Storytime: お盆 Obon and Childhood Memories in Japan

TALKFASHION TV

In this episode of Fashion Storytime, I discuss my childhood memories in Japan. Obon is a time for remembrance of loved ones, and it is particularly special for me because it reminds me of my beloved grandfather. All my memories spent in Japan flood back to me through smells, food, and fashion. With a quick blink of an eye, it's as if the present and past blend into an alternate reality.

xo,
Maya

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THE ART OF SENTIMENTAL STYLE

Did you ever think of fashion as not just fashion you buy or wear, but an actual art form? What would that even mean? 

For me, sentimental style, is one way I express fashion style as a form of art. 

 Fashion by nature is intrinsically intertwined with art. However, loss of sentiment in what we wear has pushed us further from the value of expression, and individuality. 

This kimono was a gift from my grandfather to my mother, when she was 5 years old, and this photograph is a photo of me wearing the same kimono at the same age. To this very day I still wear this kimono as a loose cardigan with jeans, or over a sweet summer dress. 

Sentimental style is all about fashion pieces that spark ideas, memories, inspiration, or emotions. Our society somehow rejects these "sentiments" as useless attachments to objects that hold no real value. However, it is a proven fact that human brain, is formed with memory codes, that certain smells, objects, or sounds can trigger. Specific memories and emotions would otherwise stay buried and forgotten.

The value placed on fashion pieces that hold memories, should not be treated as useless old clothes, but treasure pieces that hold the key to memories that are often lost. 

xo,

Maya

FASHION LOOK: 浴衣 OBON FESTIVAL (JAPAN)

OBON is a Japanese Budhist custom, honoring the spirits of loved one's who have past. It is celebrated in Japan during the summer months of July or August (depending on which prefecture) and usually lasts 3 days. 

It is believed at this time, the spirits of ancestor's will return to homes lit with a welcoming light, and will leave again on the third day. Families gather, homes are cleaned, and alters are adorned with delicious snacks, fruit, and flowers. 

 Obon takes place in the hottest months of Summer, and the traditional kimono is created in a light cotton textile, called a yukata. 

The waist is wrapped in a stiff, sash type belt called a obi, and the back is tide into a beautiful bow. 

Shoes are a sandal type clog, called geta, and the bag is a traditional basket based, drawstring, called kinchaku. 

The hair is adorned with beautiful handmade hair accessories called, kanzashi. 

Kanzashi are usually floral in design, and often worn corresponding to the appropriate season. 

When I wear a yukata, it is a reminder in the power of clothing on one's composure, thoughts, and demeanor. The clothes demand certain character traits to emerge. For example, walking in a yukata requires you to shorten your steps, and angle your feet inwards. If you do not walk this way, the yukata will open, and unravel. The obi belt is restricting on the abdomen and puts a pressure around the waist that finds me less open in my movement. In general, I find myself behaving much more demure, and introverted. However, in the restriction creates a great deal of mystery mixed with beauty that finds me intrigued by the power of the things we wear. 

xo,

Maya

The Fashion of a Japanese Empress

In the beginning of March, Japan celebrates a special day for girls, called "Hinamatsuri" (Girl's Day). On this day beautiful dolls representing the royal court of the Heian period are displayed. 

This particular doll is the empress and was a gift from my grandfather when I was born, and when I took them out on March 3rd it inspired me to write about the amazing fashion of a Heian empress.  

During the Heian period, beauty, was of extreme importance. It was in fashion for aristocratic women to powder their faces and blacken their teeth. Lips were painted small and bright red, and their eyebrows were plucked or shaved and redrawn higher on their forehead.

The empress would wear her hair long, natural, shiny, and long.

 The empress's formal dress included a complex "twelve-layered robe" called junihitoe.  As seasons changed the costumes would also follow the seasonal changes. Robes always followed a system of color combinations representing flowers, plants, and animals specific to a season or month. Like poetry, every step and choice had a greater meaning and process. 

The various layers are made of silk, and the innermost garment is made of white silk, followed by other layers which have various names. The final layer is the most intricate and luxurious. Weighing nearly 20 kilograms, it made it very difficulty for the empress to move.

All color choices set for the layers are very important. The colours have poetic names, such as "crimson plum of the spring".  The arrangements of layers and colors represented their rank and taste. 

Such a dream like era, the Heian period is one of great mystery and inspiration. The amazing details in their fashion, and their dedication to achieving the highest level of artistic beauty, has created pure fashion poetry. An achievement of breathe taking form and ultimate craftsmanship, it is ready to be walked down any Couture Runway of today.