COORDINATE 037: COMING-OF-AGE NOSTALGIA

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Dress: Metamorphose (Romantic Kimono Hakama Tuck JSK in black)
Blouse: Strawberry Witch via LolitaWardrobe (High Collar Textured Chiffon Blouse in black)
Headdress: Metamorphose (Romantic Kimono Ribbon Headdress in black)
Stole: Offbrand, via Ebay
Parasol: Offbrand, via Amazon
Ring: Offbrand, thrifted
Socks: Metamorphose (Fluttering Ribbon Lace Up OTKs, 2014 in black/silver)
Shoes: Angelic Pretty (Academy Wooden Sole Shoes in red), decorated with fur pompoms

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I really love traditional Japanese motifs, and this dress includes one of my very favorites, the arrow feather pattern (yagasuri or yabane), as the background of the print. I’m also a big fan of camellias/sasanquas and they are the flower featured on the border panels.

My inspiration for this outfit was seijinshiki, or the national coming-of-age celebration for Japanese people who have turned 20 years old (the age at which you’re legally considered an adult) in the past year. It occurs on the second Monday in January every year. Since it’s generally quite cold then, many young women wear fluffy white faux fur stoles over their kimono. I passed on the opportunity to celebrate this (I turned 20 the year I studied abroad there) mostly because I had no connection to where I was staying and it’s traditionally celebrated with people you grew up with, but I always wanted to wear the super fancy furisode kimono and the fluffy white stole. The color scheme of this dress looks celebratory to me with the bright red accents and the red and white flowers along the bottom, and the flower on the border print blooms in cold weather, perfect for pairing with white fur. These flowers are extra nostalgic for me because they are planted all over the grounds of the university I attended for study abroad.

People unfamiliar with the coming-of-age holiday have told me this looks like a Christmas dress because of the red accents and green border print, and especially with the white fur accessories, it looks like something to wear in cold weather. Completely different thought processes arrive at a similar overall impression.