Kimono dress shirt is a sleek reimagining of Japan’s most feminine type of traditional clothing

Furisode fashion gets a modern makeover.

Japan has sort of a conflicted relationship with kimono. Yes, the traditional garments are widely considered elegant and beautiful, but arranging the robe and properly tying the sash takes for more time than putting on Western-style clothing, which is also much easier to move about it.

But Japanese retailer Village Vanguard has something that combines the graceful charm of a kimono with the simplicity and versatility of a modern blouse. The Furisode Dress Shirt takes its inspiration from furisode, a style of kimono with long, flowing sleeves. Furisode are customarily meant to be worn by young, unmarried women, and are a popular choice for attendees at Japan’s annual coming-of-age ceremonies which are held each January to celebrate those turning 20, the age of legal adulthood.

Given the cost an authentic kimono, most women choose to rent their furisode, and thus end up with infrequent, if any, opportunities to wear the garment aside from their coming-of-age ceremony. The Furisode Dress Shirt, however, is a more versatile item of clothing, one that can be coordinated with a wide variety of bottoms and accessories.

The torso of the all-cotton shirt is pure white, which gradually transitions to a deep, peach-like pink at the hem of the sleeves.

Included with the shirt is a polyester chiffon scarf, which can be seen in the above photos tied around the forehead of model Haruna Sato, a member of idol unit Idol College.

The bundled set can be ordered here through Village Vanguard’s online shop, where it’s priced at 12,500 yen (US$114) and is scheduled to ship in mid-October.

Source: Village Vanguard via IT Media
Images: Village Vanguard

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