Tokyo: Day Six

Today we went shopping. I bought myself a Yukata and Obi.
There are actually many types of traditional Japanese clothing that are considered kimonos in the West, The garments range from extremely formal to extremely informal. They are also divided into kimonos that can be worn by married women, single women, or both. Yukata are very informal. They are made of cotton and are single-layered. They are easier to clean and not as heavy, so more comfortable to wear in the summer. Kimono are actually not really held in place by the wide sash, the Obi. The garment is actually held in place by thin strips of cloth. There is another sash that sits under the large sash. I'm not sure what it does actually. Over top of all of this goes the Obi. Obi also have different levels of formality and different types of knots that can be tied with different types of obi and kimonos.
I knew when we got back from Tokyo it would be time for Obon. I wanted to wear a kimono, but knew that the one that I owned wouldn't be appropriate. I bought my yukata in a store named Chicago. This store is located in Harajuku along the tree-lined road associated with Omotesando. Omotesando is one of the stations for Harajuku. I spent around 4200 for a yukata/obi pair (about $35 or maybe a little more). I also bought a koshihimo for 560 and an obi makura (a pillow shaped piece of plastic used in tying the drum knot which can be used with more formal kimonos). One of the benefits of going with a prematched obi and yukata is that it takes away the burden of color coordination. Color coordination is important with kimonos. As far as I can understand, a good way to match an obi to a kimono is to pick an obi of a color which is a minority color in the kimono. For example, my yukata is blue, gray, and black, mostly dark colors. My obi is bright orange and yellow. Normally, you wouldn't think that those two colors go together, but the center of the flowers on my kimono are orange/yellow, so the obi matches with the yukata. The bright colors also contrast with the dark yukata. That being said, I have seen some very interesting matches between obi and yukata.
In the picture, you can see my attempt to tie the chouchou musubi or butterfly knot. I think it's a fairly informal knot which is used with the yukata. I'm not sure if it's used with anything else.
The store Chicago also sells other used clothing. I have read and heard that kimonos can be very expensive, but used is a good option. If it concerns you, discretely check your garment closely and smell it in the changing room to ensure no strong odors. It probably will smell musty, but mine smelled a lot better after a washing. The store has a large selection. There's more stuff for women, but you find stuff for kids and men, as well as obi, jackets, nagajuban (although I think I would prefer to buy nagajuban new, Nagajuban is a very light under kimono that you wear under the kimono.). However, this is not the only place to find yukata. When a I was in Koenji a few days later, I also saw Yukata and obi. I bought a fancy obi for what was probably a heavily discounted price.