Ichiroya Purchases

こんにちは
I managed to purchase two important parts of my henshin from Ichiroya- an amazing site selling new and used kimono and all you need to wear them, and more! While browsing eBay for a kimono for the henshin was better for me than Ichiroya (though Ichiroya is great, too), Ichiroya was much better for getting an obi.

Authentic darari obi that maiko wear are not only very difficult to come across, but they are very very expensive. Some lucky people managed to acquire them, and I'm super jealous! *-*
Before I decided to do a maiko henshin, the darari obi was one of the things that put me off doing it, as I felt I'd never be able to get that done. However, I was on a YouTube marathon one day, and I saw a video for tying a Maru obi into a faux darari knot. Click here to see it ^-^

There is more than one tutorial for a faux darari knot, which is a relief! So I stalked Ichiroya for a bit until I found a gorgeous light-blue maru obi, with a colourful motif of kiku- since that's an Autumn motif, I was a bit disappointed, but after looking closely, I saw tiny sakura motifs inside, so I assumed it's multi-seasonal. I consulted with a friend and she told me it could be mostly for Spring/Summer, so I consulted kimono colour combination guides, and went ahead and bought the obi ^^

It's a used vintage obi with some flaws that I don't really mind. It's listed as very good and wearable condition, and cost me around 36$ with shipping c: I used Standard shipping, but I assume it will arrive before the kimono does, so I'll be able to practise tying the faux darari when it arrives ^^

Shortly after I purchased the kimono, I bought a kago bag I've been eyeing for a bit on Ichiroya. It's purple and has a small motif of embroidered sakura, very fitting ^^ With shipping, it cost around 24$.

There is one more 'ready' part I must purchase for the henshin- everything else could be made, given that I purchase the fabric and such. This part is the ougi bira kanzashi- I saw one such piece on Rakuten, however, the shipping seems crazy expensive for such a small item. Someone suggested that I contact Wisteria Gardens, a kanzashi maker based in Poland- so I did. She told me she has an idea for creating that, but I'm not sure of the full cost yet. Though I do have some money put away for just that :)

So, that's all for now! I will next post when I handmake some of the smaller parts of the henshin ^^

またね、みんなさん