- An beautiful shot silk, antique, meisen silk, long haori. Meisen silk is similar to taffeta, with body and a slight rustle as it rubs together, Meisen makes the garment hold its shape well and feels lovely.
- This haori has never been used. It is from the early 1900s.
- An extra long haori, as was popular when this was made.
- The silk is a blueish-green, shot with red, so changes colour at different angles. It has the characteristic soft, fuzzy edge to the design.
- Lovely touches of silver on the silk upper lining
- It has shitsuke, which is large, white stitching put in by the Japanese to keep garment seams neat during long periods of storage, it just gets pulled out prior to wearing.
- This would have been very expensive, so was extremely well cared for and is in beautiful condition. You’d never guess its age. Vintage meisen kimonos and haori have recently become popular with young Japanese.
- Meisen silk is similar to silk taffeta, with a some body to it, helping it hold its shape. It feels lovely. Meisen silk, generally crisp and supple, is one of the Japanese silks fabricated by weaving pre-dyed threads, utilizing the tie-and-resist ikat technique. In this process, the threads are first stretched on a frame. Selected design areas are tightly bound to prevent the dye from penetrating and the hanks of threads are immersed in the dye pots. The bound portions of the yarns resist the dye and when woven, as a result of the threads not being perfectly aligned, create shapes with charmingly uneven edges. Meisen silk was a particularly popular fabric for casual kimono between the Taisho era and the beginning of the Showa era, i.e. in early 1900s, in part because it was more affordable than previous silk textiles, and in part because the designs, frequently drawing on Western influences, seemed adventurous and innovative. Even today they retain a contemporary sensibility.
Meisen kimonos from the early 20th century tend to be a little shorter than later kimonos, though still very long. Meisen kimonos are now sought after by kimono collectors, as the supply of good condition ones gets smaller and smaller. - Made in Japan
- In Japan, haori are not normally worn with a sash or belt, they are worn loosely, on top of a kimono and obi, but they also look great with a belt and with western world clothing. Sash not included, for display purposes only
Condition:
Extremely good – see photos
Measurements:
Sleeve end to sleeve end 126cm
Sleeve seam to sleeve seam 66cm
Length 100cm
Sizing:
Japanese clothing is usually of adjustable fit, being mostly wrap-over or tie-to-fit items, so most garments fit a range of sizes. Because of this (and only really knowing my own size anyway) I can't really advise anyone on the fit. Please judge fit from the measurements given.
Awashe (fully lined). Lined, on the lower half, in the same silk as the outside and, on the upper half, in lighter, lining silk
wh883/1114
Shot-Silk Meisen Haori
SKU: wh883
£178.00 Regular Price
£124.60Sale Price
Women's Haori 30% off
