>RE: BurdaStyle: Where do you find sewing inspiration?

>

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=spacedock13-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B000SKWETM&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr

Well as is one of my usual habits, I was zipping around BurdaStyle checking out the new stuff, when I found THIS. Well, as not my usual style I decided to comment. I rarely ever say anything over there, so no one even knows I’m there half the time! LOL! Anyways, here is my answer:

***Where do you find sewing inspiration?***

EVERYWHERE! My mom was a seamstress, sew I was already sewing at age 6. I was 16 when I graduated from a fashion design college. In the 20+ years since, I have created tons of patterns and sew all my own fashions.

I not only create my own patterns, but I also design my own fabrics as well. I paint up watercolors and than get short runs of the fabric printed up. I get ideas for a lot og my designs from nature: birds, cats, the sky, waterfalls, trees – everything inspires me to paint. Than the fabric made from the paintings inspire the flow of the dress pattern as well.

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=spacedock13-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B002O88DXC&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr
Erte is my biggest inspiration. Much of my designs are reinterpretations of his designs. I just love his art deco and flapper styles.

Also, Japanese Kimono, esp those from the Momoyama period (1500′s). I love sewing kimono, because the lines are simple and allow for display of big bold fabric prints, which thus allows me to create huge print fabric designs as well.
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=spacedock13-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0300094078&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr
***What magazines, websites, books do you look at for project ideas?***

Dover Books are my #1 source of inspiration. You see, I’m a life actor, which I means I CosPlay 24/7/365 and have for years. My daily wear consists of recreations of garb from the 1500′s – 1800′s as well as the 1920′s. Dover reprints tons of French, fashion illustrations, vintage paper dolls, Goody Lady, etc. Of course they are the ones who reprint Etre’s fashion prints as well.

National Geographic and Smithsonian Museum books are huge sources of inspiration as well. I get lots of ideas from cultural photos and antique paintings. I enjoy creating ethnic and historic bases patterns.

And than of course there’s my #1 source of inspiration: comic books. Yep, you heard me: comic books! I’m a huge fan of comic books, manga, graphic novels, super heroes, etc, and well, like I said, I’m really big into CosPlay, so of course a lot of what I design was inspired by comic books. http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=spacedock13-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B00112A12I&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

Obsessed? I’m Not Obsessed… REALLY, I’m not!

When Next You See Me I’ll Look Like This:

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Categories: About me · Anachronism · Anachronist · Business · CosPlay · Gothic · Life · Lifestyle · Maine · Old Orchard Beach · SCA · Wendy C. Allen · comic books · cosplay in public · costume making · costumer · costumes · creativity · cross dressing · crossplay · drag queen · dressmaking · fabric · fashion · fashion design · fun things to do · inspiration · interesting facts · life blogging · medieval · my thoughts on… · painting · pattern making · patterns · sewing · sewing a costume · sewing a kimono · sewing advice · theater

Tagged: About me, Anachronist, Black Bobcat Fashions, BurdaStyle, CosPlay, cosplay in public, dressmaking, EelKat, Erte, inspiration, Japan, kimono, pattern making, Purple Peacock Patterns, sewing, The Rabbit Hole, Wendy C. Allen

Waiting for Emmett to come.

http://twitter.com/EelKat
http://www.facebook.com/EelKat
http://eknano.blogspot.com
http://eelkat.wordpress.com
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/132659
http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/user/132659

RE: BurdaStyle: Where do you find sewing inspiration?

Well as is one of my usual habits, I was zipping around BurdaStyle checking out the new stuff, when I found THIS. Well, as not my usual style I decided to comment. I rarely ever say anything over there, so no one even knows I’m there half the time! LOL! Anyways, here is my answer:

***Where do you find sewing inspiration?***

EVERYWHERE! My mom was a seamstress, sew I was already sewing at age 6. I was 16 when I graduated from a fashion design college. In the 20+ years since, I have created tons of patterns and sew all my own fashions.

I not only create my own patterns, but I also design my own fabrics as well. I paint up watercolors and than get short runs of the fabric printed up. I get ideas for a lot og my designs from nature: birds, cats, the sky, waterfalls, trees – everything inspires me to paint. Than the fabric made from the paintings inspire the flow of the dress pattern as well.

Erte is my biggest inspiration. Much of my designs are reinterpretations of his designs. I just love his art deco and flapper styles.

Also, Japanese Kimono, esp those from the Momoyama period (1500′s). I love sewing kimono, because the lines are simple and allow for display of big bold fabric prints, which thus allows me to create huge print fabric designs as well.

***What magazines, websites, books do you look at for project ideas?***

Dover Books are my #1 source of inspiration. You see, I’m a life actor, which I means I CosPlay 24/7/365 and have for years. My daily wear consists of recreations of garb from the 1500′s – 1800′s as well as the 1920′s. Dover reprints tons of French, fashion illustrations, vintage paper dolls, Goody Lady, etc. Of course they are the ones who reprint Etre’s fashion prints as well.

National Geographic and Smithsonian Museum books are huge sources of inspiration as well. I get lots of ideas from cultural photos and antique paintings. I enjoy creating ethnic and historic bases patterns.

And than of course there’s my #1 source of inspiration: comic books. Yep, you heard me: comic books! I’m a huge fan of comic books, manga, graphic novels, super heroes, etc, and well, like I said, I’m really big into CosPlay, so of course a lot of what I design was inspired by comic books.

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

Obsessed? I’m Not Obsessed… REALLY, I’m not!

When Next You See Me I’ll Look Like This:

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Categories: About me · Anachronism · Anachronist · Business · CosPlay · Gothic · Life · Lifestyle · Maine · Old Orchard Beach · SCA · Wendy C. Allen · comic books · cosplay in public · costume making · costumer · costumes · creativity · cross dressing · crossplay · drag queen · dressmaking · fabric · fashion · fashion design · fun things to do · inspiration · interesting facts · life blogging · medieval · my thoughts on… · painting · pattern making · patterns · sewing · sewing a costume · sewing a kimono · sewing advice · theater

Tagged: About me, Anachronist, Black Bobcat Fashions, BurdaStyle, CosPlay, cosplay in public, dressmaking, EelKat, Erte, inspiration, Japan, kimono, pattern making, Purple Peacock Patterns, sewing, The Rabbit Hole, Wendy C. Allen

Waiting for Emmett to come.

http://twitter.com/EelKat
http://www.facebook.com/EelKat
http://eknano.blogspot.com
http://eelkat.wordpress.com
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/132659
http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/user/132659

RE: BurdaStyle: Where do you find sewing inspiration?

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=spacedock13-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B000SKWETM&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr

Well as is one of my usual habits, I was zipping around BurdaStyle checking out the new stuff, when I found THIS. Well, as not my usual style I decided to comment. I rarely ever say anything over there, so no one even knows I’m there half the time! LOL! Anyways, here is my answer:

***Where do you find sewing inspiration?***

EVERYWHERE! My mom was a seamstress, sew I was already sewing at age 6. I was 16 when I graduated from a fashion design college. In the 20+ years since, I have created tons of patterns and sew all my own fashions.

I not only create my own patterns, but I also design my own fabrics as well. I paint up watercolors and than get short runs of the fabric printed up. I get ideas for a lot og my designs from nature: birds, cats, the sky, waterfalls, trees – everything inspires me to paint. Than the fabric made from the paintings inspire the flow of the dress pattern as well.

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=spacedock13-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B002O88DXC&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr
Erte is my biggest inspiration. Much of my designs are reinterpretations of his designs. I just love his art deco and flapper styles.

Also, Japanese Kimono, esp those from the Momoyama period (1500′s). I love sewing kimono, because the lines are simple and allow for display of big bold fabric prints, which thus allows me to create huge print fabric designs as well.
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=spacedock13-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0300094078&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr
***What magazines, websites, books do you look at for project ideas?***

Dover Books are my #1 source of inspiration. You see, I’m a life actor, which I means I CosPlay 24/7/365 and have for years. My daily wear consists of recreations of garb from the 1500′s – 1800′s as well as the 1920′s. Dover reprints tons of French, fashion illustrations, vintage paper dolls, Goody Lady, etc. Of course they are the ones who reprint Etre’s fashion prints as well.

National Geographic and Smithsonian Museum books are huge sources of inspiration as well. I get lots of ideas from cultural photos and antique paintings. I enjoy creating ethnic and historic bases patterns.

And than of course there’s my #1 source of inspiration: comic books. Yep, you heard me: comic books! I’m a huge fan of comic books, manga, graphic novels, super heroes, etc, and well, like I said, I’m really big into CosPlay, so of course a lot of what I design was inspired by comic books. http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=spacedock13-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B00112A12I&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

Obsessed? I’m Not Obsessed… REALLY, I’m not!

