Juri, the colors on the Furisode are beautiful!!  Between you and Lisabelle I'm learning about the different types of Japanese outfits.  And drooling over the colors and patterns.   

I love the thoughtbubble on the Waterhouse as well. 

Lisabelle--Heehee! I have to thank you for enabling me. When I saw your kimono I thought, "Oh, why the heck not?" I haven't bought an obi yet. After spending $311 on a furisode, it'll have to wait. But I do like this fukuro obi. Can't wait too long, though. I think it will be hard to find an obi once the "Memoirs of a Geisha" media blitz gets into full swing.

Maroula--Thank you! The kimono on the Ichiroya site are really nice. If I had tons and tons of money to throw around, I would order a lot more things from them. *dreamy eyed look*

Divewench--Thank you to you too! Oh, you're lucky to have a wedding kimono! If it's anything like the one on Ichiroya's site, it must be very beautiful. I wonder if kimono are like potato chips; you can't have just one.

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Hair stuff: Finally washed my hair yesterday night. I don't think I've gone five days without a wash since intermediate school. I left the Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose conditioner on for longer than usual and now there's nary a tangle. I'll have to do that more often.

The Origins shampoo seems to be a good shampoo (so far). Hair looks clean without feeling stripped or "weirdly shiny."

Hi again juri!  Yes, I am beginning to think that kimono are like potato chips - I definitely need more after spending some time at Ichiroya!  Mine is most like this one: http://www.ichiroya.com/item/list2.php?number=75713
except that the cranes on mine are embroidered, not woven.  And from the prices on that site, I think I got a terrific deal.  Now I just need a wall big enough to display it on!   

Divewench--Ooh, that's a pretty kimono! White ones are nice; elegant in a subtle way. As for the price of yours, heehee, you can't beat free!

Lisabelle--Thanks! I like that book too. Have you been to Monkey Peaches? They have info on the "Memoirs of a Geisha" movie and some of the pictures link to a Zhang Ziyi site with gorgeous stills from the movie.

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Hair ramblings--put it in a bun today and held it with my Ketylo sticks. I love those things. The best part about up dos is taking them down and having silky hair. I find myself checking out the hair of longhaired men and not the men themselves.

Kimono stuff--sent in the payment for the furisode. I can't wait until they send it and I'm holding it in my hands. *sigh* Bought a kimono accessory kit off of eBay. Aparently I'll need padding and other dodads if I want to wear a kimono "correctly." It's a good thing I didn't wait to buy it. When I checked back later in the evening, it wasn't listed anymore. I guess some people bought the other two kits.

I was able to find some kimono accessories locally at Shirokiya (a Japanese department store at Ala Moana Shopping Center). Yay! Here's a list of what I found:

*Kimono underwear/juban = $48 for the full-length. More expensive than on-line, but 100% cotton and it's hard to find on-line anyway (on-line ones are synthetic) and shipping may make price difference almost nil.

*Kanzashi (hair ornaments) = nice, well made ones in pretty colors for approx. $58.  Expensive, but way cheaper than the ones at this site. Other ones at the store and on-line aren't that nice. When I looked again today, the ones on the link are much more complicated and there's more labor involved--explains the high cost; plus you get two ornaments.

*Formal geta = $23. Black with yellow thongs. I hope they have other colors. Checked today (Friday) and they have red and a yellow/ black combo.

*Obi = they have. Not much difference in the price between the store's and the ones on the internet. Lack of shipping would make Shirokiya a possible place to buy. Also have obi for yukata (lightweight summer kimono) for $35; pretied $45-75. The fancier they are, the more expensive.

*Tabi (split-toe socks) = $22 approx. Need to have shoe size in centimeters. Have it in white and black.

*Misc = there's kimono accessories (such as the padding and obi ties). Not sure of the cost.

Khrome--I think the ornaments with the dangle-thingies are kind of like hair forks. I don't know how strong the metal prongs are (there's usually two) so it might be a good idea to secure a bun with pins and then slide the prongs through a couple of times. The ones with only one or two flowers on them probably won't hold anything up and are just for accents.

I got an email from Ichiroya not too long ago and it said that the furisode is on it's way! Woo! Hopefully it'll arrive by this time next week and I can take pictures of it.

edit: weird grammar

You're welcome, Lisabelle! After seeing the trailer, I cannot wait for that movie to come out. 

Woohoo, I'm finally a diamond! Yay!     

After putting it off for a few days, I finally did an S&D. Found a lot of little white dots and tiny splits, but I wasn't too surprised. However, I was dismayed to find a few half-inch splits and one that was an inch long. Ack. Still, that's better than the 4-9 inch long splits I would sometimes find before I began doing S&Ds on a regular basis.

LOL! I was doing the same thing as you! I was going, "Ooh, there's Ken Watanabe! Oh, there's the guy who was in the Japanese 'Shall We Dance?'!"

Yes, people were upset, at least in the Asian internet community, about the lead actresses being Chinese. I have mixed feelings on that issue. On one hand I was annoyed because of the way Hollywood portrayed Asian characters. A long time ago there was one Chinese actress named Anna Mae Wong (that may not be the right spelling) who was stuck in supporting roles because seeing an Asian woman kiss a Caucasian man was "scandalous". And in "The Good Earth" Caucasian actors were made up to look like Asian characters. And then there's the implication that the different Asian ethnicities are interchangeable.

On the other hand, I myself can't tell the difference between, oh a Scotsman and a Welshman, and I don't get upset if an Australian portrays an Englishman, etc. So in that mode of thought, it's hypocritical of me to get annoyed that all the leads aren't Japanese. And at least Hollywood stopped using other races to play Asians so I'm happy that there's a movie with a lot of Asian actors in it. I don't see very many Asian actors in Hollywood so I'm grateful for what I can get.

I hope that made sense. ;

ETA: on the whole I'm glad "Memoirs of a Geisha" is coming out. Now I just hope it doesn't suck.

edit: the use of three "happy"s in one post drove me nuts. Had to put in some synonyms (sp? ack)