K003 - Wedding Kurotomesode Kimono
Vintage Silk Wedding Kimono (Kurotomesode): Black Gold Processing Embroidery / Chirimen Crape Riverside Flower Tree Peony Chrysanthemum
Kurotomesode (黒留袖, lit. 'black short-sleeve') are formal women's kimonos, featuring a black background and a design along the hem. They are the most formal women's kimono, and are worn to formal events such as weddings and wedding parties. The design is only present along the hem; the further up the body this design reaches, the younger the wearer is considered to be, though for a very young woman an irotomesode may be chosen instead, kurotomesode being considered somewhat more mature. The design is either symmetrically placed on the fuki and okumi portions of the kimono, or asymmetrically placed along the entirety of the hem, with the design being larger and higher-placed at the left side than the right. Vintage kimono are more likely to have the former pattern placement than the latter, though this is not a hard rule.
Kurotomesode are always made of silk, and may have a hiyoku – a false lining layer – attached, occasionally with a slightly padded hem. A kurotomesode usually has between 3 and 5 crests; a kurotomesode of any number of crests outranks an irotomesode with less than five. Kurotomesode, though formalwear, are not allowed at the royal court, as black is the colour of mourning, despite the colour designs decorating the kimono itself; outside of the royal court, this distinction for kurotomesode does not exist. Kurotomesode are never made of flashy silks such as rinzū, but are instead likely to be a matte fabric with little texture.
Kurotomesode typically feature kazari jitsuke (飾り仕付け), small white decorative prickstitches along the collar.
Silk chirimen is a popular fabric for kimonos for two reasons: it drapes well, and it doesn’t wrinkle. Over 500 years ago, the weaving technique used to make Chirimen was developed in Japan and ever since the silk has been used to make kimonos. Chirimen is thick and heavy with an uneven texture because of how it is woven.