When Next You See Me I’ll Look Like This:

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Categories: About me · Anachronism · Anachronist · Business · CosPlay · Gothic · Life · Lifestyle · Maine · Old Orchard Beach · SCA · Wendy C. Allen · comic books · cosplay in public · costume making · costumer · costumes · creativity · cross dressing · crossplay · drag queen · dressmaking · fabric · fashion · fashion design · fun things to do · inspiration · interesting facts · life blogging · medieval · my thoughts on… · painting · pattern making · patterns · sewing · sewing a costume · sewing a kimono · sewing advice · theater

Tagged: About me, Anachronist, Black Bobcat Fashions, BurdaStyle, CosPlay, cosplay in public, dressmaking, EelKat, Erte, inspiration, Japan, kimono, pattern making, Purple Peacock Patterns, sewing, The Rabbit Hole, Wendy C. Allen

Waiting for Emmett to come.

http://twitter.com/EelKat
http://www.facebook.com/EelKat
http://eknano.blogspot.com
http://eelkat.wordpress.com
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/132659
http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/user/132659

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

My Sesshomaru Twits

I just joined Twiitter today and looking at my list I can tell already it’s going to be a long line of Sesshomaru Twits. LOL!

Here’s a copy of my first posts…

I’m heading out… got 14 cats to feed, a 16th cen reenactment Noh Kosode to embroider, and more research to do for my next Squidoo lens

EelKat @GiantSquidNews your url link is saying “404 page not found”, you might want to check it and repost it. about 2 hours ago from web in reply to GiantSquidNews
EelKat @chefkeem that http://gistweb.com/web.php is great! I just tried it out and I can see using it to brainstorm ideas to write about. Thanks! about 2 hours ago from web in reply to chefkeem
EelKat I just updated my Squidoo page: EelKat’s Secrets To Squidoo Success / http://tinyurl.com/4jb2vt about 2 hours ago from Squidoo
EelKat well, it’s started… still under construction, but published, so you can what I’ve got there so far. I’ll write up the rest of it tonight. about 2 hours ago from web
EelKat I just updated my Squidoo page: What People Buy / http://tinyurl.com/6ezdeh about 2 hours ago from Squidoo
EelKat @calliecat cupcakes sound good right now… chocolate with cream cheese centers… yummy! about 3 hours ago from web in reply to calliecat
EelKat as if 313 lenses was not enough… I just had an idea for another one to track what people buy off my lenses… off to make it now. about 3 hours ago from web
EelKat I’m awake again and back online about 3 hours ago from web
EelKat I just updated my Squidoo page: Lord Sesshomaru Costume: Part II / http://tinyurl.com/5dr7cz about 10 hours ago from Squidoo
EelKat @zzztimbo me too! the sun is coming up and I haven’t even gone to bed yet! YIKES! about 10 hours ago from web in reply to zzztimbo
EelKat I just updated my Squidoo page: Lord Sesshomaru Costume / http://tinyurl.com/2yrw3e about 10 hours ago from Squidoo
EelKat InuYasha ended… I can get back to what I was doing now, which is reading lastest posts on http://fourhourworkweek.com… about 11 hours ago from web
EelKat @Rock_The_Ice yep… true, all my favorite men are psychotic killers: Sesshy, NegaDuck, Sweeny Todd… I’m seeing a pattern here. LOL! about 11 hours ago from web in reply to Rock_The_Ice
EelKat Sara dead…. Sesshy sliced her in half. Not good to love this guy. about 11 hours ago from web
EelKat I forgot what a bloody episode this was… pathetic humans all dropping like flies left and right. Why do I like such evil villains? about 12 hours ago from web
EelKat You know, Sesshomaru’s got a heck of a track record… all his women wind up dead. about 12 hours ago from web
EelKat My signature episode is on. YAAAY! “The Woman Who Loved Sesshomaru” Best episode ever!… sad one though, she dies at the end. about 12 hours ago from web
EelKat @Rock_The_Ice I can’t InuYasha comes on in 15 minutes about 12 hours ago from web in reply to Rock_The_Ice
EelKat @Rock_The_Ice LOL! it’s 4:47AM where I’m at… I’m lucky I’m still typing at all! about 12 hours ago from web in reply to Rock_The_Ice

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

My Sesshomaru Twits

I just joined Twiitter today and looking at my list I can tell already it’s going to be a long line of Sesshomaru Twits. LOL!

Here’s a copy of my first posts…

I’m heading out… got 14 cats to feed, a 16th cen reenactment Noh Kosode to embroider, and more research to do for my next Squidoo lens

EelKat @GiantSquidNews your url link is saying “404 page not found”, you might want to check it and repost it. about 2 hours ago from web in reply to GiantSquidNews
EelKat @chefkeem that http://gistweb.com/web.php is great! I just tried it out and I can see using it to brainstorm ideas to write about. Thanks! about 2 hours ago from web in reply to chefkeem
EelKat I just updated my Squidoo page: EelKat’s Secrets To Squidoo Success / http://tinyurl.com/4jb2vt about 2 hours ago from Squidoo
EelKat well, it’s started… still under construction, but published, so you can what I’ve got there so far. I’ll write up the rest of it tonight. about 2 hours ago from web
EelKat I just updated my Squidoo page: What People Buy / http://tinyurl.com/6ezdeh about 2 hours ago from Squidoo
EelKat @calliecat cupcakes sound good right now… chocolate with cream cheese centers… yummy! about 3 hours ago from web in reply to calliecat
EelKat as if 313 lenses was not enough… I just had an idea for another one to track what people buy off my lenses… off to make it now. about 3 hours ago from web
EelKat I’m awake again and back online about 3 hours ago from web
EelKat I just updated my Squidoo page: Lord Sesshomaru Costume: Part II / http://tinyurl.com/5dr7cz about 10 hours ago from Squidoo
EelKat @zzztimbo me too! the sun is coming up and I haven’t even gone to bed yet! YIKES! about 10 hours ago from web in reply to zzztimbo
EelKat I just updated my Squidoo page: Lord Sesshomaru Costume / http://tinyurl.com/2yrw3e about 10 hours ago from Squidoo
EelKat InuYasha ended… I can get back to what I was doing now, which is reading lastest posts on http://fourhourworkweek.com… about 11 hours ago from web
EelKat @Rock_The_Ice yep… true, all my favorite men are psychotic killers: Sesshy, NegaDuck, Sweeny Todd… I’m seeing a pattern here. LOL! about 11 hours ago from web in reply to Rock_The_Ice
EelKat Sara dead…. Sesshy sliced her in half. Not good to love this guy. about 11 hours ago from web
EelKat I forgot what a bloody episode this was… pathetic humans all dropping like flies left and right. Why do I like such evil villains? about 12 hours ago from web
EelKat You know, Sesshomaru’s got a heck of a track record… all his women wind up dead. about 12 hours ago from web
EelKat My signature episode is on. YAAAY! “The Woman Who Loved Sesshomaru” Best episode ever!… sad one though, she dies at the end. about 12 hours ago from web
EelKat @Rock_The_Ice I can’t InuYasha comes on in 15 minutes about 12 hours ago from web in reply to Rock_The_Ice
EelKat @Rock_The_Ice LOL! it’s 4:47AM where I’m at… I’m lucky I’m still typing at all! about 12 hours ago from web in reply to Rock_The_Ice

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

My Sesshomaru Twits

I just joined Twiitter today and looking at my list I can tell already it’s going to be a long line of Sesshomaru Twits. LOL!

Here’s a copy of my first posts…

I’m heading out… got 14 cats to feed, a 16th cen reenactment Noh Kosode to embroider, and more research to do for my next Squidoo lens

EelKat @GiantSquidNews your url link is saying “404 page not found”, you might want to check it and repost it. about 2 hours ago from web in reply to GiantSquidNews
EelKat @chefkeem that http://gistweb.com/web.php is great! I just tried it out and I can see using it to brainstorm ideas to write about. Thanks! about 2 hours ago from web in reply to chefkeem
EelKat I just updated my Squidoo page: EelKat’s Secrets To Squidoo Success / http://tinyurl.com/4jb2vt about 2 hours ago from Squidoo
EelKat well, it’s started… still under construction, but published, so you can what I’ve got there so far. I’ll write up the rest of it tonight. about 2 hours ago from web
EelKat I just updated my Squidoo page: What People Buy / http://tinyurl.com/6ezdeh about 2 hours ago from Squidoo
EelKat @calliecat cupcakes sound good right now… chocolate with cream cheese centers… yummy! about 3 hours ago from web in reply to calliecat
EelKat as if 313 lenses was not enough… I just had an idea for another one to track what people buy off my lenses… off to make it now. about 3 hours ago from web
EelKat I’m awake again and back online about 3 hours ago from web
EelKat I just updated my Squidoo page: Lord Sesshomaru Costume: Part II / http://tinyurl.com/5dr7cz about 10 hours ago from Squidoo
EelKat @zzztimbo me too! the sun is coming up and I haven’t even gone to bed yet! YIKES! about 10 hours ago from web in reply to zzztimbo
EelKat I just updated my Squidoo page: Lord Sesshomaru Costume / http://tinyurl.com/2yrw3e about 10 hours ago from Squidoo
EelKat InuYasha ended… I can get back to what I was doing now, which is reading lastest posts on http://fourhourworkweek.com… about 11 hours ago from web
EelKat @Rock_The_Ice yep… true, all my favorite men are psychotic killers: Sesshy, NegaDuck, Sweeny Todd… I’m seeing a pattern here. LOL! about 11 hours ago from web in reply to Rock_The_Ice
EelKat Sara dead…. Sesshy sliced her in half. Not good to love this guy. about 11 hours ago from web
EelKat I forgot what a bloody episode this was… pathetic humans all dropping like flies left and right. Why do I like such evil villains? about 12 hours ago from web
EelKat You know, Sesshomaru’s got a heck of a track record… all his women wind up dead. about 12 hours ago from web
EelKat My signature episode is on. YAAAY! “The Woman Who Loved Sesshomaru” Best episode ever!… sad one though, she dies at the end. about 12 hours ago from web
EelKat @Rock_The_Ice I can’t InuYasha comes on in 15 minutes about 12 hours ago from web in reply to Rock_The_Ice
EelKat @Rock_The_Ice LOL! it’s 4:47AM where I’m at… I’m lucky I’m still typing at all! about 12 hours ago from web in reply to Rock_The_Ice

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

Wearing kimono in public…

Why is this considered so strange?

