In the spirit of yukata ("I gotta make a yukata...")

A few months ago, a close friend introduced me to the products of a  lovely business, named Okan Arts, dedicated to artisan quilts and vintage Japanese textiles.  Located in Seattle Washington, and owned by the lovely Patricia Belyea, this shop offers beautiful fabrics designed for specific traditional Japanese casual garments, called "yukata". Both a brick-and-mortar and e-commerce business, the uniqueness and quality of the textiles offered translate well without much explanation.  Why?  The strong, sturdy 100% cotton fabrics are functionally perfect for their category of Okan Arts' recommended uses, whether yukata-making, or quilting.

I held on to my yukata pieces, not knowing what they should become. I had a million ideas in my head, and wanted to somehow respect the intention of the fabric in my use of it.  I consulted my best friend's dad, who spent a good number of years living in Japan, who told me what the characters on one of my yukata pieces meant. (And thank God, really, because I didn't realize that the fabric was one length with a motif upside down on one end, and right side up on the other, so it could traverse the shoulder without needing a seam.)  

Because I like to think about my pieces before creating them, I considered the definitions of two traditional Japanese garments before deciding.

The kimono (着物^?, きもの) is a Japanese traditional garment. The word "kimono", which actually means a "thing to wear" (ki "wear" and mono "thing"), has come to denote these full-length robes. The standard plural of the word kimono in English is kimonos, but the unmarked Japanese plural kimonois also sometimes used.

A yukata (浴衣^?) is a Japanese garment, a casual summer kimono^[1] usually made of cotton or synthetic fabric, and unlined.

I do not know how accurate the explanations are in this video I found while perusing YouTube (the video is under the heading of "Life in Korea", although she does seem to be taking a wider scope view of her Asian experience, which includes yukata. I can certainly say that this level of complication and adornment would never fly in American culture.  But it fascinates me nonetheless...

So what would this mean in my American life?  What information can/should I use?  What should I take away?

I pondered this...

So, I thought, if there were such a thing, what would the American equivalent of yukata be?  Well, we currently embrace athleisure, which adds sport or movement to the idea of casual loungewear, but takes away tradition and beauty (for the most part).  Summer  weather might not be the garment's focus for me, since I spend so much time in climate-controlled environments.  Personally, I would need something that straddles the worlds of hot and cold, so the most versatile garment would be ideal. For my family, trips to take the kids to various activities, or to the supermarket/library/mall equals no audience, and thus, no effort, really.  Truth be told, comfort is key, and beauty is a plus. To create a relatively shapeless, soft, roomy garment that prettily responds to the body, but not necessarily the dress form, became my mission.  What would make this particular garment unique?  The beauty of the yukata fabric.

Planning to ignore much of the essence of the yukata, I did investigate some interesting yukata links (below), which informed my making:

1. In Japan, students given a special school day to wear yukata.
2. How to wear a yukata.
3. How to make a yukata.

In a very happy moment of east meeting west, I looked at one of the great yukata fabrics I have, and was reminded of a favorite cotton from B&J Fabrics here in NYC.  Combined with a powerful green unifying fabric to join pieces, these three fabrics will sing together to become project #2.  Project #2 will embrace a bit more of the yukata idea, especially in the sleeve design.

Yukata fabric (base) looks like matches, right?

Before beginning, there were things I had to/wanted to notice/avoid/embrace: 

Noticed:

A yukata is a great travel garment because it folds neatly into a square, effortlessly.

Body movement is unrestricted, and there is no "fitting" required.

Avoided:

No belts or closures needed.  Any dressing complication would take away the "easy" wear for me.

T-shirt fabric for body, with only a lower border, allows me to cut the yukata piece differently, to allow faces to be upright and comical on the finished piece.

Embraced: 

The oversized sleeve trend reminiscent of yukata

Even in Asia, this Denim yukata evokes western culture

Historically, these funny Japanese characters, represent wisdom and foolishness, according to my friend's dad.

Prettier on the body than on the dressform, the epitome of loungewear.

It folds up into a flat rectangle.  Perfect for travel.

So, in a nutshell, the irony/humor of this much thought to sew four rectangles together.  But, I promise you,  these will be some very well-loved rectangles!

You can shop for yukata fabrics on the Okan arts website - www.okanarts.com!

Ancient inspiration

Note: The brick and mortar City Quilter has since closed...

I'm creating a garment that has no closures.  No buttons, no zips, and no fiddly mechanisms to manipulate. A garment designed and decorated with an appreciation for the people who will see it. Simple in structure, that can be passed down through generations. A garment that can be disassembled and reassembled for special laundering or repair, if desired, that can conform to a variety of body shapes. That can be equally elegant in "thin" or "fat" times... A garment that respects the body movements of the wearer, and offers some versatility regarding how it may be worn...

Oh wait, that already exists.  It is called the kimono. Incredibly practical.  Timeless in its beauty.  Insanely forgiving.

We are in a kimono phase right now in fashion, if you haven't noticed.  Google it, and you will see, fashion is all about the kimono right now. To make one, you need to know how to do it, but you do not need to know how to fit or alter, since the kimono requires neither.

If an American equivalent of the kimono were to exist, what would it look like?

Well, the fabric has to last.  Both the color(s) and the fabric itself need to endure.

My latest appreciation is for "yukata" cotton.  I was gifted this lovely piece of fabric by a friend of mine, who attended a Okan Arts trunk show at City Quilter.

To use it, I thought... I'll need to know what the characters mean, and which way is right side up and what is upside down...

So I asked my best friend to ask her dad to tell me what the fabric said.  And in his extremely thorough, wonderful way, he shared this...

From dad:

It is read "dai-naru-to" or "oh-naruto" in Japanese.   It means "great tidal whirl pool".大, dai = big.       ( 鳴, naru = ringing     戸, to = door. )鳴戶, naruto = 1. The eddy or whirlpool and its sound caused by the strong low tide and high                            tide hitting each other.                        2. (Not in this case)  The semicircular fish past on a wooden plate, kamaboko,                             which is rolled up white fish past and red fish past. When it is cross cut, the                             Intersection will show white and red whirl pool like a roll cake.                         3. A city at the north-east corner of Shikoku Island, facing Kobe and Osaka.                             A big bridge, "Oh-naruto bridge" connects it with the main island of Japan via                             an Island named Awaji-shima in between.Hence, Dainaruto or Oh-naruto may refer to the famous noisy great tidal eddy.Many tourists just go to the Oh-naruto Bridge, get off their vehicles, wait and watch the great tidal while pool.
Please note that the printed words on the top is looked from front, while the lower one is looked from back side.
By the way, do you know "yukata" means "bathing wear", by its words?However, in real life, it is evening wear, for both staying at home, or for out-going, or visiting, especially it is very comfortable during hot and muggy summer evening.
Is she going to make a yukata for herself?  If so, please remind her when she wears kimono, the right piece must be under the right piece.  Men and women wear kimono in the same way.Only the shrouds are worn left piece under right piece, men or women.  Some movies made in Taiwan once caused big laughter in Japan years ago, just because the female star was wearing kimono with the left piece close to her body under the right side, just like she wore Western style dress.

What a wonderful guy.  I love when people take this kind of time to explain.