Help with Kimono

jauntyrooster

jauntyrooster

Alumni
So this really has me stumped. This kimono (right name?) was in the trunk. I originally just thought someone had thrown it in there but in talking to the owners, they have never seen it before - it was buried at the bottom. The current trunk owners have the had the trunk for 40+ years. It looks very new to me but I know nothing about this type of thing. There are no labels at all. The colors are quite vibrant. I don't know if it is silk or not either but I am leaning towards it being something else. I tried to show some seams, etcc thinking that might help. Any thoughts?

Thanks!!!

EDIT: This is probably more of a robe than kimono right? Kimono probably isn't right word.


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Msgrossmyer, I think it's a robe and the fabric design looks late 60s. It's one of those things I'd have to actually smell and handle to determine if silk or not but I'm think it's one of those man-made fibers.

So love it!
 
That dating would be just about right for it being put into the trunk before it changed hands.

Oh - and you don't want to smell this right now!!! lol It smells like the rest of the stuff in the steamer trunk - phew.

A nice day so all hanging outside in the light breeze trying to air out.

(I know you mean smell for silk but it made me laugh thinking of you getting a whiff of this right now - you you woulndn't like me very much! ;)
 
ha ha. My old lungs are pretty hearty when it comes to vintage. ha ha

I like to air stuff out in night air. Boy, it kills the smell better than anything.
 
hmmm - interesting.

I just don't trust our weather right now - can get small showers without warning and it seems local news can't predict either.

Maybe I will camp out back with them :)
 
Oh. Showers. I live in NM. We don't know what that is. lol

I'd still camp out with this stuff. It's gorgeous!
 
That makes more sense with the other items in the trunk. Maybe there are some pants in there somewhere. I can't wait to get my hands on that thing!!! Monday cant come soon enough!!

Thank you!
 
I believe I recently saw a silk pajama set similar to this online that sold from the 20s and it did very well. I think you struck gold. :) Caryn
 
Its a matter of experience and knowing how to read the signs - pattern, material, cut. The straight cut open robe based on the Japanese kimono is often found in theatre coats, dressing gowns or lounging robes in the 1910s and 20s. The thin and shiny silk or rayon it is made from I have seen in slips, pyjama sets, and cheap dresses from the 1920s many times before. And the Art Deco stylized flowers and geometrics done in that limited palette in bright, saturated colours on a black ground and centred on the robe are also typical of the late 1920s.

There are kimono cut coats in the 1960s but if you look closely you will see bust darts and other seams and tucks to give them more shape. The background would be white, or pink, or something not black and the colour palette would be either more limited (black and white), or much wider. The pattern, if that big, would be all over, not centred and it would be made of shiny polyester, heavy rayon satin, vinyl, cotton or cotton-like material, or some kind of flannel.
 
Very interesting, Jonathan. Thanks! I wish I could see the piece in person. Being able to see the thread and stitching would help me too.

About the 60s kimonos... I've seen some lovely handmade ones with centered designs. They were handmade. Very popular in California where I grew up, made with fabrics from Japan (so they were silk). Lots of women had them made so they had ensemble pool outfits.

Gosh, I miss those pools!
 
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