Searching For An Obi

Off and on, I have been looking for an obi like this- whether Nagoya or hanhaba in ochre, with a similar pattern. It doesn't have to be exact, but... ah, how can such a simple pattern be so difficult to find?

It started after I bought some lots of kimono at the end of last year. Usually secondhand shops will have this fukubukuro deal, like a 'lucky package' and price determines quality or amount of items. In this case, it is a randomized lot of 10 kimono, some wearable, some only for fabric. I bought a few of these because... I am an idiot and I am impulsive.

Actually, I have quite a few beautiful, very expensive kimono in those lots! The others... sadly, cannot be saved. This purple kimono will have to be resewn. The collar is damaged by foundation makeup. Another blue kimono with a nubbly weave like chirimen also has staining. So sad! But the purple one I might save with silk fabric from a damaged black kimono. A black collar, Edo-style, on this kimono with perhaps a deep indigo blue collar on one of my red juban... and an ochre obi with these blues and greens at least...

This is what I have now. I cannot decide on the obijime colour. Obijime did not exist until the mid-1800s, which is why you don't see them in older ukiyo-e. But now, they are like a requirement, so I was thinking wider hanhaba obi, like hosoi obi, or less-formal Nagoya... or this kind of thin, casual fukuro... Hnnn obimakura are also in use now, so I have to choose obiage colour as well. I do not have a deep blue ro kind. Muzukashii. 

The yellow obi is metallic with gold and silver, worn previously with the deep blue sha kimono and cat pattern tabi, and also with the ryou-pattern (gold coin pattern), so I think it isn't in the spirit of this painting.

I am looking at other obi. This one is the right green and white, but is it detailed enough to be a close stand-in? Should I wait on a different one?

Soon, the official season will be over, although it has rained here nearly all week... Florida doesn't have so many seasons, especially in the city. I guess I could dress like July later and take photos. No one will notice the delay. <3 Wish me luck!


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