In the 1970′s my grandmother went to Japan and she brought back a kimono for me, I was about 8 years old, and I literally lived in that thing, and still, 25 years later were it on a daily basis, along with my other ever growing collection of kimono and various Japanese cloths. For me these are just my normal ordinary, every day cloths. I live in them day in and day out. So why do I get stopped by people every where I go, who want to know why I am wearing a kimono?

Ok, so, yes, I live in America, and no I’m not Japanese, but what does that have to do with it? Why do every one automatically assume that this is a costume?

Yesterday it happened again. I was in Target buying dog food and car litter, when a women comes up to me and tells me she loves my kimono, than wants to know why I am wearing it. “Am I on my way to a party? No.

If this happened just once or twice it’d be one thing, but it happens every single time I leave the house. I can’t go shopping without people stopping to ask if I’m on the way to a party or a comic con or a ren faire or if I’m an actor from a local theater…. is it really so odd to see someone wearing a kimono in America?

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

Wearing kimono in public…

Why is this considered so strange?

In the 1970′s my grandmother went to Japan and she brought back a kimono for me, I was about 8 years old, and I literally lived in that thing, and still, 25 years later were it on a daily basis, along with my other ever growing collection of kimono and various Japanese cloths. For me these are just my normal ordinary, every day cloths. I live in them day in and day out. So why do I get stopped by people every where I go, who want to know why I am wearing a kimono?

Ok, so, yes, I live in America, and no I’m not Japanese, but what does that have to do with it? Why do every one automatically assume that this is a costume?

Yesterday it happened again. I was in Target buying dog food and car litter, when a women comes up to me and tells me she loves my kimono, than wants to know why I am wearing it. “Am I on my way to a party? No.

If this happened just once or twice it’d be one thing, but it happens every single time I leave the house. I can’t go shopping without people stopping to ask if I’m on the way to a party or a comic con or a ren faire or if I’m an actor from a local theater…. is it really so odd to see someone wearing a kimono in America?

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

Wearing kimono in public…

Why is this considered so strange?

In the 1970′s my grandmother went to Japan and she brought back a kimono for me, I was about 8 years old, and I literally lived in that thing, and still, 25 years later were it on a daily basis, along with my other ever growing collection of kimono and various Japanese cloths. For me these are just my normal ordinary, every day cloths. I live in them day in and day out. So why do I get stopped by people every where I go, who want to know why I am wearing a kimono?

Ok, so, yes, I live in America, and no I’m not Japanese, but what does that have to do with it? Why do every one automatically assume that this is a costume?

Yesterday it happened again. I was in Target buying dog food and car litter, when a women comes up to me and tells me she loves my kimono, than wants to know why I am wearing it. “Am I on my way to a party? No.

If this happened just once or twice it’d be one thing, but it happens every single time I leave the house. I can’t go shopping without people stopping to ask if I’m on the way to a party or a comic con or a ren faire or if I’m an actor from a local theater…. is it really so odd to see someone wearing a kimono in America?

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

How Long Does It Take To Make a Costume?

It depends on what I’m doing. Most average at 1 to 3 months. Simple things can take as little as a week or 2.

For my current project, I’m planning on 9 months to 3 years, because besides sewing the basic parts of the outfit, it involves hand embroidering 4 different kimono, each of which I’m also hand sewing, plus making leather armor, and casting the metal spike plates that go over the armor, and than since I can’t find the wig I need, I’m going to have to make one myself.

Yesterday I hand drew the embroidery designs onto the silk for one of the kimono… that took 8 hours to do, and I’m still not finished with it. (I’m copying the designs off a real Noh kosode from the 16th cen., so it’s an over all embroidery pattern, covering nearly every inch of the kimono)

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

How Long Does It Take To Make a Costume?

It depends on what I’m doing. Most average at 1 to 3 months. Simple things can take as little as a week or 2.

For my current project, I’m planning on 9 months to 3 years, because besides sewing the basic parts of the outfit, it involves hand embroidering 4 different kimono, each of which I’m also hand sewing, plus making leather armor, and casting the metal spike plates that go over the armor, and than since I can’t find the wig I need, I’m going to have to make one myself.

Yesterday I hand drew the embroidery designs onto the silk for one of the kimono… that took 8 hours to do, and I’m still not finished with it. (I’m copying the designs off a real Noh kosode from the 16th cen., so it’s an over all embroidery pattern, covering nearly every inch of the kimono)

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

How Long Does It Take To Make a Costume?

It depends on what I’m doing. Most average at 1 to 3 months. Simple things can take as little as a week or 2.

For my current project, I’m planning on 9 months to 3 years, because besides sewing the basic parts of the outfit, it involves hand embroidering 4 different kimono, each of which I’m also hand sewing, plus making leather armor, and casting the metal spike plates that go over the armor, and than since I can’t find the wig I need, I’m going to have to make one myself.

Yesterday I hand drew the embroidery designs onto the silk for one of the kimono… that took 8 hours to do, and I’m still not finished with it. (I’m copying the designs off a real Noh kosode from the 16th cen., so it’s an over all embroidery pattern, covering nearly every inch of the kimono)

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

Is Buying a Costume Instead of Sewing It Considered Cheating?

[QUOTE=Meiria;2446201]I’m just getting into the cosplay scene and was wondering how some veteran cosplayers feel about it.

I’m not talking about those $50 nylon naruto Costumes that you can find on eBay (obviously, they are in bad taste!) – but is buying an expensive ($150-$500) premade costume “tacky”?

I have intermediate sewing skills, and have worked with simple pattern modifications before. But making a custom kimono, for example, with several layers and embroidery, would be beyond me. I know how to sew, and want to learn more, but with the constraints on my time, and my advanced beginner level abilities, is making a fancy costume from scratch through pattern modification a stretch?

Is someone only a “good” cosplayer if they made it themselves or commissioned it?[/QUOTE]

Ahh… making AND embroidering a custom kimono…. now you are talking my language! I’m an embroiderer, and for me, making my costumes is not so that I can say I made the costume so much as it is so I can say:[I] “OMG! I can’t believe I actually embroidered every inch of this thing myself!”[/I]. I am currently in the process of hand embroidering antique silk to make Lord Sesshomaru’s Pink flower furisode kimono (from the movie), and I’m doing it in 16th century Noh Theater style covering every inch of the cloth with embroidery… it’s going to take me at least 4 months to embroider, and could take 8 or 9 months.

If you are going for a historically accurate embroidered and layered kimono… OMG! Those things can take up to 4 years to make! Some of the detail work that goes into them are amazing, but hand embroidery is just the slowest thing you could ever try to do. Embroidered kimonos are usually done by 5 or 6 people all sitting around it and embroidering sections of it, and even than it takes 4 or 5 months to finish. If you are talking 16th century embroidery in the Noh style, you are talking a majorly advanced project that you’ll really have a hard time finding a seamstress willing to do. Those things are a real pain to make… I know, because, I’m doing one right now.

Weird thing about this is, I’m not doing it to enter any Cons or contests, and I’ll probably never go to a Con (haven’t been to one yet, but that never stopped me from CosPlaying). I will however wear this as part of my street cloths, as I do with all of my CosPlay stuff.

I do this because I just love to sew and embroider things. For me, personally, CosPlay is all about the actual construction of the costume… the designing, the planning, the hours spent in fabric stores looking for just the right fabric, than the months spent sewing.

However, as I said, that me. Everyone is different. And you know what? You do not have to make it yourself to CosPlay!

In fact the best most detailed costume I ever wore, was one of the ones I did not make myself. It was way to advanced, and I knew my sewing skills would not cut it, so I had a seamstress make it up instead and she did an amazing job on it. It was Miss Piggy from the Muppet Show, and it had a full head mask, that looked EXACTLY like the Miss Piggy puppet on the show, the whole thing was made out of sculpted felt and was utterly amazing. I could have done the dress, but I just let her do the whole thing. It was the mask that really stumped me, because I just can’t sculpt fabric and make it look like anything.

