Kimonos and Yukatas
Earlier this year I displayed a range of kimonos I had been sent from Japan. They attracted a lot of attention, and no wonder, they have a sense of beauty, style and proportion that is unique. On my recent visit to Tokyo I met with the person who had sent them to me. Togashi-san, seen with me here in front of the Kabuki-za with her daughter Taki, is one of the administrators of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and she inherited many of her kimonos from her mother. This is very much a standard practice and one of my friends who was the UK correspondent for the Nihon Keizai Shinbun (also known as the Nikkei - the Financial Times equivalent of Japan) had an equally extensive collection which had been handed down to her and which was shown at Goldsmiths College last year.
The design of the kimono is comparatively simple, however the fabrics from which they are made can be 
extremely exotic and along with the patterns they contain often relate to the season in which they should be worn. The kimono shown here is made from linen woven in a style unique to Okinawa.
Dressing in a kimono is not a simple matter and often the wearer will visit a specialist ‘dresser’ in order for the complex layers of the ‘obi‘ to be wound around the waist, something like a corset. The process can take 40 minutes and when finished contributes to the characteristic way in which a Japanese woman walks. Here is a silk kimono…
…with two decorative obi. 
The kimono has a certain element of formality and is not the only traditional garment to be worn. During the summer season one often sees people wearing a yukata; a lighter and looser version of the kimono. At some of the festivals I attended (omatsuri) I saw both young and old alike taking advantage of this unisex garment in the humid conditions of Tokyo in August. In fact I have a number of them myself and I have made several for my clients. They say that they appreciate the experience of slipping into this elegant garment as they settle down in the evening, or even for more formal occasions.
I was having lunch with a friend who does a lot of business in Japan and he told me that the Japanese word for a Western-style business suit is “sebiro”, which means “wide back”. The derivation is a Japanesization of “Savile Row” and it entered their language at the turn of the century when the Savile Row business suit started making an appearance in Japan amongst the elite.
Oh the joys of Japanese! And your friend sounds to be well versed in the customs. The two words certainly sound the same. In my dictionary there are 9 completely different meanings to the word ‘ki’ ranging from ‘tree’ to ‘feeling’. The same with ’sebiro’. But you are right on both counts. ‘Sebiro’ is ‘Savile Row’, and, written somewhat differently but sounding the same, ’se’ means ‘back’, and ‘hiroi’ (which converts to ‘biro’)means ‘wide’. Phew!