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Tutorial: Real or Fake Kimono?
Published: 2011-06-27 03:09:09 +0000 UTC; Views: 103847; Favourites: 2768; Downloads: 973
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(If you are interested in kimono, geisha, or traditional Japan, please also check out my blog, "The Kimono Lady", where I babble on about those sorts of things.
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After the unexpected amount of positive response to my first tutorial "Draw Better Kimono" (thank you!
) I'm back with another one, somewhat less messy. >_>This is the visual quick version of something I always teach as part of my educational Japanese kimono panels: how to spot a fake. There are a ton out there and it's easy to get fooled if you're not familiar with kimono, but I hope this will help cosplayers or anyone looking to buy one to not get screwed.
(It shares #1 with the other tutorial, but I thought it was worth repeating as most low-end fakes use contrasting parts.)
This can also be used as a "things to avoid when making a kimono" if you'd like to sew your own and go for a more accurate look.
Feel free to ask if you have any questions, and thanks for reading!
"Draw Better Kimono" can be found here:
[link]
Onihide's beautiful Flickr account is here:
[link]
(He preferred the Kyoto dialect term "geiko" for geisha, if you look in his descriptions.)
All images copyright Wikimedia Commons, me, or photographer Onihide and used with permission.
EDIT: I can't believe it: I got a Daily Deviation! Thank you so much to those of you who suggested it, and for everyone's comments and faves! This is my first DD ever. XD (I apologize if I don't respond to all the favorites, but I am very thankful for them!)
*****PLEASE NOTE BEFORE YOU COMMENT ABOUT THE LACK OF PHOTOS FOR FAKES: There are no photos of fakes here because 1. I don't want to embarrass some random cosplayer or home sewer by making them the "bad example", and 2. dA doesn't allow photos to be used without permission. I don't think the people from 1. or a company that sells fakes is going to give me permission to use their photos.
Thank you for reading! *****
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Comments: 413
This was so informative and easy to read! Thanks for making this and for spreading some of your knowledge. C: As an artist it's really helpful.
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This note is very useful !
I like to make my own kimono and I search a pattern for the juban. I didn't find anything and I start to think that I will do it by myself, with the help of the kimono pattern.
Do you have something, please ? I will be very thankful.
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This was such a pleasant read! Very handy for some time in the future.
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Wow you really seem to know a lot about kimono 
Sorry if this seems kinda random, but I was wondering if you knew what the traditional sleeping kimono was called? I'm trying to write a little story that takes place back in the samurai period of Japan, and I just want my terms to be correct. Is it a yogi? Or am I wrong?
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I know a bit!
"Nemaki" is a very simple, yukata-like robe worn for sleep, and here's a book about the samurai era showing a picture of nemaki on the left:
file.comics.blog.shinobi.jp/seβ¦
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Ohh I see. Thank you very much!!
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im makng my kimono out o satin, only because the chacate im cospaying as is a high ranking kitsune and can afford it
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Thank you so much for making this. It helps so much.
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You're welcome, and thanks! I'm glad you found it useful.
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I was wondering (and I feel like you'd be the best to ask) if a person need to have ease of movements for their legs, would they, so to say, hike up their kimono and fold it, or leave it down?
Tank you in advance, and very helpful tutorial as well!
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Thank you!
Is this regarding a man or a woman, do you have a certain time period in mind, and what is the person's social status?
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It is a woman, she is fairly high class but it doesn't necessarily matter to her or the people closest to her. And the time period is fairly modern.
Thank you again for your help!
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If you mean normal, everyday activities: walking around, housework, etc. she'd wear her kimono normally. Sleeves are tied back for housework with a strip of fabric called a tasuki, and a special apron called a kappogi is worn for cooking or cleaning, but that's about it.
Kimono have an unfair reputation for being physically restrictive: you can jump, jog, and take large steps in them easily if you have to. Ideally you want to look and behave in an elegant fashion while wearing kimono these days, but if the situation suddenly requires it you can choose to move just as freely and easily as in any Western clothing.
If she's involved in some sort of traditional sport like kendo, she'd wear a kimono with the back middle hem brought up and tucked in over the knot of her obi and then hakama pants over all of that.
As far as hiking up the kimono with no hakama over it, I would say that generally speaking the legs are almost never bare: hiking up your kimono to show them would be like pulling a Western skirt all the way up to your waist and leaving your panties showing.
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Ah, thank you very much, this was very enlightening!
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You're welcome. Glad to hear it helped.
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I do have a question.. Juunihitoe are kimono as well? They are definitely made of Chinese fabric with Chinese patterns. Or are they not considered kimono because they aren't worn in modern days?
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Juunihitoe ("12 unlined layers") is the ancient great-great-grandmother of the modern kimono. Its formal name is actually itsutsu-ginu-kara-ginu-mo δΊθ‘£εθ‘£θ£³ "five-layer Chinese style robe" and shows the huge influence China had on the development of Japan's culture.
Over the centuries to come juunihitoe would evolve into kimono, but it's definitely not kimono as seen in the 1600s or today.
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Interesting.
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Your tutorial just inadvertently answered a sewing question of mine~ Thank you uwu/
(the question was, why can't I just put the center seam on the fold of my fabric and avoid it all together. AUTHENTICITY!)