A agree with this statement here:

[QUOTE=Danzikumaru;1807749]*

It isn’t cheating to buy a costume. It IS cheating to enter a costume contest with a bought costume and claim you made it.

*[/QUOTE]

For me personally, I’d feel like I was cheating if I wore a bought costume, because I’m so damn good at sewing that I’d run myself through a guilt trip over it (unless it was so advanced that I couldn’t make it myself). But that would be me judging me, not me judging someone else. I started sewing at age 6, because my mom was a seamstress. I grew up sewing costumes, it’s just second nature to me, so for me to buy a costume would just [I]feel [/I]wrong.

On the other hand though, I would never accuse any one of cheating for buying a costume. I know first hand just how much time and money and long hard work goes into sewing a costume, and I also know it’s not something every can or wants to do. It takes a lot of work to make a costume, and even people who have the skill, may not have the time, what with school-jobs-family, for a lot of folks, sewing a costume, just really is not an option, even if they did want to sew it themselves.

To me, I feel it’s really snobby, for anyone to tell you that yo are cheating it you didn’t sew it yourself.

CosPlay = Costume Play, nothing more and nothing less. CosPlay does not mean Sewed Costume Myself Play, it doesn’t dictate that you MUST sew the costume yourself. All it dictates is that you wear a costume, not how you came by said costume.

So, my feelings are that you are only cheating if you bought the costume and than said you sewed it.

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

Is Buying a Costume Instead of Sewing It Considered Cheating?

[QUOTE=Meiria;2446201]I’m just getting into the cosplay scene and was wondering how some veteran cosplayers feel about it.

I’m not talking about those $50 nylon naruto Costumes that you can find on eBay (obviously, they are in bad taste!) – but is buying an expensive ($150-$500) premade costume “tacky”?

I have intermediate sewing skills, and have worked with simple pattern modifications before. But making a custom kimono, for example, with several layers and embroidery, would be beyond me. I know how to sew, and want to learn more, but with the constraints on my time, and my advanced beginner level abilities, is making a fancy costume from scratch through pattern modification a stretch?

Is someone only a “good” cosplayer if they made it themselves or commissioned it?[/QUOTE]

Ahh… making AND embroidering a custom kimono…. now you are talking my language! I’m an embroiderer, and for me, making my costumes is not so that I can say I made the costume so much as it is so I can say:[I] “OMG! I can’t believe I actually embroidered every inch of this thing myself!”[/I]. I am currently in the process of hand embroidering antique silk to make Lord Sesshomaru’s Pink flower furisode kimono (from the movie), and I’m doing it in 16th century Noh Theater style covering every inch of the cloth with embroidery… it’s going to take me at least 4 months to embroider, and could take 8 or 9 months.

If you are going for a historically accurate embroidered and layered kimono… OMG! Those things can take up to 4 years to make! Some of the detail work that goes into them are amazing, but hand embroidery is just the slowest thing you could ever try to do. Embroidered kimonos are usually done by 5 or 6 people all sitting around it and embroidering sections of it, and even than it takes 4 or 5 months to finish. If you are talking 16th century embroidery in the Noh style, you are talking a majorly advanced project that you’ll really have a hard time finding a seamstress willing to do. Those things are a real pain to make… I know, because, I’m doing one right now.

Weird thing about this is, I’m not doing it to enter any Cons or contests, and I’ll probably never go to a Con (haven’t been to one yet, but that never stopped me from CosPlaying). I will however wear this as part of my street cloths, as I do with all of my CosPlay stuff.

I do this because I just love to sew and embroider things. For me, personally, CosPlay is all about the actual construction of the costume… the designing, the planning, the hours spent in fabric stores looking for just the right fabric, than the months spent sewing.

However, as I said, that me. Everyone is different. And you know what? You do not have to make it yourself to CosPlay!

In fact the best most detailed costume I ever wore, was one of the ones I did not make myself. It was way to advanced, and I knew my sewing skills would not cut it, so I had a seamstress make it up instead and she did an amazing job on it. It was Miss Piggy from the Muppet Show, and it had a full head mask, that looked EXACTLY like the Miss Piggy puppet on the show, the whole thing was made out of sculpted felt and was utterly amazing. I could have done the dress, but I just let her do the whole thing. It was the mask that really stumped me, because I just can’t sculpt fabric and make it look like anything.

A agree with this statement here:

[QUOTE=Danzikumaru;1807749]*

It isn’t cheating to buy a costume. It IS cheating to enter a costume contest with a bought costume and claim you made it.

*[/QUOTE]

For me personally, I’d feel like I was cheating if I wore a bought costume, because I’m so damn good at sewing that I’d run myself through a guilt trip over it (unless it was so advanced that I couldn’t make it myself). But that would be me judging me, not me judging someone else. I started sewing at age 6, because my mom was a seamstress. I grew up sewing costumes, it’s just second nature to me, so for me to buy a costume would just [I]feel [/I]wrong.

On the other hand though, I would never accuse any one of cheating for buying a costume. I know first hand just how much time and money and long hard work goes into sewing a costume, and I also know it’s not something every can or wants to do. It takes a lot of work to make a costume, and even people who have the skill, may not have the time, what with school-jobs-family, for a lot of folks, sewing a costume, just really is not an option, even if they did want to sew it themselves.

To me, I feel it’s really snobby, for anyone to tell you that yo are cheating it you didn’t sew it yourself.

CosPlay = Costume Play, nothing more and nothing less. CosPlay does not mean Sewed Costume Myself Play, it doesn’t dictate that you MUST sew the costume yourself. All it dictates is that you wear a costume, not how you came by said costume.

So, my feelings are that you are only cheating if you bought the costume and than said you sewed it.

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

Is Buying a Costume Instead of Sewing It Considered Cheating?

[QUOTE=Meiria;2446201]I’m just getting into the cosplay scene and was wondering how some veteran cosplayers feel about it.

I’m not talking about those $50 nylon naruto Costumes that you can find on eBay (obviously, they are in bad taste!) – but is buying an expensive ($150-$500) premade costume “tacky”?

I have intermediate sewing skills, and have worked with simple pattern modifications before. But making a custom kimono, for example, with several layers and embroidery, would be beyond me. I know how to sew, and want to learn more, but with the constraints on my time, and my advanced beginner level abilities, is making a fancy costume from scratch through pattern modification a stretch?

Is someone only a “good” cosplayer if they made it themselves or commissioned it?[/QUOTE]

Ahh… making AND embroidering a custom kimono…. now you are talking my language! I’m an embroiderer, and for me, making my costumes is not so that I can say I made the costume so much as it is so I can say:[I] “OMG! I can’t believe I actually embroidered every inch of this thing myself!”[/I]. I am currently in the process of hand embroidering antique silk to make Lord Sesshomaru’s Pink flower furisode kimono (from the movie), and I’m doing it in 16th century Noh Theater style covering every inch of the cloth with embroidery… it’s going to take me at least 4 months to embroider, and could take 8 or 9 months.

If you are going for a historically accurate embroidered and layered kimono… OMG! Those things can take up to 4 years to make! Some of the detail work that goes into them are amazing, but hand embroidery is just the slowest thing you could ever try to do. Embroidered kimonos are usually done by 5 or 6 people all sitting around it and embroidering sections of it, and even than it takes 4 or 5 months to finish. If you are talking 16th century embroidery in the Noh style, you are talking a majorly advanced project that you’ll really have a hard time finding a seamstress willing to do. Those things are a real pain to make… I know, because, I’m doing one right now.

Weird thing about this is, I’m not doing it to enter any Cons or contests, and I’ll probably never go to a Con (haven’t been to one yet, but that never stopped me from CosPlaying). I will however wear this as part of my street cloths, as I do with all of my CosPlay stuff.

I do this because I just love to sew and embroider things. For me, personally, CosPlay is all about the actual construction of the costume… the designing, the planning, the hours spent in fabric stores looking for just the right fabric, than the months spent sewing.

However, as I said, that me. Everyone is different. And you know what? You do not have to make it yourself to CosPlay!

In fact the best most detailed costume I ever wore, was one of the ones I did not make myself. It was way to advanced, and I knew my sewing skills would not cut it, so I had a seamstress make it up instead and she did an amazing job on it. It was Miss Piggy from the Muppet Show, and it had a full head mask, that looked EXACTLY like the Miss Piggy puppet on the show, the whole thing was made out of sculpted felt and was utterly amazing. I could have done the dress, but I just let her do the whole thing. It was the mask that really stumped me, because I just can’t sculpt fabric and make it look like anything.

A agree with this statement here:

[QUOTE=Danzikumaru;1807749]*

It isn’t cheating to buy a costume. It IS cheating to enter a costume contest with a bought costume and claim you made it.

