all things pass

[rm]

http://www.thestar.com/Life/article/211747

via zarq.

Basically, Japanese women are getting curvier due to a westernized diet. This is neither here nor there, but as someone who has worn and made (by hand) kimono over the years, and worn special pads at my waist in order to have the appropriately cyndrilical look, a part of me is sad and wonders what will happen to the traditional wearing of kimono if it's no longer appropriate to Japanese bodies and a growing sense of showing curves.

Comments

[zarq.livejournal.com]

Well, kimonos have never been one-size-fits all, and one has never needed to be a size zero to wear one. Up until now, a kimono worn by a fuller-figured woman was simply tailored or folded and draped in such a way so that the woman inside would not appear curvy.

Of course, the traditional kimono isn't worn very often nowadays, except by the elderly. The younger generations tend to prefer more modern clothing.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Right, but what I was trying to say, incoherently was this. That I'm always seeing pictures of Westeners in, or western created images of Japanese in, kimono that make them look all busty and curvy, which is not how the kimono should be worn. I'm wondering if in attempts to keep the kimono alive we're going to see that Western bastardization increasingly effect those rare occassions (like weddings) when they are worn.

[zarq.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see. Sorry, I didn't realize.

I wonder if a certain amount of cultural inertia / resistance wouldn't be a factor in preventing that in Japan, at least in the short term.

I dated a Japanese woman once who said that it was considered a serious breach of etiquette (and culturally, a shameful act) to wear one improperly, and that included altering the traditional "up and down" shape. She said that it was an indication of a poor upbringing. Lord only knows if her perspective was accurate, though. She had been born in Tokyo, but grew up here.

As an aside, I saw her wear one several times while we were dating and she explained to me how it was folded somewhat differently than a slimmer woman would have worn. She also would flatten her breasts with a very tight (at least a size too small) spandex sports bra and flatten her stomach with very tight spandex underwear in order to achieve the proper look. Quite uncomfortable.

[rm.livejournal.com]

All true from what I know. I used to live with someone from Okinawa. I actually have an undergarment for kimon somewhere -- and it's a modern thing, but specifically designed for it, with pockets at the waist to put padding in to eliminate an hourglass figure that can't be eliminated any other way at a given point.

[zarq.livejournal.com]

Interesting! I didn't know there were kimono-specific undergarments made with padding pockets! Makes a lot of sense, though.