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Glad it was of help!
And you've probably already done this, but an easy cheat would be to fold your fabric in the other direction and sew: that way you have the look of the middle seam without having to cut and realign the fabric first.
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Thank you so much for the guide! But I'm still having problems over #3, you say there shouldn't be a back seam but in your pics there are some back seams that you show are ok. So if I were to buy this kimono [link] I'm guessing it would be fake? I heard that website was really good and popular so if it does turn out that the site is indeed fake where would you recommend buying some? Thank you!!!
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You're welcome!
No, actually: sorry if it's not clear, but all of the points with red "x"s next to them are signs of fakes. So "No back seam X" means "no back seam = fake".
All of the pictures are of real ones. (Please see my artist comment for why I have no pictures of fakes).
So yes, every legitimate kimono will have a vertical back seam down the middle. Some also have a horizontal seam roughly mid-back where it's been adjusted for height (so the back will hang the same length as the front when worn).
Ichiroya is one of the best sites out there: in my years of shopping and browsing there I have never seen them mislabel a kimono or sell a fake.
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Just stumbled across this while researching and I have a question. I was given a yukata a few years ago, and I assume that the same rules for fakes will apply. However, rather than having a seem running vertically on the back, it has a horizontal stitch at about mid back. I don't remember where the person who gave it to me got it from, but I know it was a store in Japan. Does that mean that it isn't authentic, or is it meant to be a specific type or yukata/kimono? Are there differences between kimono and yukata?
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Sorry this took so long! I never got a notification that you had commented.
Yes, the same rules will apply because yukata construction and kimono construction are virtually identical.
There are types of kimono that have minor construction differences from yukata, like lining or a wider collar you fold over instead of just sewing down in half permanently, but those are fine points.
If it is a small child's yukata (which means it'll hit an adult at the knees or higher), then it might be one solid piece across the back.
A vertical middle-back seam plus a horizontal mid-back seam is not common but is still normal, as sometimes kimono are lifted up in the back so the front and back will hang evenly when worn.
But a kimono without a vertical back seam in an adult size is immediately highly suspect because you can't make a yukata or kimono that way due to the narrow (about 14") width of the bolts used in yukata/kimono construction. It wouldn't fit all the way across the back.
If you're still curious and you'd like to send me a couple of photos (front and back) I could help out more.
(As far as buying from Japan, it's not a guarantee of authenticity. There are sellers who sell fakes online and in the big cities: when I used to visit Harajuku on the weekends one shop always had cheap knock-offs right out front along Takeshita Street.)
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I see. Thank you! Unfortunately it's still in storage from moving, I was just asking based on what I can remember. When I'm able to get it out I'll take a second look. If I still have questions I'll take some pictures and ask. ^_^
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hello i need to as you something
if you own or buy kimonos online where do you buy them from?
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I own a few... I've been at this since 1998. XD
For shopping online, I have some trusted sellers on Ebay I buy from, and here are two of them:
[link]
[link]
There are a lot of fake sellers on Ebay, so please review this tutorial if you want to branch out to other sellers.
For a stand-alone shop you can't beat Ichiroya.com, which has sold online for over ten years.
[link]
Finally, later this month I will also be opening a small Etsy shop myself, "The Kimono Corner".
thekimonocorner.etsy.com
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please anounce me when u will open the shop
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Hello!
It's open now if you'd like to see.
[link]
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Wow...I studied Japanese culture for well over two years and I wouldn't have thought of HALF this stuff. 0.0 Very informative!
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Thank you! I've done a dozen or so educational panels, so I've had time to figure out what people don't tend to know.
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I didn't know about the shoulder tucks for kids (granted kimono never interested me as a child), this is something I can think about adding in if/when I cosplay a child that's wearing kimono. Thanks for this!
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one option for printing on the fabric might be to take a rubber stamp and some fabric paint.
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I have seen people do that.
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This tutorial is wonderful, very clear and informative. Thank you very much for this great contribution in the fight against fake-kimono atrocities we see around... XD
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You're welcome, and thank you very much.
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Well I apparently make everything right except the brocade thing, but I wasn't going for an accurate enough to wear in Japan kimono. It's just for my Vaporeon gijinka, so no biggy. ^^
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You're welcome, and thank you!
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Is it possible to educate me more of this? >.< Im planning to have one, You know, The Lolita Style. But unless I understand everything myself, I'll have a really hard time explaining on how a Kimono is made to the Seamstress. X)
Oh and how is the Obi made? X) Sorry. I really need to freaking learn all of these! XD
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"Wa Lolita" borrows the sleeves and collar from traditional kimono but stops there, existing only as a super-short version of a normal kimono as the bottom half is covered by the poofy skirt. I would recommend just buying the Folkwear kimono pattern (see the Folkwear website) and having her follow that, making a shortened version to go under the trademark Lolita poofy skirt.
The obi is just a super-long, single-layer rectangle of stiff fabric in its simplest form, the hanhaba obi (the narrowest width for women and what I've seen used with Wa Lolita): the bow in the back is made by learning how to tie the obi into the proper knot. However, you can buy much easier to tie "pre-tied" obi, which some young Japanese prefer using because they're much easier to deal with. If you go on Ebay and search "yukata obi" or "pre-tied obi" you can find ones there.
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