*[/QUOTE]

For me personally, I’d feel like I was cheating if I wore a bought costume, because I’m so damn good at sewing that I’d run myself through a guilt trip over it (unless it was so advanced that I couldn’t make it myself). But that would be me judging me, not me judging someone else. I started sewing at age 6, because my mom was a seamstress. I grew up sewing costumes, it’s just second nature to me, so for me to buy a costume would just [I]feel [/I]wrong.

On the other hand though, I would never accuse any one of cheating for buying a costume. I know first hand just how much time and money and long hard work goes into sewing a costume, and I also know it’s not something every can or wants to do. It takes a lot of work to make a costume, and even people who have the skill, may not have the time, what with school-jobs-family, for a lot of folks, sewing a costume, just really is not an option, even if they did want to sew it themselves.

To me, I feel it’s really snobby, for anyone to tell you that yo are cheating it you didn’t sew it yourself.

CosPlay = Costume Play, nothing more and nothing less. CosPlay does not mean Sewed Costume Myself Play, it doesn’t dictate that you MUST sew the costume yourself. All it dictates is that you wear a costume, not how you came by said costume.

So, my feelings are that you are only cheating if you bought the costume and than said you sewed it.

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

Lord Sesshomaru’s Kimono: Anime & Manga

Sessho-Maru-Sama’s Kimono

Besides being the world’s most powerful demon, Lord Sesshomaru is both a warrior and nobleman, a wealthy and powerful Feudal overlord,The Ruler of The Western Lands (believed to be somewhere in China or Mongolia) and a much feared (a murderously violent) aristocrat and as such wears a style of ceremonial Kimono which is only worn by the elite few of his social standing. This can be seen by the fact that he wears white, a color reserved only for royalty, brides, and the dead, and by the fact that there are so many imperial crests embroidered onto his Kimono.

Sesshomaru’s Kimono is a very ceremonial style, of solid white, with full swinging sleeves that sweep in lengths just above his ankles. The lower quarter of each sleeve is dyed red, and the left shoulder is also dyed red.

On the front and back of each sleeve, near the boarder of the dye are embroidered three family crests (twelve in all). The crest is repeated on the neck and shoulder of the left side.

Each crest consists of a triple hexagon with a six petaled white plum/cherry blossom in the center of each red hexagon, surrounded by a white boarder.

There is some debate among fans as to the lower edge of the kimono and what it should look like, since the hem of Sesshomaru’s kimono is never seen in either the books or the show. There is also question as to just how long the kimono he wears is; again, he wears a hakama over his kimono, so we never see the hem edge of it.

In the areas of Lord Sesshomaru’s costume where we do not have a visual reference to go by, we must instead look to the history books and find out what a real warring lord of Endo Japan would have done, and in doing that, this is what my research told me:

When worn by common folk, soldiers, and laborers, the length of a kimono worn under a hakama would have been knee length. However, the kimonos worn by noblemen, lords, and aristocrats would have been long full length kimonos.

The length of Lord Sesshomaru’s kimono should be long: very, very, very long. My study of Japanese fashion history tells me that a war lord of Sesshomaru’s status, would have worn a kimono of overblown proportions, not only are the sleeves abnormally long, but so to would have been the length of the kimono, which in some cases would have a train several feet long in the back! All of this extra fabric however would not be seen, because it would be girdled with a braided cord, and stuffed into the legs of the overlaying hakama, thus helping to give the hakama it’s huge ballooning pant-legs-effect.

Additionally, my research tells me that the hem edge of the kimono would be patterned and decorated to match the pattern of decoration on the sleeves and left shoulder. Note that the fact that the pattern is ONLY on the left shoulder, is an indication that this is not only a lord, but a lord of near Shogun status. Lord Sesshomaru is a very high ranking lord.

So my advice? I would say to make his kimono at least 4 inches longer than floor length for the wearer, and dye the lower 8 to 12 inches red to match the sleeves, and add imperial crests staggered at the same intervals as on the sleeves..

Beneath his Kimono Sesshomaru wears a white (or sometimes red flower print) Nagajuban.

This is the ONLY version ever to be drawn by Sesshomaru’s creator Rumiko Takahashi. All other versions of his costume were created by the tv anime artists and manga inkers.

(my art from my fashion design costume portfolio)

On occasion, Sesshomaru is seen wearing a slightly different kimono. This can be considered either a mistake on the pat of the anime artists, or an indication that he has not one, but four different kimonos.

Alternate Kimonos #1 and 2 are essentially the same as his regularly worn kimono, the only difference being the color of the dye and patches.

Alternate Kimono #3 is completely different and is much less formal as is has no crests on it at all.

If you want to make one of the alternate kimonos, they are described as follows:

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

Lord Sesshomaru’s Kimono: Anime & Manga

Sessho-Maru-Sama’s Kimono

Besides being the world’s most powerful demon, Lord Sesshomaru is both a warrior and nobleman, a wealthy and powerful Feudal overlord,The Ruler of The Western Lands (believed to be somewhere in China or Mongolia) and a much feared (a murderously violent) aristocrat and as such wears a style of ceremonial Kimono which is only worn by the elite few of his social standing. This can be seen by the fact that he wears white, a color reserved only for royalty, brides, and the dead, and by the fact that there are so many imperial crests embroidered onto his Kimono.

Sesshomaru’s Kimono is a very ceremonial style, of solid white, with full swinging sleeves that sweep in lengths just above his ankles. The lower quarter of each sleeve is dyed red, and the left shoulder is also dyed red.

On the front and back of each sleeve, near the boarder of the dye are embroidered three family crests (twelve in all). The crest is repeated on the neck and shoulder of the left side.

Each crest consists of a triple hexagon with a six petaled white plum/cherry blossom in the center of each red hexagon, surrounded by a white boarder.

There is some debate among fans as to the lower edge of the kimono and what it should look like, since the hem of Sesshomaru’s kimono is never seen in either the books or the show. There is also question as to just how long the kimono he wears is; again, he wears a hakama over his kimono, so we never see the hem edge of it.

In the areas of Lord Sesshomaru’s costume where we do not have a visual reference to go by, we must instead look to the history books and find out what a real warring lord of Endo Japan would have done, and in doing that, this is what my research told me:

When worn by common folk, soldiers, and laborers, the length of a kimono worn under a hakama would have been knee length. However, the kimonos worn by noblemen, lords, and aristocrats would have been long full length kimonos.

The length of Lord Sesshomaru’s kimono should be long: very, very, very long. My study of Japanese fashion history tells me that a war lord of Sesshomaru’s status, would have worn a kimono of overblown proportions, not only are the sleeves abnormally long, but so to would have been the length of the kimono, which in some cases would have a train several feet long in the back! All of this extra fabric however would not be seen, because it would be girdled with a braided cord, and stuffed into the legs of the overlaying hakama, thus helping to give the hakama it’s huge ballooning pant-legs-effect.

Additionally, my research tells me that the hem edge of the kimono would be patterned and decorated to match the pattern of decoration on the sleeves and left shoulder. Note that the fact that the pattern is ONLY on the left shoulder, is an indication that this is not only a lord, but a lord of near Shogun status. Lord Sesshomaru is a very high ranking lord.

So my advice? I would say to make his kimono at least 4 inches longer than floor length for the wearer, and dye the lower 8 to 12 inches red to match the sleeves, and add imperial crests staggered at the same intervals as on the sleeves..

Beneath his Kimono Sesshomaru wears a white (or sometimes red flower print) Nagajuban.

This is the ONLY version ever to be drawn by Sesshomaru’s creator Rumiko Takahashi. All other versions of his costume were created by the tv anime artists and manga inkers.

(my art from my fashion design costume portfolio)

On occasion, Sesshomaru is seen wearing a slightly different kimono. This can be considered either a mistake on the pat of the anime artists, or an indication that he has not one, but four different kimonos.

Alternate Kimonos #1 and 2 are essentially the same as his regularly worn kimono, the only difference being the color of the dye and patches.

Alternate Kimono #3 is completely different and is much less formal as is has no crests on it at all.

If you want to make one of the alternate kimonos, they are described as follows:

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

Lord Sesshomaru’s Kimono: Anime & Manga

Sessho-Maru-Sama’s Kimono

Besides being the world’s most powerful demon, Lord Sesshomaru is both a warrior and nobleman, a wealthy and powerful Feudal overlord,The Ruler of The Western Lands (believed to be somewhere in China or Mongolia) and a much feared (a murderously violent) aristocrat and as such wears a style of ceremonial Kimono which is only worn by the elite few of his social standing. This can be seen by the fact that he wears white, a color reserved only for royalty, brides, and the dead, and by the fact that there are so many imperial crests embroidered onto his Kimono.

Sesshomaru’s Kimono is a very ceremonial style, of solid white, with full swinging sleeves that sweep in lengths just above his ankles. The lower quarter of each sleeve is dyed red, and the left shoulder is also dyed red.

On the front and back of each sleeve, near the boarder of the dye are embroidered three family crests (twelve in all). The crest is repeated on the neck and shoulder of the left side.

