Wearing a vintage kimono casually

4 comments

1. I sometimes wear a haori almost like a suit jacket. But there are plenty of cheap summer haori that are casual enough to look great with jeans.

   I’ve never had anyone mind it. My Japanese friends love it. If a Japanese American felt upset by it, I would certainly care and listen to them, but no seems to have any problems with it.

   It helps if you’re familiar with the article of clothing and you pair formal Japanese clothing with formal western clothing, etc. I have a sheer summer haori that I use for more casual looks. For example, you wouldn’t pair a tux jacket with jeans, but a simple blazer would be fine.

2. Are you using that term correctly? Westerners use the word “kimono” to refer to many different items, from a light mid-length robe to a summer yukata to the real thing.

   A kimono is a full length garment. Fairly heavy. I would think that jeans underneath would be very uncomfortable. So are you talking about a kimono or a jacket or something else?

3. “Top part”? Then it’s not a kimono. Not sure what you’re seeing.

4. >(just the top, main part not an entire kimono set

   Do you mean haori? Kimono is a one-piece thing and not a “set” unless you call kimono and haori or hakama a set. There is no “top part of a kimono”.

   Wear what you like but you’d have to take it to a specialized kimono cleaner if it’s an actual vintage and cleaning becomes necessary. There’s a reason why people don’t wear it much here.