Cherry Blossoms

It’s rather rare these days that I see something on the blogs that immediately qualifies as a must-have. I’ve grown much pickier than I was as a dewy-eyed noob, so much so that I spend a lot of my shopping time searching fruitlessly for something to satisfy my acquisition fetish.

When Cherry Tokyo announced this release I knew I absolutely had to have it. If, in Western dress, my tastes tend to run toward the simple and monochromatic, when it comes to Japanese attire in SL I have a weakness for sakurabana (cherry blossoms) and the colour pink on kimonos and furisode – so long as the pattern is intricate and the kimono of good quality.

Cherry Tokyo Pink Uchikake and Kimono; Momoware Hair by Ruru Nagy of Lala Moon

This was not just a kimono, but an uchikake – the long, ornate overcoat once worn by women of the upper classes prior to the Edo period, now traditional wedding garb. There are two obis – a geisha/maiko obi, tied at back, and the oiran (a highly-ranked courtesan) obi, tied at the front. All nineteen pieces of this ensemble are no copy and no mod; however, there is a modifiable shape included made to fit the kimono exactly. I chose to see if I could get my uchikake custom-fit, as everything else fit perfectly. Cherry was very accomodating, and spoke of how she takes the kimono prints from her own collection.

The pink uchikake/kimono with a Kasa (parasol) by Rumi Simpson. The Kasa can open and close, and drops particle cherry blossoms.

The kimono, sans uchikake. Hair: Left – Smooth in Black by Kin Keiko; Right – Momoware by Ruru Nagy