Each crest consists of a triple hexagon with a six petaled white plum/cherry blossom in the center of each red hexagon, surrounded by a white boarder.

There is some debate among fans as to the lower edge of the kimono and what it should look like, since the hem of Sesshomaru’s kimono is never seen in either the books or the show. There is also question as to just how long the kimono he wears is; again, he wears a hakama over his kimono, so we never see the hem edge of it.

In the areas of Lord Sesshomaru’s costume where we do not have a visual reference to go by, we must instead look to the history books and find out what a real warring lord of Endo Japan would have done, and in doing that, this is what my research told me:

When worn by common folk, soldiers, and laborers, the length of a kimono worn under a hakama would have been knee length. However, the kimonos worn by noblemen, lords, and aristocrats would have been long full length kimonos.

The length of Lord Sesshomaru’s kimono should be long: very, very, very long. My study of Japanese fashion history tells me that a war lord of Sesshomaru’s status, would have worn a kimono of overblown proportions, not only are the sleeves abnormally long, but so to would have been the length of the kimono, which in some cases would have a train several feet long in the back! All of this extra fabric however would not be seen, because it would be girdled with a braided cord, and stuffed into the legs of the overlaying hakama, thus helping to give the hakama it’s huge ballooning pant-legs-effect.

Additionally, my research tells me that the hem edge of the kimono would be patterned and decorated to match the pattern of decoration on the sleeves and left shoulder. Note that the fact that the pattern is ONLY on the left shoulder, is an indication that this is not only a lord, but a lord of near Shogun status. Lord Sesshomaru is a very high ranking lord.

So my advice? I would say to make his kimono at least 4 inches longer than floor length for the wearer, and dye the lower 8 to 12 inches red to match the sleeves, and add imperial crests staggered at the same intervals as on the sleeves..

Beneath his Kimono Sesshomaru wears a white (or sometimes red flower print) Nagajuban.

This is the ONLY version ever to be drawn by Sesshomaru’s creator Rumiko Takahashi. All other versions of his costume were created by the tv anime artists and manga inkers.

(my art from my fashion design costume portfolio)

On occasion, Sesshomaru is seen wearing a slightly different kimono. This can be considered either a mistake on the pat of the anime artists, or an indication that he has not one, but four different kimonos.

Alternate Kimonos #1 and 2 are essentially the same as his regularly worn kimono, the only difference being the color of the dye and patches.

Alternate Kimono #3 is completely different and is much less formal as is has no crests on it at all.

If you want to make one of the alternate kimonos, they are described as follows:

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

Lord Sesshomaru’s Kimono: Anime & Manga

Sessho-Maru-Sama’s Kimono

Besides being the world’s most powerful demon, Lord Sesshomaru is both a warrior and nobleman, a wealthy and powerful Feudal overlord,The Ruler of The Western Lands (believed to be somewhere in China or Mongolia) and a much feared (a murderously violent) aristocrat and as such wears a style of ceremonial Kimono which is only worn by the elite few of his social standing. This can be seen by the fact that he wears white, a color reserved only for royalty, brides, and the dead, and by the fact that there are so many imperial crests embroidered onto his Kimono.

Sesshomaru’s Kimono is a very ceremonial style, of solid white, with full swinging sleeves that sweep in lengths just above his ankles. The lower quarter of each sleeve is dyed red, and the left shoulder is also dyed red.

On the front and back of each sleeve, near the boarder of the dye are embroidered three family crests (twelve in all). The crest is repeated on the neck and shoulder of the left side.

Each crest consists of a triple hexagon with a six petaled white plum/cherry blossom in the center of each red hexagon, surrounded by a white boarder.

There is some debate among fans as to the lower edge of the kimono and what it should look like, since the hem of Sesshomaru’s kimono is never seen in either the books or the show. There is also question as to just how long the kimono he wears is; again, he wears a hakama over his kimono, so we never see the hem edge of it.

In the areas of Lord Sesshomaru’s costume where we do not have a visual reference to go by, we must instead look to the history books and find out what a real warring lord of Endo Japan would have done, and in doing that, this is what my research told me:

When worn by common folk, soldiers, and laborers, the length of a kimono worn under a hakama would have been knee length. However, the kimonos worn by noblemen, lords, and aristocrats would have been long full length kimonos.

The length of Lord Sesshomaru’s kimono should be long: very, very, very long. My study of Japanese fashion history tells me that a war lord of Sesshomaru’s status, would have worn a kimono of overblown proportions, not only are the sleeves abnormally long, but so to would have been the length of the kimono, which in some cases would have a train several feet long in the back! All of this extra fabric however would not be seen, because it would be girdled with a braided cord, and stuffed into the legs of the overlaying hakama, thus helping to give the hakama it’s huge ballooning pant-legs-effect.

Additionally, my research tells me that the hem edge of the kimono would be patterned and decorated to match the pattern of decoration on the sleeves and left shoulder. Note that the fact that the pattern is ONLY on the left shoulder, is an indication that this is not only a lord, but a lord of near Shogun status. Lord Sesshomaru is a very high ranking lord.

So my advice? I would say to make his kimono at least 4 inches longer than floor length for the wearer, and dye the lower 8 to 12 inches red to match the sleeves, and add imperial crests staggered at the same intervals as on the sleeves..

Beneath his Kimono Sesshomaru wears a white (or sometimes red flower print) Nagajuban.

This is the ONLY version ever to be drawn by Sesshomaru’s creator Rumiko Takahashi. All other versions of his costume were created by the tv anime artists and manga inkers.

(my art from my fashion design costume portfolio)

On occasion, Sesshomaru is seen wearing a slightly different kimono. This can be considered either a mistake on the pat of the anime artists, or an indication that he has not one, but four different kimonos.

Alternate Kimonos #1 and 2 are essentially the same as his regularly worn kimono, the only difference being the color of the dye and patches.

Alternate Kimono #3 is completely different and is much less formal as is has no crests on it at all.

If you want to make one of the alternate kimonos, they are described as follows:

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

Lord Sesshomaru’s Kimono: Anime & Manga

Sessho-Maru-Sama’s Kimono

Besides being the world’s most powerful demon, Lord Sesshomaru is both a warrior and nobleman, a wealthy and powerful Feudal overlord,The Ruler of The Western Lands (believed to be somewhere in China or Mongolia) and a much feared (a murderously violent) aristocrat and as such wears a style of ceremonial Kimono which is only worn by the elite few of his social standing. This can be seen by the fact that he wears white, a color reserved only for royalty, brides, and the dead, and by the fact that there are so many imperial crests embroidered onto his Kimono.

Sesshomaru’s Kimono is a very ceremonial style, of solid white, with full swinging sleeves that sweep in lengths just above his ankles. The lower quarter of each sleeve is dyed red, and the left shoulder is also dyed red.

On the front and back of each sleeve, near the boarder of the dye are embroidered three family crests (twelve in all). The crest is repeated on the neck and shoulder of the left side.

Each crest consists of a triple hexagon with a six petaled white plum/cherry blossom in the center of each red hexagon, surrounded by a white boarder.

There is some debate among fans as to the lower edge of the kimono and what it should look like, since the hem of Sesshomaru’s kimono is never seen in either the books or the show. There is also question as to just how long the kimono he wears is; again, he wears a hakama over his kimono, so we never see the hem edge of it.

In the areas of Lord Sesshomaru’s costume where we do not have a visual reference to go by, we must instead look to the history books and find out what a real warring lord of Endo Japan would have done, and in doing that, this is what my research told me:

When worn by common folk, soldiers, and laborers, the length of a kimono worn under a hakama would have been knee length. However, the kimonos worn by noblemen, lords, and aristocrats would have been long full length kimonos.

The length of Lord Sesshomaru’s kimono should be long: very, very, very long. My study of Japanese fashion history tells me that a war lord of Sesshomaru’s status, would have worn a kimono of overblown proportions, not only are the sleeves abnormally long, but so to would have been the length of the kimono, which in some cases would have a train several feet long in the back! All of this extra fabric however would not be seen, because it would be girdled with a braided cord, and stuffed into the legs of the overlaying hakama, thus helping to give the hakama it’s huge ballooning pant-legs-effect.

Additionally, my research tells me that the hem edge of the kimono would be patterned and decorated to match the pattern of decoration on the sleeves and left shoulder. Note that the fact that the pattern is ONLY on the left shoulder, is an indication that this is not only a lord, but a lord of near Shogun status. Lord Sesshomaru is a very high ranking lord.

So my advice? I would say to make his kimono at least 4 inches longer than floor length for the wearer, and dye the lower 8 to 12 inches red to match the sleeves, and add imperial crests staggered at the same intervals as on the sleeves..

Beneath his Kimono Sesshomaru wears a white (or sometimes red flower print) Nagajuban.

This is the ONLY version ever to be drawn by Sesshomaru’s creator Rumiko Takahashi. All other versions of his costume were created by the tv anime artists and manga inkers.

