Go Habs Go!

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One thing you may not know about me is that I am descended from hockey royalty. Newsy Lalonde was my great-grandfather. While this isn’t something that generally overlaps with my kimono interests, sometimes a girl’s just got to represent hometown and familial pride, in the form of a coordination evoking the Montreal Canadiens team colours. Especially now that we’ve made it into series two of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Go Habs Go! Tricolore jusqu’au bout!*  I’d originally planned to put this up before Series 2 Game 1 on Wednesday but was feeling under the weather, so I’m making sure it goes up before Game 2.

Sadly, I don’t have any hockey-themed accessories, and I don’t think my father would be too thrilled with me using things like his grandfather’s Hockey Hall of Fame ring as an obi-kazari, so I had to work with the “tricolore” (three colours) emblematic of the Habs — red, with blue and white as accents. Our primary jersey colour is, of course, a nice bright red, and as is standard in the NHL the away jersey is white so of course this red-and-white yagasuri komon was the perfect base. I just always forget how danged huge it is, which makes putting it on the mannequin a little awkward. It also looks a bit pinker in these photos; blame the light in my room. In person it’s definitely a true red.

Sadly I don’t have any obi that are quite the right shades of blue, but this one works pretty well. I tied it in a karuta musubi because the square shape with the red and white lines of the obijime reminds me a bit of an ice rink, if you squint! There’s no significance to the cat motif, I was just going for colour cohesion. It does tie in nicely with the blues and white and the motif on the haneri though, doesn’t it?

How about you — are you a hockey fan? Are you watching the playoffs, and rooting for any particular team? If so, let me know so I can tell you how factually incorrect you are (I kid, I kid).

Items used in this coordination

*(this literally means tricolour until the end or tricolour all the way, referencing the three team colours)

Wisteria Chocolate

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I’ve generally been pretty good about not buying kimono lately, but when I saw this absolutely lush warm-brown houmongi with wisteria – a motif I’ve been wanting more of – on Etsy for a fantastic price I had to have it. I also got another piece I’ll be featuring soon, more on that later.

I love how elegant and subtle this piece is, it feels very “quiet luxury” to me. The silk is rich and thick and heavy, the gold decoration is not overdone, and it has an almost monochrome quality to it that I feel ads to the understated feel of the whole thing. If I ever manage to lose all the weight the medical debacles of the past decade have put on me, this will be one of the first things I wear I think.

I specifically chose this gold obi because of the seafoam accents it has. That may seem like an odd choice, but there are flecks of nearly the exact same minty colour in the hem of the kimono. I couldn’t believe what a fortuitous match it was!

Once I had these pieces next to each other, I ran with similarly coloured accessories and realised the whole combination reminded me of a box of expensive chocolates, reinforcing the whole luxury vibe I had in mind. It was an accident, but a happy one!

Overall I’m very happy with the coordination, even if I am slightly less happy with the actual kitsuke. The collars were giving me grief but I knew if I kept fighting them I would get frustrated and give up. Perfection is the enemy of done, after all.

Items used in this coordination

Review – Nippon Kodo Incense Discovery

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Back when I had my little shopping trip to Wabi Sabi in Palm Springs, one of the treasures I brought home was this lovely set of five kayuragi incense fragrances from Nippon Kodo. It’s a great option for anyone who isn’t ready to commit to a larger box of one scent, and the beautiful packaging with ukiyo-e art makes it an excellent gift as well. These are traditional Japanese compressed incense with no wooden stick in the centre. Each small box comes with a little metal incense holder, but I have so many holders and beautiful little ceramic dishes that I didn’t feel the need to use them. But they’re handy for travel or gifting purposes!

I’ve been trying out the fragrances over the past couple of months, and have broken them all down and collected my thoughts for you.

Aloeswood

To me, this is the most classic-feeling. It has an almost dreamlike quality, heady but grounded. Something about it smells very “traditional”, like you might smell it in a temple or a minka, but not in a fussy or dated way. Just in a vital, historical, transportive way.

