Ingredients of a Kimono

Well... this is more of a collection. Dunno where to put it... It makes a costume, so I thought, why not a tutorial? ^_^
This isn't a real tutorial though, but I though this could be useful to those who consider dressing up in a kimono. I want to show you what you need to be able to wear a kimono!
((Please don't mind my room in the back. It's a bit messy ^_^' ))

Before you start reading this: I'm not a professional of any kind, this is just a hobby. This means I don't know everything perfectly or own the perfect stuff. I usually improvice, but it works!

So, what do you need to dress up in a kimono?

- The kimono itself. You should consider the role you want to play and your position before you choose what kind of kimono to buy/make. It's too much to explain here, but if you want some advice, you can always ask me
- An underkimono. Not shown here, since I don't have a proper underkimono for this kimono yet. It needs to be worn under the kimono and is shorter in length.
- The obi. The obi is the blue thing in the front. It is very long, a few meters and 30 cm in width and is used to keep the kimono stay closed nicely. You have a lot of different kind of obis, formal and less formal and with different designs. My obi is a nagoya obi and is 15 cm in width for most of the part, and 30 cm in width for the actual knot. There are quite a few tutorials of how to tie an obi, and for every knot you need an different kind of obi. I suggest theis site for the normal knot: [link] (I ended up improvising since the fabric of my obi was too thick to tie )

Obi accesoires:
- The obi-jime. On the picture the obi-jime is the long red-and-gold ribbon. You need one to hold the knot in the obi. You can buy a lot of different one (check ebay for cheap ones!). I really love my obi-jime, since it has beads halfway through and is very pretty on my obi
- Obi-age. The obi age is the thin pink scarf on the picture. You have a lot of them as well, and you can buy sets that have a matching obi-jime. The obi-age is another accesoire you need to tie the obi.
- Obi-ita. The obi-ita (or obi board) is the white board on the picture. You need it to keep the obi on your belly from wrinkling. It is put under the first layers of the obi. You can inprovice with a thin plastic board, 15 cm in width.
- Obi-makura. The obi-makura is the small pillow with ribbons needed for the knot to give it a bit of volume. You don't need one for every knot, so check out the knot you want to make! You can use a bit of foam or a small pillow as well.

Other:
- A lot of ribbons: You need them to close your kimono. A kimono doesn't have a zipper or buttons, so the ribbons are going to be all you have (I used a lot of safety pins as well, to hold the collar and stuff) On the site above you can find how to wear a kimono as well.
- Eri-shin. Those are the two plastic white thing rolled up in front of my wig. You need them to put into the collar to make the collar stiff and looks nice at the back.
- Geta-shoes. You can't wear your converse shoes underneath a kimono, can you? You need a pair of flip-flips, and the best choice are the Japanese wooden flip-flops. They aren't really comfortable, but Geta shoes are a lot better then Okobo shoes! [link]
- Zori-socks. Bare feet are inproper in Japan. You need socks to cover them, and the big toe is sepparated from the other toes to fit in the Geta shoes. You have elastic ones, or Zori with a thicker sole that close with clips at the back.
- An umbrella! You don't need one, of course, but they are nice and pretty and can be bough very cheap! ^_^
- The wig: Well... I wanted to have a nice hairstyle and since my own hair is red and short, you can't use it for something Japanese-like. So I designed the wig ([link]) You can braid your hair as well, of course, of make a bun or just let it be. There are a lot of nice pins you can put in it
- Make-up! Red lips, black-rimmed eyes, red cheeks... Yeah! ^_^

These are all the stuff I used to dress myself up. It takes some time to know everything and how you must use it. It takes me around and hour and a half to dress myself (and with help! I can't tie my own obi)

If you want to know where I bought all my stuff, it is on this site: [link] The prices are affordable, the items are beautiful and the people are very nice!