(my art from my fashion design costume portfolio)

On occasion, Sesshomaru is seen wearing a slightly different kimono. This can be considered either a mistake on the pat of the anime artists, or an indication that he has not one, but four different kimonos.

Alternate Kimonos #1 and 2 are essentially the same as his regularly worn kimono, the only difference being the color of the dye and patches.

Alternate Kimono #3 is completely different and is much less formal as is has no crests on it at all.

If you want to make one of the alternate kimonos, they are described as follows:

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

Lord Sesshomaru’s Kimono: Anime & Manga

Sessho-Maru-Sama’s Kimono

Besides being the world’s most powerful demon, Lord Sesshomaru is both a warrior and nobleman, a wealthy and powerful Feudal overlord,The Ruler of The Western Lands (believed to be somewhere in China or Mongolia) and a much feared (a murderously violent) aristocrat and as such wears a style of ceremonial Kimono which is only worn by the elite few of his social standing. This can be seen by the fact that he wears white, a color reserved only for royalty, brides, and the dead, and by the fact that there are so many imperial crests embroidered onto his Kimono.

Sesshomaru’s Kimono is a very ceremonial style, of solid white, with full swinging sleeves that sweep in lengths just above his ankles. The lower quarter of each sleeve is dyed red, and the left shoulder is also dyed red.

On the front and back of each sleeve, near the boarder of the dye are embroidered three family crests (twelve in all). The crest is repeated on the neck and shoulder of the left side.

Each crest consists of a triple hexagon with a six petaled white plum/cherry blossom in the center of each red hexagon, surrounded by a white boarder.

There is some debate among fans as to the lower edge of the kimono and what it should look like, since the hem of Sesshomaru’s kimono is never seen in either the books or the show. There is also question as to just how long the kimono he wears is; again, he wears a hakama over his kimono, so we never see the hem edge of it.

In the areas of Lord Sesshomaru’s costume where we do not have a visual reference to go by, we must instead look to the history books and find out what a real warring lord of Endo Japan would have done, and in doing that, this is what my research told me:

When worn by common folk, soldiers, and laborers, the length of a kimono worn under a hakama would have been knee length. However, the kimonos worn by noblemen, lords, and aristocrats would have been long full length kimonos.

The length of Lord Sesshomaru’s kimono should be long: very, very, very long. My study of Japanese fashion history tells me that a war lord of Sesshomaru’s status, would have worn a kimono of overblown proportions, not only are the sleeves abnormally long, but so to would have been the length of the kimono, which in some cases would have a train several feet long in the back! All of this extra fabric however would not be seen, because it would be girdled with a braided cord, and stuffed into the legs of the overlaying hakama, thus helping to give the hakama it’s huge ballooning pant-legs-effect.

Additionally, my research tells me that the hem edge of the kimono would be patterned and decorated to match the pattern of decoration on the sleeves and left shoulder. Note that the fact that the pattern is ONLY on the left shoulder, is an indication that this is not only a lord, but a lord of near Shogun status. Lord Sesshomaru is a very high ranking lord.

So my advice? I would say to make his kimono at least 4 inches longer than floor length for the wearer, and dye the lower 8 to 12 inches red to match the sleeves, and add imperial crests staggered at the same intervals as on the sleeves..

Beneath his Kimono Sesshomaru wears a white (or sometimes red flower print) Nagajuban.

This is the ONLY version ever to be drawn by Sesshomaru’s creator Rumiko Takahashi. All other versions of his costume were created by the tv anime artists and manga inkers.

(my art from my fashion design costume portfolio)

On occasion, Sesshomaru is seen wearing a slightly different kimono. This can be considered either a mistake on the pat of the anime artists, or an indication that he has not one, but four different kimonos.

Alternate Kimonos #1 and 2 are essentially the same as his regularly worn kimono, the only difference being the color of the dye and patches.

Alternate Kimono #3 is completely different and is much less formal as is has no crests on it at all.

If you want to make one of the alternate kimonos, they are described as follows:

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

Lord Sesshomaru’s Kimono: Anime & Manga

Sessho-Maru-Sama’s Kimono

Besides being the world’s most powerful demon, Lord Sesshomaru is both a warrior and nobleman, a wealthy and powerful Feudal overlord,The Ruler of The Western Lands (believed to be somewhere in China or Mongolia) and a much feared (a murderously violent) aristocrat and as such wears a style of ceremonial Kimono which is only worn by the elite few of his social standing. This can be seen by the fact that he wears white, a color reserved only for royalty, brides, and the dead, and by the fact that there are so many imperial crests embroidered onto his Kimono.

Sesshomaru’s Kimono is a very ceremonial style, of solid white, with full swinging sleeves that sweep in lengths just above his ankles. The lower quarter of each sleeve is dyed red, and the left shoulder is also dyed red.

On the front and back of each sleeve, near the boarder of the dye are embroidered three family crests (twelve in all). The crest is repeated on the neck and shoulder of the left side.

Each crest consists of a triple hexagon with a six petaled white plum/cherry blossom in the center of each red hexagon, surrounded by a white boarder.

There is some debate among fans as to the lower edge of the kimono and what it should look like, since the hem of Sesshomaru’s kimono is never seen in either the books or the show. There is also question as to just how long the kimono he wears is; again, he wears a hakama over his kimono, so we never see the hem edge of it.

In the areas of Lord Sesshomaru’s costume where we do not have a visual reference to go by, we must instead look to the history books and find out what a real warring lord of Endo Japan would have done, and in doing that, this is what my research told me:

When worn by common folk, soldiers, and laborers, the length of a kimono worn under a hakama would have been knee length. However, the kimonos worn by noblemen, lords, and aristocrats would have been long full length kimonos.

The length of Lord Sesshomaru’s kimono should be long: very, very, very long. My study of Japanese fashion history tells me that a war lord of Sesshomaru’s status, would have worn a kimono of overblown proportions, not only are the sleeves abnormally long, but so to would have been the length of the kimono, which in some cases would have a train several feet long in the back! All of this extra fabric however would not be seen, because it would be girdled with a braided cord, and stuffed into the legs of the overlaying hakama, thus helping to give the hakama it’s huge ballooning pant-legs-effect.

Additionally, my research tells me that the hem edge of the kimono would be patterned and decorated to match the pattern of decoration on the sleeves and left shoulder. Note that the fact that the pattern is ONLY on the left shoulder, is an indication that this is not only a lord, but a lord of near Shogun status. Lord Sesshomaru is a very high ranking lord.

So my advice? I would say to make his kimono at least 4 inches longer than floor length for the wearer, and dye the lower 8 to 12 inches red to match the sleeves, and add imperial crests staggered at the same intervals as on the sleeves..

Beneath his Kimono Sesshomaru wears a white (or sometimes red flower print) Nagajuban.

This is the ONLY version ever to be drawn by Sesshomaru’s creator Rumiko Takahashi. All other versions of his costume were created by the tv anime artists and manga inkers.

(my art from my fashion design costume portfolio)

On occasion, Sesshomaru is seen wearing a slightly different kimono. This can be considered either a mistake on the pat of the anime artists, or an indication that he has not one, but four different kimonos.

Alternate Kimonos #1 and 2 are essentially the same as his regularly worn kimono, the only difference being the color of the dye and patches.

Alternate Kimono #3 is completely different and is much less formal as is has no crests on it at all.

If you want to make one of the alternate kimonos, they are described as follows:

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

Lord Sesshomaru’s Kimono: Anime & Manga

Sessho-Maru-Sama’s Kimono

Besides being the world’s most powerful demon, Lord Sesshomaru is both a warrior and nobleman, a wealthy and powerful Feudal overlord,The Ruler of The Western Lands (believed to be somewhere in China or Mongolia) and a much feared (a murderously violent) aristocrat and as such wears a style of ceremonial Kimono which is only worn by the elite few of his social standing. This can be seen by the fact that he wears white, a color reserved only for royalty, brides, and the dead, and by the fact that there are so many imperial crests embroidered onto his Kimono.

Sesshomaru’s Kimono is a very ceremonial style, of solid white, with full swinging sleeves that sweep in lengths just above his ankles. The lower quarter of each sleeve is dyed red, and the left shoulder is also dyed red.

On the front and back of each sleeve, near the boarder of the dye are embroidered three family crests (twelve in all). The crest is repeated on the neck and shoulder of the left side.

Each crest consists of a triple hexagon with a six petaled white plum/cherry blossom in the center of each red hexagon, surrounded by a white boarder.

There is some debate among fans as to the lower edge of the kimono and what it should look like, since the hem of Sesshomaru’s kimono is never seen in either the books or the show. There is also question as to just how long the kimono he wears is; again, he wears a hakama over his kimono, so we never see the hem edge of it.

In the areas of Lord Sesshomaru’s costume where we do not have a visual reference to go by, we must instead look to the history books and find out what a real warring lord of Endo Japan would have done, and in doing that, this is what my research told me:

When worn by common folk, soldiers, and laborers, the length of a kimono worn under a hakama would have been knee length. However, the kimonos worn by noblemen, lords, and aristocrats would have been long full length kimonos.

