Hiding in my Closet

After I posted about the yukata I made in April, I realised that this is something I've never really discussed on the blog before. Not sure how much back story to provide here, but the truth is, after living in Japan for a year in 2004, I came back with the start of what would grow to be quite a sizable collection of traditional Japanese clothes, mostly kimono and yukata. 

And I used to wear these. When I was at uni I wore them once a week for most of the time, and when I was teaching Japanese I was doing the same. Steve and I wore kimono and yukata for our engagement party even! In recent years, things have lulled - it's difficult to put on a kimono when you are pregnant (I didn't have any maternity kimono, even if one exists,) and they aren't great for breast feeding either. 

So in the last nine years, I've only worn them a handful of times and I'm only just kind of realising it now that I have a stack of people in my life that have never seen me wear a kimono, or even know that I have such a stash. I've worn them to a Japanese festival, or koto performance. Or when I celebrated traditional Japanese festivals with the day care kids. I think I even wore one to Lone Pine when the kids were little and man did that turn the heads of Japanese tourists! But for the most part, there are people in my life who have no idea that I even own a yukata, much less ten of them. 

And now, I'm no longer breast feeding, or pregnant, and even though I'm not teaching Japanese any more, the way I love Japan and it's traditional clothes is still a part of me. Also, these are so beautiful and it's a tragedy to let them languish in the storage containers under our bed. The time has come. 

The other thing to note here, is that along with having a collection of traditional Japanese outfits, I also like to make them. I had been planning on buying fabric when we went to Japan at the start of 2021, but then Covid hit, and no one was going anywhere. Luckily for me, a friend of mine from uni who had lived in Japan for ten years had come into possession of some kimono and yukata fabric. He'd got it discount from a warehouse in Japan and had too much, so he offered me some at a price too good to refuse. Since the only way to get a kimono bolt of fabric (which is only about 30cm wide, rather than the usual 112cm or 150cm like western fabric) is to get it from Japan, which is so tricky, I wasn't going to say no to this opportunity. 

Suddenly, I'm not only wishing I wore my kimono and yukata more, but I also have the opportunity to sew some. And not just for me, but for the girls as well! So much potential!

So I've been sewing. I wanted to hand sew these, because I wanted to have something to do with my hands while we were watching TV at night. I started with this yukata out of cotton for me, and then have progressed onto some kimono for the girls. I'll have to save that for another post though. 

To finish off here, I thought I'd take a little trip down memory lane and show the world some of what's hiding in my closet. Mostly the ones I've made, but a couple others as well. I hope you enjoy watching me go though nearly 18 years of aging on the journey!

Here is my first yukata, which I made in the Japanese culture club at my Japanese High School when I lived in Japan. It was taught in Japanese, and I hand sewed the entire thing on Saturdays after Saturday school. My good friend Amy wore it last May and all those wonky stitches are holding strong. 

After Steve and I went to Japan in 2006, I came back with three bolts of yukata fabric. One for Steve and two for me. This yellow one was the first one I made, on a sewing machine, which was much faster than by hand! 

This pink one was the other fabric that I got, also sewn by machine. I have never loved the pink, even though I love the flowers on it. The thing that stops me wearing it more is that I managed to put one of the sleeves on a bit wonky. You can't tell when it's being worn, but it's always bothered me, such that I neve reach for it. Maybe I should fix it, after all these years. 

Here is a shot of my sisters, Amy and I, all dressed up. I can't remember where we were going. Out to the movies? Or church? Maybe we didn't go anywhere and just dressed up for fun. It was a wild, free and happy time! 

Sarah is wearing the pink, and Amy the blue one I first made. Fiona is wearing a purple yukata, which was the first one I bought when I lived in Japan. My parents visited and we were shopping, and dad encouraged me to buy one. I'm wearing a silk kimono, which was gifted to me by my friend Yuki's mum, Michiko. I used to go to their house once a fortnight to learn how to perform a Japanese tea ceremony, and after a while, she gifted me this kimono. I will never part with it. 

Here is a very young Paula and Steve celebrating their engagement in May of 2008. Steve is wearing the yukata I made for him, and I'm wearing a kimono I bought in Japan in 2006. This is probably my favourite kimono, possibly because of this memory of wearing it. 

I'm also wearing my uchikake, which is another kimono layer, that has longer sleeves, and a padded hem. It's worn as an outer layer by a bride. I was very warm that day, in all those kimono layers and I ditched the uchikake very quickly, but it does make a great display in our house, or in a classroom, where it did live when I was teaching Japanese in the time before children. You can see a photo of it from the back in this post here. 

Here is another shot of Amy and I dressed up last May to go to a koto concert. I'm wearing a kimono and obi that were gifted to me by my friend David who I think got them from his neighbour when he left Japan in 2019. I've been pretty lucky to have been gifted quite a number of my collection, because these things can be super expensive!

And here I am with my own girls in March. They were off to school to celebrate Harmony Day (celebrating people of different cultures and campaigning against bullying), and I was off to work as well. I figured, why not? 

This yukata that I'm wearing here came from one of our numerous Japanese students that my family hosted when my sisters and I were at high school. I think it's the oldest yukata I've got! The girls are wearing (probably for the last time, since they will out grow them soon), their kids-size yukata that I got them from a Japanese boutique shop in the Blue Mountains. 

If you've been wondering this whole time what the difference is between kimono and yukata, here is a quick lesson for you. A yukata is a summer version of a kimono. It's usually made of cotton, it's more casual and you don't need to wear it with the underlayers (white collar). Much more suited to the Australian climate. Now that we are well into the cooler months, I'm looking forward to taking more of my yukata and kimono out for a spin. Thanks for coming on this reminiscing journey with me and don't think I'm too weird when you see me looking fabulous in a kimono soon!