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Tutorial: Real or Fake Kimono?
Published: 2011-06-27 03:09:09 +0000 UTC; Views: 103979; Favourites: 2769; 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:
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Onihide's beautiful Flickr account is here:
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(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
It's really hard to know what you mean by what's wrong and what's right with all those checkmarks contridicting each other..can you clarify?
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Well, the "x"s are next to the text that is wrong. So if it says "no back seam" X that means that "no back seam = fake." All of the pictures with checks are examples of what is right. Is there a specific place the check marks contradict each other you'd like me to explain more?
(There are no pictures of fakes because, one, I don't want to embarrass any random person by stealing their photos, and two, dA won't let me use photos I don't have permission to use. I doubt most of the fake sellers would give me the ok to out them.
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okay because it just gets confusing when there's only
right photos and no wrong photos, but thank you for
making an informational tutorial!
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Go to Ebay, search "kimono", and click on the "Cultural and Ethnic Clothing" category. You can see a ton of fakes there, which will be pretty easy to spot after this tutorial.
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Too late, but I'm so dang poor, it was the only fabric I could afford. My fabric isn't any sort of silk, but it is shiny, but at $2.30 a yard it was a good deal. Oh well, I've seen worse cosplaers.
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The way a few others have put it is: think of this as something to keep in mind for next time?
I don't judge cosplayers that don't follow these rules, but at least this way they're aware of them if they want to go for a more authentic look. The people I had most strongly in mind for this is the buyers who get screwed knowingly or unknowingly by sellers because they (and/or the sellers) don't know what's real and what's fake, and artists who want to draw authentic, traditional kimono.
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Oh, well that's okay then, this is a great thing for people, I know the difference now, and my next years will be really good. Thankyou ^^
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You're welcome! Best of luck and enjoy your cosplay.
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You're welcome, and thanks!
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Congratz in the DD! It's very helpful~
I have quite a few fake kimono, and I hate arguing with my parents that tell me they are the same thing or I don't have the heart to tell my friends they bought me a fake one or a fake chinese qi-pao instead >> Although I never realized the back seam, or really payed attention to that detail.
The juban is attached to my fake kimono on the inside and the obi doesn't even tie, it Velcros.
I do have a few questions, though; how would you go about layering kimono? I don't think layers are used often anymore except for show (am I wrong?) but especially with the sleeves I wonder how they go about layering them. Do the sleeves just fit into each other? And do under-layers get tied for extra support? And the, what I assume you called 'tuck' on the maiko girl, is that the red sticking out of the blue sleeves? How do you go about putting that on/layering it?
Sorry for so many question~!
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Thank you very much! And no worries. Questions are good.
Well, minus yukata you always have two layers on a modern kimono: the juban and the actual kimono worn over it. The juban is just a couple of centimeters shorter and narrower than the top kimono. This lets it sit perfectly inside the top one and show just a hint at the backs of the sleeves. Below, it's the hint of red on the maiko on the left, and the pink lines on the geisha on the right.
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While you can see a juban inside the wrist hole, the juban should never be so long it pokes outside of it when your arms are down at your sides.
The juban is tied like a normal kimono in that you tie a soft koshihimo cord around the waist, the collar left over right. However, you don't blouse the juban out over the cord and make a fold (as I mention in the tutorial for top-layer kimono) because juban are meant to be short and there's nothing to fold.
The "tucks" on maiko kimono are done in the top layer kimono, where the shoulders are sewn to be tucked in a bit (because the wearer is younger and smaller) and would traditionally be opened up to the kimono's full shoulder width when the wearer grows older. Maiko ones are never let out, though. When the maiko gets older she wears other kimono, and the tucked kimono is worn by new maiko (as the kimono worn by geisha and maiko can be tens of thousands of dollars each, each geisha house, called an okiya, recycles outfits quite a bit).
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For maiko the touches are an extra touch of young cuteness. For actual children, like the boy in dragonflies and blue later down in this tutorial, it's so he can keep wearing that even as he gets taller.
The red you're seeing on the picture of the maiko dancing in blue is her juban. The orange line seen in #10 under the blue kimono is "hiyoku", an extra collar dickey added to suggest a second layer of kimono. Women used to wear two-three layers plus a juban, and in modern Japan the "hiyoku" is an echo of that tradition.
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Thank you very much! This was very helpful <3
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Whoops! I mislabled the first picture. The girl on the right is not a geisha, she's a proto-maiko. She hasn't earned the long-tailed darari obi yet.
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out of curiosity, when would someone wear a kimono in real life, other than for cosplay purposes?
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Interesting question!
Well, it's like an Indian sari, or a Vietnamese ao dai. It's a traditional form of clothing that anyone can wear (foreigners included). Outside of Japan, I wear mine to Japanese cultural festivals, anime conventions as a panelist, and traditional Japanese events (like taiko concerts). Some people wear them to picnics, Japanese restaurants, or just for fun.
