by: Brian Russman
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If you have ever seen a kimono in movies or maybe even in real life, you probably think it is a colorful dress (at least if we talk about women traditional clothes) with long sleeves and various patterns. There is surprisingly little details on what Japanese traditional clothes really are despite the fact we have access to seemingly everything we could only think of. We can easily buy whatever dress we want from the comfort of our homes, but when it comes to kimonos we often find ourselves scratching our heads in confusion. What is a real kimono? Where to buy quality Japanese clothes online?
First of all, the word "kimono" means "clothes" in Japanese and has two sub-categories - so-called “yofuku” and “wafuk”u. The first literally means "western clothes" and represents what we are all used to putting on ourselves, while the latter is what we all call "kimono" or, literally, "Japanese clothes". And there are many types of them.
Let us take “furisode” as an example first. A furisode is exactly what you have in mind when you imagine a kimono for women. The name means "long sleeves" and it is distinguishing feature is, as you could already guess, long sleeves and colorful patterns. They are not particularly cheap. The price can go up all the way to several thousand dollars, and even an ordinary one will cost several hundreds at least. Unlike other Japanese traditional clothes, they are quite difficult to put on and take care of, which is why they are worn only on special occasions like the Coming of Age ceremony.
There are also casual kimonos, like jimbeis for men or yukatas that can be worn by both sexes. Both jimbeis and yukatas are very comfortable and light, suitable for wearing every day, and significantly cheaper than their more luxurious dress discussed above. If you absolutely need a kimono, but a furisode is too much of an investment, a jimbei or yukata are your choice. Besides, just as with other Japanese traditional clothes, not many will be able to tell the difference.
The list of clothes could really go on and on, but I do not mean to bore anyone. Rather than discussing the types of Japanese traditional clothes, let me answer one more common question: where to buy a good kimono? It shouldn't come as a surprise that most of what you can buy outside the motherland of kimonos is a low quality fake that are likely to fall apart after the very first laundry. Fortunately, with emergence of the Internet, the world shrank so much, that borders, both geographical and cultural, are not so distinct anymore.
If you are on short terms with the Japanese language, you obviously should not have any problems at all. If not, I can recommend Japanese clothes online. You can learn more about different types of kimonos and traditional accessories there and find links to reliable and trusted importers from Japan as well as instructions on how to make the purchase of your dream. Not a bad deal, huh?
For more information on Japanese clothes online visit http://jimbei.com
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