The length of Lord Sesshomaru’s kimono should be long: very, very, very long. My study of Japanese fashion history tells me that a war lord of Sesshomaru’s status, would have worn a kimono of overblown proportions, not only are the sleeves abnormally long, but so to would have been the length of the kimono, which in some cases would have a train several feet long in the back! All of this extra fabric however would not be seen, because it would be girdled with a braided cord, and stuffed into the legs of the overlaying hakama, thus helping to give the hakama it’s huge ballooning pant-legs-effect.

Additionally, my research tells me that the hem edge of the kimono would be patterned and decorated to match the pattern of decoration on the sleeves and left shoulder. Note that the fact that the pattern is ONLY on the left shoulder, is an indication that this is not only a lord, but a lord of near Shogun status. Lord Sesshomaru is a very high ranking lord.

So my advice? I would say to make his kimono at least 4 inches longer than floor length for the wearer, and dye the lower 8 to 12 inches red to match the sleeves, and add imperial crests staggered at the same intervals as on the sleeves..

Beneath his Kimono Sesshomaru wears a white (or sometimes red flower print) Nagajuban.

This is the ONLY version ever to be drawn by Sesshomaru’s creator Rumiko Takahashi. All other versions of his costume were created by the tv anime artists and manga inkers.

(my art from my fashion design costume portfolio)

On occasion, Sesshomaru is seen wearing a slightly different kimono. This can be considered either a mistake on the pat of the anime artists, or an indication that he has not one, but four different kimonos.

Alternate Kimonos #1 and 2 are essentially the same as his regularly worn kimono, the only difference being the color of the dye and patches.

Alternate Kimono #3 is completely different and is much less formal as is has no crests on it at all.

If you want to make one of the alternate kimonos, they are described as follows:

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

Lord Sesshomaru’s Kimono: Anime & Manga

Sessho-Maru-Sama’s Kimono

Besides being the world’s most powerful demon, Lord Sesshomaru is both a warrior and nobleman, a wealthy and powerful Feudal overlord,The Ruler of The Western Lands (believed to be somewhere in China or Mongolia) and a much feared (a murderously violent) aristocrat and as such wears a style of ceremonial Kimono which is only worn by the elite few of his social standing. This can be seen by the fact that he wears white, a color reserved only for royalty, brides, and the dead, and by the fact that there are so many imperial crests embroidered onto his Kimono.

Sesshomaru’s Kimono is a very ceremonial style, of solid white, with full swinging sleeves that sweep in lengths just above his ankles. The lower quarter of each sleeve is dyed red, and the left shoulder is also dyed red.

On the front and back of each sleeve, near the boarder of the dye are embroidered three family crests (twelve in all). The crest is repeated on the neck and shoulder of the left side.

Each crest consists of a triple hexagon with a six petaled white plum/cherry blossom in the center of each red hexagon, surrounded by a white boarder.

There is some debate among fans as to the lower edge of the kimono and what it should look like, since the hem of Sesshomaru’s kimono is never seen in either the books or the show. There is also question as to just how long the kimono he wears is; again, he wears a hakama over his kimono, so we never see the hem edge of it.

In the areas of Lord Sesshomaru’s costume where we do not have a visual reference to go by, we must instead look to the history books and find out what a real warring lord of Endo Japan would have done, and in doing that, this is what my research told me:

When worn by common folk, soldiers, and laborers, the length of a kimono worn under a hakama would have been knee length. However, the kimonos worn by noblemen, lords, and aristocrats would have been long full length kimonos.

The length of Lord Sesshomaru’s kimono should be long: very, very, very long. My study of Japanese fashion history tells me that a war lord of Sesshomaru’s status, would have worn a kimono of overblown proportions, not only are the sleeves abnormally long, but so to would have been the length of the kimono, which in some cases would have a train several feet long in the back! All of this extra fabric however would not be seen, because it would be girdled with a braided cord, and stuffed into the legs of the overlaying hakama, thus helping to give the hakama it’s huge ballooning pant-legs-effect.

Additionally, my research tells me that the hem edge of the kimono would be patterned and decorated to match the pattern of decoration on the sleeves and left shoulder. Note that the fact that the pattern is ONLY on the left shoulder, is an indication that this is not only a lord, but a lord of near Shogun status. Lord Sesshomaru is a very high ranking lord.

So my advice? I would say to make his kimono at least 4 inches longer than floor length for the wearer, and dye the lower 8 to 12 inches red to match the sleeves, and add imperial crests staggered at the same intervals as on the sleeves..

Beneath his Kimono Sesshomaru wears a white (or sometimes red flower print) Nagajuban.

This is the ONLY version ever to be drawn by Sesshomaru’s creator Rumiko Takahashi. All other versions of his costume were created by the tv anime artists and manga inkers.

(my art from my fashion design costume portfolio)

On occasion, Sesshomaru is seen wearing a slightly different kimono. This can be considered either a mistake on the pat of the anime artists, or an indication that he has not one, but four different kimonos.

Alternate Kimonos #1 and 2 are essentially the same as his regularly worn kimono, the only difference being the color of the dye and patches.

Alternate Kimono #3 is completely different and is much less formal as is has no crests on it at all.

If you want to make one of the alternate kimonos, they are described as follows:

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!

Lord Sesshomaru’s Kimono: Anime & Manga

Sessho-Maru-Sama’s Kimono

Besides being the world’s most powerful demon, Lord Sesshomaru is both a warrior and nobleman, a wealthy and powerful Feudal overlord,The Ruler of The Western Lands (believed to be somewhere in China or Mongolia) and a much feared (a murderously violent) aristocrat and as such wears a style of ceremonial Kimono which is only worn by the elite few of his social standing. This can be seen by the fact that he wears white, a color reserved only for royalty, brides, and the dead, and by the fact that there are so many imperial crests embroidered onto his Kimono.

Sesshomaru’s Kimono is a very ceremonial style, of solid white, with full swinging sleeves that sweep in lengths just above his ankles. The lower quarter of each sleeve is dyed red, and the left shoulder is also dyed red.

On the front and back of each sleeve, near the boarder of the dye are embroidered three family crests (twelve in all). The crest is repeated on the neck and shoulder of the left side.

Each crest consists of a triple hexagon with a six petaled white plum/cherry blossom in the center of each red hexagon, surrounded by a white boarder.

There is some debate among fans as to the lower edge of the kimono and what it should look like, since the hem of Sesshomaru’s kimono is never seen in either the books or the show. There is also question as to just how long the kimono he wears is; again, he wears a hakama over his kimono, so we never see the hem edge of it.

In the areas of Lord Sesshomaru’s costume where we do not have a visual reference to go by, we must instead look to the history books and find out what a real warring lord of Endo Japan would have done, and in doing that, this is what my research told me:

When worn by common folk, soldiers, and laborers, the length of a kimono worn under a hakama would have been knee length. However, the kimonos worn by noblemen, lords, and aristocrats would have been long full length kimonos.

The length of Lord Sesshomaru’s kimono should be long: very, very, very long. My study of Japanese fashion history tells me that a war lord of Sesshomaru’s status, would have worn a kimono of overblown proportions, not only are the sleeves abnormally long, but so to would have been the length of the kimono, which in some cases would have a train several feet long in the back! All of this extra fabric however would not be seen, because it would be girdled with a braided cord, and stuffed into the legs of the overlaying hakama, thus helping to give the hakama it’s huge ballooning pant-legs-effect.

Additionally, my research tells me that the hem edge of the kimono would be patterned and decorated to match the pattern of decoration on the sleeves and left shoulder. Note that the fact that the pattern is ONLY on the left shoulder, is an indication that this is not only a lord, but a lord of near Shogun status. Lord Sesshomaru is a very high ranking lord.

So my advice? I would say to make his kimono at least 4 inches longer than floor length for the wearer, and dye the lower 8 to 12 inches red to match the sleeves, and add imperial crests staggered at the same intervals as on the sleeves..

Beneath his Kimono Sesshomaru wears a white (or sometimes red flower print) Nagajuban.

This is the ONLY version ever to be drawn by Sesshomaru’s creator Rumiko Takahashi. All other versions of his costume were created by the tv anime artists and manga inkers.

(my art from my fashion design costume portfolio)

On occasion, Sesshomaru is seen wearing a slightly different kimono. This can be considered either a mistake on the pat of the anime artists, or an indication that he has not one, but four different kimonos.

Alternate Kimonos #1 and 2 are essentially the same as his regularly worn kimono, the only difference being the color of the dye and patches.

Alternate Kimono #3 is completely different and is much less formal as is has no crests on it at all.

If you want to make one of the alternate kimonos, they are described as follows:

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

All about Lord Sesshomaru’s garb & Making a Lord Sesshomaru Costume. Plus, Sesshomaru & Rin and making Rin’s Costume; and this is for anyone who needs help Creating Character Profiles for their stories or for their SCA persona.

Thank You for reading my blog’s RSS feed. Don’t forget to come to my blog and check out the links in my blogroll too!