In Japan, while cotton yukata are popular in the summer to wear to fireworks events and festivals, most Japanese wear Western clothing. However, in recent years a move to bring kimono back has surfaced within the younger generation, and you can see cool Harajuku-influenced kimono outfits being worn just out and about town, as well as the "kimono-hime" (kimono princess) style, that mixes kimono with Western elements through motifs or accessories.
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Omigod, thank you for this! You've addressed my biggest pet peeves.
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You're welcome!
For me, it's frustrating to see all the fakes intentionally or non-intentionally sold for real kimono prices. Through educational panels, my blog, and these tutorials I'm hoping to educate people to become better buyers and sellers.
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That is a noble goal. I remember once I was in a second-hand shop and someone tried to sell me a 'kimono' for the price of a real one. My friend told me it was a great deal but, I knew better. Education is the best defense against getting ripped off. <3
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Thank you!
Yep, I agree education is the best defense.
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That's really awesome! I wish I could attend one of your panels...
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I stick to Texas anime cons for now, but who knows in the future?
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Well, I guess I'll have to just watch for tutorials then.
Let me know if you ever some to a California convention though.
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This was very thorough and informative-- thank you for making this tutorial!
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Thank you, and you're welcome!
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Nice! I'm definitely going to your blog!
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I can't believe you're in Houston! Hopefully I'll get to go to some of the Texas events!
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Actually, I'll be at the Grand Taiko Concert at Miller Outdoor Theater next month.
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It'd be nice if I could make it, I probably can't but it's a lot more likely than if you did something in New York.
I hope you do something in Austin! (I dislike driving)
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Yay Austin! (I'm a UT grad.
If you'll be in Austin over New Year's, I may be doing an educational kimono panel or two at Ikkicon.
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I'm a UT STUDENT! So it IS possible to graduate from here!
I'm already designating funds to save up for Ikkicon! I really hope that I get to see you and your work! I don't have anywhere to wear kimono, so I won't invest in one, but I'd still love to stop by your booth!
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Hook 'em, Horns! XD Yes, it is possible.
Awesome.
And as I tell people, two minutes spent looking through a rack of real kimono and obi is a better teaching tool for artists and sewers than half a dozen tutorials. The differences between all the fake ones a person might have seen and the real deal becomes apparent pretty quickly!
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Sweet! Praise Bevo!
*copies the name of your company* Great! I really can't wait to see some!
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Thanks! Hope to see you there.
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This is a wonderful tutorial!
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So much great information! So much work went into this, I had to fave it.
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Thank you very much!
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Ah, this is really useful! Sad that I couldn't read it before buying a Kimono (over ebay, even) for my prom night. Because mine does have a contrasting "collar" sewn into it.
But I went to a Japanese woman that showed me how to put it on properly and I'm sure she would've noticed a fake 
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Thank you!
Hey, Ebay is the source of many fakes but also many completely legit items, so no shame there. Half of my personal collection is from Ebay.
Ah, but is your contrasting collar under the kimono when worn, like the orange line under the blue in #10 above? If so, that's totally normal and is called "hiyoku". It's a dickey meant to mimic a second kimono underneath. As your Japanese lady said, it adds a feel of richness and reminds people of way back when when women wore multiple layers of kimono.
I will add one note, though, about trusting what you are told. Having lived in Japan for almost five years, I can tell you that it's a social sin to embarrass another by pointing out their mistakes. Many Japanese will NOT tell you if you're screwing up somehow because it would "embarrass" you. So you can embarrass yourself all day long by messing something up, but it's a no-no to tell you that you are messing it up.
In kimono terms, here's an example of what this means: once at a temple I saw a young American man out with his two female Japanese friends. He was in a men's yukata, but had on a woman's obi. Even worse, it was tied in the front (almost always a no-no as that's a throwback to old female prostitutes).
He was very masculine and obviously proud of himself for wearing the traditional clothing properly, so this was clearly not an intentional choice on his part to cross-dress and cross-dress badly. His two female Japanese friends had apparently not bothered to point out how he looked, or at least move his obi to the back.
Now, I will be the first to say there are advantages to this high level of consideration for others' feelings, but it can also make you a tad paranoid if you live in Japan long enough.
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Oh my, I did not expect such a long reply, thank you very much for taking the time to write it.
Ah, yes yes, exactly like that... I did not notice that picture before
I heard about that... and, well, I kinda noticed it while learning to put my Kimono on properly... but it's not done with bad intention, so I think it's rather charming (and amusing for, say, in your story, other tourists who notice the mistake
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You're welcome!
It's charming at times, but when your coworkers let you say the entirely wrong word for something for six months (not the exact words, but as an example imagine saying something like "cabbage" when you think you're saying "house") it can also get on your nerves.
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