the.com/kimono
a flat T of silk that turns the human body into architecture.
means A traditional Japanese T-shaped robe with wide sleeves, wrapped left-over-right and secured with a sash called an obi.
from Straight from Japanese kimono, literally 'a thing to wear' — ki, from kiru, 'to wear,' plus mono, 'thing.' For centuries it was simply the word for clothing in general; only as Western dress crept in did it narrow to mean this particular wrapped garment, the thing you wore as opposed to the new foreign things. English borrowed it in the 19th century, sleeves and all.
- literal name
- means simply the thing to wear
- left over right
- reversed wrap is reserved for the dead
- no waste
- cut from a single uncut bolt of cloth
- sleeve language
- long swinging sleeves signal an unmarried woman
- obi math
- the back sash can run twelve feet long
tomesode — formal black kimono worn by married women at weddings and ceremonies, decorated with family crests
furisode — kimono with long flowing sleeves worn by unmarried women in japan, especially at coming of age day
yukata — casual cotton kimono worn at summer festivals and fireworks in japan, typically indigo or floral patterns