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Tomesode Fabric Patterns

Most of the kimono in my small collection are tomesode, or more properly kuro-tomesode (black tomesode), the kind worn by married women for formal occasions. Why? First, because I love the highly elegant patterns and colour schemes and rather dislike pastel colours. Second, because I buy my kimono at flea markets. Fair-coloured kimono are very susceptible to irremovable staining, so most pastel-coloured kimono at the flea market look awful. Tomesode, however, often appear to have been worn only once and are, by way of the black backgound, less likely to be disfigured by stains.

Tomesode at department store note gold-ish colour scheme		Tomesode fabric at dept. store note raised embroidery
Tomesode apparently made of real silk in an imitation of yûzen so good you'd almost think it was the real thing		Tomesode in a less sophisitcated yûzen imitation - note how pattern tapers towars the (hidden) right flap
Tomesode fabric of an unusually modern design, probably a handmade variation on yûzen - note how pattern tapers towars the right flap		Tomesode fabric from a rather flashy example, made into a suit jacket - the strip to the left is made of the lininig; the bird was on the left flap

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