Black and Mustard Yellow Sakura Kimono - Outfit 11

So you can create a bustle effect with a kimono but what about 18th century style dress?

If you ever watch Dangerous Liaisons (the one with Glenn Close) then you know the dresses I'm referring to, the ones with the wide hips.

Well with a bit of fluffing this is what you can achieve.

There is one thing about his look, it isn't flattering if you are wide already so I don't think this is one I will try on myself.

Since I want to emphasise on the wide hip part so once again I shortened the kimono and then divided all the extra material evenly to the side and created the arch shape.

I think this will be last time I will use this dress now. Maybe I should find an event to wear the thing.

Black and Mustard Yellow Sakura Kimono - Outfit 10

My chance to use my black corset has come.

Previously I couldn't use it because Miffy was too big for my corset. I never realised how much my corset reduced my waist! Anyway since I removed all the padding and juban from her I could set the waist measurements to the smallest setting and get on with the kitsuke!

The one thing I had to keep in mind was the use of additional ties. I do not think a human being could cope with having koshihimo and a corset wrapped tightly around their waist. So there is only a korin belt (around the chest) under the corset.

So you are wondering, if there is no koshihimo holding up the kimono, how did I arrange the skirt part? Simply, I used a elastic koshihimo to arrange the skirt, then put on the corset before pulling off the koshihimo.

Unfortunately once the corset is on you can't make re-arrangements easily hence the back doesn't look symmetrical but I think I can make it neater the next time.

This outfit give a silhouette that is more familiar for the West and thus is very flattering. Who doesn't look good in a corset.

Normally there would only be a 2-3 inch gap showing at the back but I wasn't about to crush Miffy, she has feelings you know!

Outfit

Dress - Same one as outfit 9.

Corset - Black Voller corset (can't remember which style).

Black and Mustard Yellow Sakura Kimono - Outfit 9

Time to dig out an old dress from my teens.

Yes this dress is 11 years old and I still haven't found an occasion to wear it until now. Okay I'm not wearing but I'm going to use it which is close enough.

My previous attempts to make a steampunk inspired kimono outfit left me wondering. What would the outfit look like if I could create a bigger bustle effect. hmmmmmmmm.........

Well it would look like this.

I thought it would be a shame to hide the dress under the kimono so like before, I pulled the kimono so you can see the lower half clearly.

Then I made the kimono collar low as well so you can see the opening at the front. You will also notice that the traditional white juban collar is missing. This is on purpose because for once I just wanted to have black against the kimono. However looking back the addition of the colour white wouldn't be bad although a red collar would be better to complement the obi-jime.

Now the bustle part. As I folded the kimono up in half at the waist, this gave me loads of fabric to play with. Therefore I pulled it all back to create this bustle.

This is much better then the previous attempt and you definitely at the big bum effect.

This side shot gives a nice clear view of the poofiness that is possible!

It would be a shame to ruin the look with a musubi that would deflate the bustle effect so I tied a tsunodashi variation with my obi. Its isn't the proper one because my obi is a bit short.

Anyway what do you think?

Outfit

Obi - Black ro nagoya.

Dress - Something brought a long time ago.

Obi Jime - Dusky pink

Black and Mustard Yellow Sakura Kimono - Outfit 8

Time to depart from the traditional way of wearing a kimono and try something different.

As my wedding is only 5 months away I have been pondering on what my wedding will look like because I have ordered a Victorian inspired gown. Then it got me thinking, how can I make my kimono more Victorian?

Rather then creating the usual oshashori just under the obi, I decided to use the full length of the kimono. However to create the Victorian look I utilised the excess length to create the tail end.

Of course this arrange would show-off your juban but I didn't want that look so I added my simple black drawstring skirt to preserve some modesty that a Victorian lady should have.

At the time, the only thing going through my head was to tie a fan-inspired musubi but what made me tie this I have no idea.

It is a little bit unstable but with an extra koshihimo it will be fine.

I think with a little bit of skirt support like a bustle, I think this look could be really something.

Outfit

Obi - Black ro nagoya obi

Skirt - Homemade long drawstring satin skirt.

Black and Mustard Yellow Sakura Kimono - Outfit 7

A couple of weeks ago, my friend was practising to put on a hakama on her dressform which made me think, why not try my plain navy blue hakama on the kimono?

The plain colouring of the hakama works well against the busy kimono.

It reminds me of the black trousers and colourful tops combo that I favour when I was working or going to a family occasion.

I teamed it with my lilac/pink hanhaba obi because the colour works well againts the navy blue and the subtle pinks on the kimono.

Of course we must not forget the rear view.

I like hakama because they can hide many kitsuke mistakes such as wonky hems and wrinkles around the bottom of the obi. Not to mention, you don't have to worry about your kimono flapping open and flashing your juban!

Due to the musubi you need to tie to secure the hakama, it does give you the big bum look which for some people is not attractive. However I like it because it creates a bustle effect which you see in Victorian attire and I love the Victorian era.

I would love to get a hakama with embroidery on the bottom but I'm worried that if I do then it wouldn't co-ordinated with my other items easily. Maybe I should just pin things on the bottom then.

Outfit

Obi - Lilac/Pink hanhaba obi

Hakama - Navy blue.