This post is hopefully going to give you some ideas on how to plan and prepare to make a masculine style kimono ensemble. This will help both with original designs and cosplay.
We will cover:
- Identifying a Masculine Kimono
- Formality Customs
- The Design Process
- Resources and Tutorial References
Masculine Kimono
The quickest way to identify a masculine kimono is to look at how the sleeves are attached. There will be no opening under the armpit on a masculine kimono. The sleeves also tend to have a sharper corner. The collar is generally all one width. Lastly, the bottom hem of the kimono reaches the wearer's ankles. However, since people vary wildly in height the most accurate and obvious identifier is the lack of an opening under the sleeves. (The opening is known as Miyasuguchi).
Formality
There are only a few identifiers that make a kimono more or less formal for men. These include material, the number of family crests (Kamon), Colors, and what other clothes you wear with the kimono.
Here are some of the customs surrounding formality:
- Men must wear a haori or hakama or both when going out of the house. You can wear a yukata out in public but you only wear "just a kimono" in your own home. The MOST formal ensemble is the haori and hakama. (This is called haori-bakama style.)
- Haori are where you get the most fun design-wise, men's kimono tend to be less dramatic than female kimono.
- Family crests (Kamon) are placed on the kimono and/or haori. You can have 1, 3, or 5 kamon on the kimono or haori.
- Colors: Like a tuxedo, black and white tend to be the most formal. All black for funerals, black and whites for grooms.
- Hakama knots: The + sign knot is formal. The - sign knot is casual.
- There's only one kind of obi men wear called the Kaku obi. It is 9 - 10 cm wide and 4 meters long at least.
Design Process
Usually, inspiration comes first. Figure out what color themes and motifs fit your vision. For this part, use whatever methods you like to cultivate a cohesive vision: doodles, building a vision board, brainstorming, etc. If this is for a character cosplay or character bounding, gather your references and build up the color palette, iconic motifs, and other things you might associate with the character.
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| Reference of a Kimono character |
Next, you need to make design decisions on what articles of clothing you will include in the ensemble. Is it going to be a haori-bakama combination? Perhaps just the haori. Are you going to incorporate European/Western attire or blend with Nigerian clothing? What other accessories will you include?
Assuming the kimono with Juban and Kaku obi is automatically included I go through this quick checklist:
- Adding Hakama?
- Adding a Haori or alternative Coat? (Kintaginu is what is pictured above, btw).
- Adding Geta, Zouri, or Western footwear?
- Head wear such as a hat or headband or Mask?
- Including a haori himo to keep the haori closed?
- Any kind of belt accessories like a sword, knife, coin cord, or folded fan?
- Cold weather items like gloves, scarves, or earmuffs
- Do I need to account for a tail and animal ears? (We do like fantasy here.)
- Any kind of hand held accessory such as a pipe, sake jug, or weapon
Once you've decided what to include, it's time to map out where the colors will go and the placement of any motifs. You can make your own doodles or borrow a templates below.
Example: Breath of the Wild Inspired Kimono and Hakama
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| Sample |
Resources
Male Kimono History Video
From here you can go to the Measuring Kimono or check out the planner for a Feminine kimono.
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