07 July 2010

Kimono Quandary

I have had a kimono since I was 18. I guess, since I am 58 next week, that makes it at least 40 years old and, therefore, vintage. I received it from the Japanese family who hosted my younger brother as a high school exchange student in Hokkaido. My mother and I had asked him to bring home some silk; his host family told him the duties on fabric would be too high. He should bring us "used clothing" instead and so they gave him a used wedding kimono! (Since I got the story 40 years ago from a 16-year-old I could have it wrong.) It has no cranes on it that I can find, but it is certainly hand sewn silk and gorgeous. Here are some details:
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My quandary is, what should I do with it? It has put in time as a curtain, a wall hanging and a halloween costume (!). I now know that the Japanese routinely take kimono apart to reuse the fabric, but I'm not sure I have the hutzpah for that and, anyway, what would I use it for? Help, please.

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