Green Tea

This one is so bright and fresh. It’s got notes of grassiness and an almost citrus-like property. It’s incredibly balancing and would make a great incense for the morning, or to help with focus while working. It’s definitely a light green tea scent, not an earthy matcha-type, and reminds me of a high-end spa. I really like it!

 

Osmanthus

I really enjoy smell of osmanthus, something that’s criminally under-represented in western fragrances but thankfully a staple of Asian scent profiles. This one captures the beautiful floral, slightly fruity aspects of osmanthus blossom without verging into cloying. I knew I’d like it, but I didn’t know I’d absolutely love it.

Sakura

As much as I love sakura for body and personal fragrance, and continue to hunt for the perfect one, it’s not my go-to for home or lifestyle type scents. That said, this one really surprised me. It’s definitely fresh, clean, and floral, but without any of the powdery or soapy quality sakura can often have. I can’t really describe it, other than a happy, upbeat sort of floral. If you need a mood booster, look no further!

 

Sandalwood

As someone who lives in North America, I’ve long associated the scent of sandalwood incense with head-shops and a certain sort of lifestyle. Nothing against that sort of lifestyle, but it’s not exactly a fragrance I find myself leaning into. I was apprehensive about these, but I’m so happy to report it was all for naught.  This is slightly spicy, slightly woody, and not remotely redolent of unwashed hair and the devil’s lettuce.

I still don’t think it will be my first choice, but it’s definitely a more elegant and elevated sandalwood than I was anticipating.

Overall, the aloeswood and osmanthus top my personal list but any of these would be a fantastic addition to a welcoming home. If you’re not ready to commit to a scent, or are just looking for a housewarming or hostess gift, this set is perfect for you. You can find Nippon Kodo on their own website, or on Amazon.

 I purchased this item myself and chose to review it.This post contains affiliate link(s). If you choose to purchase, I receive a small rebate or commission which goes to the continued maintenance of this site.If you have a topically appropriate craft, product, or service you would like me to review, please contact me. 

Birthstone Ensembles – April – Diamond

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There really was only one choice for April’s birthstone – this shiromuku with sayagata pattern that looks like facets, and a white obi with silver hishi (diamond) designs. Add in a textured white and silver haneri and a white beaded obijime, and I honestly don’t know how I could have evoked diamond better without gluing crystals onto the ensemble. Which is not something I was keen to do on a wedding piece, frankly.

My only real wish was that the kimono and obi were both in the same undertone family. It’s not entirely evident here due to the blue background, but the kimono is more of a warm ivory white and the obi is a cool greyish white. But eh, lets pretend that’s to evoke light refraction or the colour variation you can find in natural diamonds.

I honestly don’t have a lot more to say about this particular coord. It came together like a dream, the kitsuke didn’t give me grief, and overall I’m beyond happy with this interplay of textures and now I’m even more motivated to stick with this project!

Also, does anyone else remember this Old Spice commercial? The “the tickets are now DIAMONDS” line has been looping in my head since I started.

I’m on a horse!

 

 

 

 

 

Items used in this coordination

A Work of Art

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Some months back, someone on Reddit posted about an amazing vintage poster they’d found at a thrift shop of a woman in a traditional woodblock-print style holding a fan made of colour swatches. The only info on it was the name of a printing company, and she was dubbed the Pantone Geisha. And of course, as someone with a graphic design background and a borderline-unhealthy special interest in Japanese art, I fell completely in love.

I spent eons trying to track down the poster,  or find some sort of accreditation other than the facility where it was printed, so I could buy a copy but to no avail.

So I gave in, decided to use that damn graphic design background, and make my own take on her and her delightful palette fan. With the support and encouragement of my friends, I worked on pushing the “arts” aspect even further by turning her mimikaki kanzashi into paintbrushes, making her kimono have a blueprint inspiration, and possibly the easiest to miss but my favourite detail, turning a fibonacci circle into another hair ornament. A bit of a watercolour splash in the background, and the portrait was done!

Since this is inspired by extant, unaccredited art, I don’t feel comfortable selling prints, but if you would like to print a copy of your own, you can get a high-resolution copy right here. And if you do, you can always consider supporting me in other ways, if you’d like.