The London Lounge

Dear Loungers,

I've been thinking for some time now of taking the plunge and giving traditional Japanese clothing a try. I have enjoyed getting to understand our own European style better over the passed few years, and have gone from some very radical experiments (that insane suede tailcoat) to a much more conservative frame of mind (let's face it, people have been getting their clothing right a long time before I came on the scene), although I'm sure I still don't quite abide by the strictest conventions. This has happened as I have grown to appreciate better the styles one can get from simplicity, and from making smaller and subtler changes.

I think for this reason, traditional Japanese clothing draws me (certainly as far as menswear goes). I also like the contrast between highly tailored western clothing with buttons, and darts and vents and all sorts of other contrivances to give better shape to our clothing and the Japanese style of seeming to just take big sheets, wrap them around, and then tie them off with a belt to give a beautiful drape (if you will excuse the exaggerated and crude summary).

The forum search function did yield the thread Alden started sometime ago on his experiments with yukata and jin-bei inspired creations, but I am looking more at simply trying to do this right. I'm not inventing anything new, I just want to try to do a good job of it (besides just dressing how I want to dress).

I've explored various websites, read around a little bit. I've got a good feeling for what all the different items and parts are. The problem is, I don't have any good sense or instincts for these outfits. I know that a montsuki kimono is what you would wear for a formal occasion, but getting a feel for how I would wear the more informal stuff will not come as easily as deciding how I dress western style.

At the moment, I am very drawn to getting myself a kimono-haori-hakama ensemble. The kimono and haori in navy wool perhaps, with either a plain or striped navy or grey hakama. I could see this as being the traditional Japanese equivalent of the western navy suit. Add on a nice obi, a white collared nagajuban, white tabi, white himo and the wooden sandals and it's good to go.

Any advice or thoughts?

What about headwear? I normally wear hats outside, I don't see them as part of traditional Japanese dress with these ensembles besides the woven straw or bamboo hats - what would be sensible to wear when it's cold? Same question goes for scarf and overcoat equivalents (would that be a hanten?) and other items of a practical nature, that I find so easy to integrate into my normal outfits.

Is it normal practice for the kimono and haori to match, but the hakama to be different? To me this would be like the western equivalent of wearing a matching jacket and waistcoat, with odd trousers, which I am normally loathe to do? Is the practice of having the three different normal in traditional Japanese wear at all?

Thanks.

Methinks you need a Japanese expert's help, here.

I have heard from acquaintances that the very best Japanese tailors are fastidious in their fittings, their workmanship, faultless, and the suit, on a technical note, far surpass that of Italian tailors and suits produced on the Row. I have also heard they are within the price range -- or slightly pricier -- than a Huntsman suit.

There are now a wide variety of Japanese kimono sellers who have an online presence. The Netflix series Tokyo Girl features the main character dating the heir of a Ginza kimono shop, who always wears kimonos, which is rare for men. You might want to see how he does it.