Styling Kimonos 4+ Ways to Make Them More Fitted

I worked out many ways of styling kimonos in case you struggle with the fact that some are boxy, too big or overall just overwhelming. Sure, you could “wait” until you find the “perfect” kimono, but that could take too much time and energy and then you don’t have one in the meantime.


As for me, I tried to help out with a couple options in this post that will help make a big kimono fit. However, I also put together a YouTube video with more than 8 tricks that I hope you’ll check out. A couple of these ideas are hard for me to explain properly, so the video may make it much clearer!


Here are the ideas in this post:

1-Tie up the front panels

2-Reduce material from the inside

3-Use a belt

4-Pin the side panels

5-Plus an extra trick that I explain in the blog post.


Tie Up the Front Panels


Since many kimonos have a slit between the front panels and the back, this makes it easy to do. Even if your kimono doesn’t have these slits, you can still use this trick.


Insider tip: I’m showing 2 different ways to tie these panels below. It may be easier to see in the video. One is to let the tie hang down, while the other creates more of a bow. I also included a version to make the entire kimono shorter in the video.


Details of this Outfit

You’ve seen this kimono when I discussed a recipe to find 5 color combinations with ANY print piece. This colorful kimono was the print piece of choice, but the recipe works with all print items.

I used hair ties to create the knots because this kimono is thicker than the pink one below.


Insider tip: Even if you have short hair, investing in hair elastics, bobby pins and barrettes is useful. I use bobby pins to keep head scarves in place, hair elastics for this and barrettes for scarves.


Reduce Material from the Inside

If you don’t love the idea of a bundle of material evident from the outside as with the option above, then you can bundle it secretly. What you do is gather some material from the inside of the panel, and use your elastic to hold it. (see below)

If you gather the material higher near the bust, it opens the front more. If you gather it near your waist, it looks like ruching at the middle.


Use a Belt

I came up with this idea after thinking about a kimono as a cardigan poncho. I’ve used this trick with ponchos in the past, and it helps shape those boxy pieces.

In the video, I show using a belt three different ways, but below you will see it is with only the back being belted.


Insider tip: It’s good to match the size of the belt with the heaviness of the materiel of the kimono. If your kimono is a heavy material, then try a wider belt. For this example, I used a thin belt because the kimono is sheer and lightweight.


Pin the Side Panels


Here’s an idea for styling kimonos to give you the coverage in the back and sleeves, but open it up in the front. This is one where I struggle to explain it well, so the video may make it clearer.

What you are doing is pinning each front panel to the back about halfway down. Then when you put your arms down, the material is halved. Below is the photo of how it looks with my arms spread.

I used regular safety pins for this trick.


Insider tip: Don’t pin the panel too close to the top because you still need to put your arms in the sleeves.

For my lighter weight kimono, I also could use my fashion tape (which is double stick tape).



The author may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.

Jodie Filogomo
Want more details about this and other fashion and style ideas? Check out more here!
Go
Comments
Join the conversation
 2 comments
Next