How to wear yukata (or rather, how to put one on)

The process of putting on a yukata can be difficult if you are not used to it.

I want to share the most useful links I could find on the subject, in both English and Japanese. Sometimes it helps to see the same thing explained in different ways.

Here is a nice (if somewhat complicated) video for a start:

Part 2 (including how to tie the obi):

Both clips are apparently samples from the DVD ‘Kimono Dressing With Yuka’ which can be bought at Kimono Flea Market Ichiroya.

English links:

How to wear a yukata (japaneselifestyle.com.au) – clear instructions with a photo illustrating each step.

How To Wear a Yukata (shimazakura.com) – very detailed, lots of photos.

How to take a bath – scroll down the page to see the yukata instructions (the most simple I have seen so far).

Japanese links:

浴衣、花火･･･ [浴衣姿でレディな夏] from allabout.co.jp (the Japanese about.com), photos with instructions

1010 ムービー videos of putting yukata on, including 5 different ways of tying the obi.

Uniqlo yukata 2008

I bought my first yukata in Japan, at a Uniqlo near my university more than a year ago, so I was curious to see what new designs they have this year.

At ￥3,990 for a set including yukata, obi and koshihimo, Uniqlo is even cheaper than Nissen (my favourite Japanese online shop), where a cheap yukata is ￥2,990 + ￥1,390 for the obi. There are 30 yukata altogether in Uniqlo’s summer 2008 collection, but I just wanted to show you the two I like best:

Kimono and yukata market sakura is having a sale ♪

Shops selling Japanese clothing to western audience tend to have conservative designs that seem completely out of touch with the last 10 years of “yukata fashion boom”.

But, as you can see on the picture on the left, Kimono and yukata market sakura is an exception to this rule!

Their yukata don’t seem to differ much from what Japanese shops offer to the Japanese buyers – the trendy floral patterns and bright colors are all there! The prices are reasonable, the site is in English and they are shipping to any location world-wide (always a plus!), so if you are currently shopping for yukata, I think this sale is worth checking out.

Origami Yukata

When I was studying in Japan, I often bought origami sets (paper and instructions) from a 100 yen shop. They usually had a theme, such as cakes or clothes, but I have never seen one about yukata. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found an origami yukata howto video on youtube today:

I like the idea, but had some problems following the instructions – my first paper yukata was way off center and the sleeves were uneven. So I searched some more for drawn step-by-step instructions for the yukata itself (the belt was easy), but couldn’t find any! The closest I got is this: How to Make an Origami Yukata, but the method seems to be slightly different from the one in the video.

Finally, I tried searching in Japanese, but this didn’t produce the desired results – origami paper and yukata seem to be among the most popular items to give to foreigners as gifts, so they are often mentioned together (“origami, yukata” as in “stationary, folding fans, origami, yukata,…” not “origami yukata” (as in “paper folded in the shape of yukata”).

But all that searching paid off in the end – I found a very nice origami site that not only has the origami yukata instructions (click on the “clothes” category on the left on the main page and scroll down), but also a collection of free, printable Japanese patterns that seem perfect for yukata! To print, go to their main page, scroll down and click on “Japanese paper” or “figured paper”. Enjoy! ^_^

Adorable Zori!

I recently found these cute and colorful, patterned zori on きもの ほ乃香 (one of the shops on rakuten) and think they are really lovely (click on the picture to enlarge!)

But could they be worn with yukata? Traditionally, only geta seem to go with yukata (zori require the use of tabi and are more formal), so I think these are meant to be worn with casual kimono. The site even suggests to try to wear them with western clothing!

In any case, I really like the 16, 17 and 18, but they mostly seem to be sold out already and the only available size (22.5cm～24.5cm) wouldn’t fit me anyway.

The store also carries cotton neckpieces (半衿 haneri) in the same pattern as some of the zori and lots of other interesting items. I will be checking back often!