Information Pages
The name for traditional Japanese clothing is wafuku, ('wa' means Japanese and 'fuku' means clothing) and western or any non-Japanese style it's yofuku. Of all wafuku, the kimono is the most instantly recognised Japanese garment and considered the national costume of Japan. In Japan, the wearing of kimono is somewhat dying out, it's certainly extremely rare as daily wear now. Its demise began in earnest in the 1920s. They are worn now mostly on special occasions, people owning perhaps only one or even just hiring them two or three times a year instead.
When considering the cost of a vintage, traditional, Japanese garment, think of what you could buy for the same sum in a high street fashion shop; a mass produced, unoriginal garment, most often not terribly well made from some mediocre synthetic fabric and a garment you are likely to come across many other people wearing, which will go out of fashion in a very brief time; in short, nice but throwaway fashion. This, of course has its place and its use but with a vintage Japanese garment you get something much more special; a garment made from exquisite material (even the Japanese synthetic fabrics are superior to those used in modern day western clothing), wonderful artwork, often in the form of hand printed or even hand painted fabrics, great workmanship, an item that was vastly expensive when first bought, a touch of the history and tradition of old Japan; an item that is so different that, in western culture, it doesn't date, plus a very stylish and elegant garment that you are not going to come across on any other wearer, as one almost never sees two the same.
A wide selection of vintage & antique Japanese kimonos
and collectables
wafuku - noun: traditional Japanese clothing
1 About Kimonos
2 Japanese Womenswear
3 Japanese Menswear
4 Further Kimono Information
5 Wearing and Folding Women's Japanese Garments
6 Types of Women's Kimono. Geisha & Maiko
7 Japanese Eras (Periods)
8 Uses for Japanese Kimono Fabrics
9 Adjusting Kimono Length
10 Lots of Great Links To How To Wear Kimonos & Tie Obis
11 Types of Obi
Some kimono suppliers offer a 'lay away' plan for Japanese working women, to allow them to buy one of their own; gradually paying for their exceedingly expensive wafuku outfit and letting them have the pleasure of actually owning one. The kimono alone will cost thousands of pounds (UK GBP) and the obi just as much, then there are the numerous accessories.
Of course, geisha and maiko (apprentice geisha) still make an art of wearing them and wear them all the time. Non-geisha women in Japan, who wish to wear kimono only from time to time, attend kimono wearing classes to learn what to wear, how to wear it and when to wear it and the correct deportment required when wearing one
When most people wore a kimono daily, they each tended to build up a sizeable collection over the years but now the Japanese are starting to part with those collections (and so many entire collections were lost during the Tokyo earthquake in the 1920s), opting for more western clothing and lifestyles. This does, however, make now a good time to get a vintage kimono, while there are still many beautiful kimono in Japan but while there are less people there now wearing them or keeping their collections of them. On the other hand, that also means the supply in Japan is not being maintained as before, so there won't always be the fabulous variation of kimono available that there currently is.
Even the plainest of silk kimono cost well over £1000 (UK GBP), most cost a several thousand. Few people realise that kimono greatly exceed most couture western clothing in price, but when you consider the quality and quantity of silk involved, it's not really surprising. Even the synthetic silk ones are not at all cheap
The haori, in particular, are very wearable items in the west, either dressed up for a glamorous special occasion or dressed down with jeans. It would be very easy to spend the same money, in somewhere like Gap, for an item that will not turn heads in admiration and that will be discarded six months later.
Most Japanese vintage garments are looked after lovingly, maintained and stored with great care, so, although vintage and pre-used, they still appear perfect and new. I have had buyers check with me, upon receiving their garment, that it is actually a vintage item, because it was in such new and pristine condition that they wondered if it could really be several decades old