple of haori, its a great way to get more use from your items) So it was really good to get both of them worn.

Hendrix also photo-bombed the shoot :)

What do you think?

I have still been working on the obidome range, but its going slowly as resin doesn't work well in winter...

A pretty bunch of roses..

Yet more roses, I really like these ones, very fiddly as I need to do multiple colours and do multiple layers of resin but I think they turn out beautifully and worth the effort :)

Spider kiku, the white is exactly the same but the flash has washed out the details but the pink picked them up nicely.

I'm not sure what to call the top green bar obidome... I'd seen similar styles in jade/coral/ivory and was just coping that, a more mature, refined obidome than a lot of the bright flowers I've been doing.

Lastly another flower, I'm not sure what type of flower but it looks sweet, there is a part of the outer layer of petals missing though, so I don't know whether I'll actually use it.

What do you think of those styles?

On a related note, as we're moving at the start of July I have closed my Etsy shop as all my kimono stuff is packed away, it will be opening again mid July with all the above obidome plus obiage, obijime and han'eri to complete an outfit!

Obidome on Etsy!

You can find them in the obidome section in my shop: Kofuji Kimono.
I only put up a couple just to test the waters.
I've also put them very cheap until I work out what I'm going to use as the loops on the back.
Still having a lot of trouble with that.

I've also got some pretty new designs coming up:

Fishy! I love this little fish, I've also done a blue version and a white one with very light orange spots.

This one below looks a bit freaky because I haven't painted on his eye yet :)

Simple little rose. I think I'll also use this in kanzashi design ( when I get there)

Random leaves. Not the best photo for this one, sorry. I should've flipped it around to photograph it so you can see the detail better. 

Mega sale on ebay!

Just a quick post.
I've got a HEAP of things on ebay right now, most of them are also in my Etsy shop but there's a few different things.
I've put a handful of obidome up for auction too just to see if there's any interest in them.

Here are a few things up for auction now:

Real Geisha Real Women- Documentary by Peter MacIntosh and a short dvd with dances from the Kyo Odori and the Mizuekai.

Two KIE magazines.

Light pink kiku obidome. I need to photograph them better  :/

Gion Photo book, lots of pretty pictures! 

So please have a look if your interest at My eBay.

I'll try to post again soon, some of my other obidome designs are starting to look really good!

New obidome! (IMG Heavy!)

I've been working on some resin obidome lately!
I'm really excited about the whole idea and its been a tedious few months of trial and error so far but its starting to come together now :)

The hearts are made from a bought mould but everything else I've made the mould of myself so its been a long process.

I'm really excited with the two kiku one (red and pink) I think they came out beautifully! Its a bit more tricky though as I have to pour one colour first then once that's dry the second colour can go in.

The white peony is a bit difficult to see, I've mixed up an orange "coral" colour for the next try and hopefully the details come out better in that colour. 

On the back I've made my own "brackets" for the obijime to go through, wide enough to fit the standard 1.5cm obijime but I was wondering your thoughts on that.

Would you prefer the traditional bracket or perhaps a brooch pin or even some other type of clip so you can attach the obidome if you're already wearing the obijime?

I like the bracket idea but in practice they are really fiddly to make ( even though I duplicate them they still look totally different) but I think they're a must for the clear obidome *see that last photo with the clear heart with blue swirls.

I will also be working on smaller obidome to suit the thin obijime and some bigger, bolder styles for those who like the wide vintage Taisho look ( but that's a few months away, sorry!)

The other thing is sometime in the next three months I'll be moving again so that's going to stuff up my creative process, not that I can help that.
So please head over to my Etsy store Kofuji Kimono and see if there's anything you like, I'm doing a clean out of my kimono collection so I have less things to pack.
I'm hoping be selling some obidome in about a fortnight's time so please look out for them too!

Old kimono kitsuke! (haha lame title)

So inspiration struck again!
Although it's just gone autumn here of course this kitsuke isn't season appropriate, I'm pretty bad at that actually :/
Anyway, its still really hot here so I decided to do a ro kitsuke because I haven't done one this summer.
This kimono is one I've had for years, its ro with wisteria. Of course my wardrobe would entirely be made up of wisteria pieces if I could manage it :p
I've only worn this kimono once before, back in '09 for a staff party:

I've got a thing for ro, its such a beautiful fabric!

So here's what I came up with this time:

Sorry the photos are pretty crap, this was the best of the bunch.
Unfortunately I didn't get a clear shot of the obi area.
Again I've used my cream hakata obi, I really need to get some more, they're great!
I find that lately I've been drawn towards non-seasonal kimono pieces, perhaps because they can be worn whenever? I don't know...
Obi was tied with a biyosugata again, except this time it was really really tight! I had  to sneeze later and it was so difficult and kinda painful lol.
I'm still having trouble getting the obi to look nice and straight, also getting that "peak" at the top of the obi where it folds out, if that makes sense. Practice.... I know...

New kimono kitsuke

I don't buy all that much anymore, I've got more kimono than I'll ever need and some I haven't even worn so I've been hard on myself and said "no" to many things. However I've basically got no spring kimono! Or winter really for that matter, but summer and autumn I've got covered.

So I bought a plain-ish komon for Shinei. I don't buy much from them, mostly because I can't remember my password and the website is difficult to use, but no denying there are some lovely things on there.
Although its autumn here, this is a springy outfit (hopefully) everything is non-seasonal but the colours look spring to me.
What do you think?

Actually looking at the photos it could pass for a winter ensemble as the colours are quite icy.

Don't mind the hat either, it was the first thing I picked up to get my hair off my neck, I had some moles removed yesterday and my neck is really sore :( so that's the story behind the hat lol.\

I used a biyosugata to tie my obi today, I still haven't managed to use it with ease, but at least I managed to tie it on without throwing a hissy fit ( like I've done before lol) It actaully worked pretty well, but the waist part was very loose on me. Bit more practice perhaps... 

I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out today :)

Kimono de Jack Australia's first meet!

On Sunday was the Summer Japanese Festival down in Melbourne and the first KDJ Aus meet took place there!
Admittedly it was only the two of us but we handed out some flyers to people dressed in kimono and hopefully we can get some new people for the next event! Already the Facebook page has a few new likers :)

Just a small selection of photos, there's more on the KDJ Aus facebook page.

Was a good day, apart from being sunburnt to a crisp by the end of the day and nearly being blown away the rest of the time lol. Many people in yukata, some in proper kimono, some in shiny satin kimono, some in wa-loli, some in cosplay... some people were even just wearing haori over jeans or tights so it was good to see the variety :)

I think there will be another even planned soon so if you're interested please like the facebook page and keep watching!
My kitsuke wasn't great, I got changed in the toilets of a restaurant and my musubi got squished early on trying to move through the crowds... and it probably got really messy when I joined in the dance lol but it was fun!