Inside a Kimono Shop Specialized for Men in Kyoto Japan How a Pro Coordinates Kimono

And welcome to Let's Ask Shogo! It's me, Shogo, and I have Doroko and Kazu with me today! So guys, we're going to take you here to Otoko Kimono Eitaroya-san which is a kimono shop in Kyoto that makes kimono exclusively for men. And today, before we go inside though everyone, you need to keep in mind that we're filming this in August of 2022 right now so the kimono that we're going to be showing today are mostly summer kimono. But if you come at different seasons, obviously they'll have different seasonal kimono ready for you, so if you're interested, I hope you can come here and check out their seasonal kimono too. In this channel, we'll be introducing hidden gems in Kyoto, so if you're a Kyoto lover planning to come to Kyoto someday, be sure to subscribe to enjoy more content! So without further ado, let's go inside! Men's kimono Eitaroya is one of the very few kimono shops for men in Kyoto. They have experience in selling kimono to overseas customers and will ship the products you buy to your country. So this shop is highly recommended for people who are interested in these traditional clothing. Kimono are clothing made from one long piece of fabric called tanmono. At Eitaroya, you can choose your favorite fabric and they will take your measurements and tailor it into a kimono that fits you perfectly. Isn't it exciting that you can have your one and only kimono made for you? Alright, so let's take a look at this very beautiful corner here. There's already so many items here. And the first thing that definitely caught my eyes was absolutely the original. Of course. I love original so much. Ah, they have all these really unique colors. Oh, they're really really different, fine on, you know, easy size and such. I personally really really love these kinds as well. As you can see, this one. Oh my god, that is so cool. So beautiful. This is amazing. And I believe these are all of the kimono fabric that you can find here. So this is where kimono starts from. This turns into a kimono. It's amazing how one single piece of cloth turns into... Yeah, that's right, exactly. Exactly, it turns into a kimono from here. Just roll the cloth. And of course, you can see down over here too. These are the getai and also the setai, I believe. Wow, look at the thickness. Yeah, they must be really really strong. And the design, the lines on the hanao strings there, really beautiful. And also the getai as well. Getai usually for men, I believe, would be worn mostly together with yukata, I think. And again, it's summer right now when we're filming this. I think the getai would be perfect. And I believe these are on sale as well, these bags. I think so, I think so. They're like luggage, right? Actually, I saw more bags over on that side too. And over here, you can see more of the fabric, the cloth of the kimono on the wall here. Again, these are all for summer, I believe. Yeah, yukata or the very thin layer ones like the one that I'm wearing right now for summer. Men's kimono tend to be really simple. Like one single... You guys look at mine, mine doesn't have any patterns at all. This is like the major kind of kimono. Yeah, if you can look at over here, all of them have very beautiful patterns on them. Yeah, the one that absolutely caught my eyes is this one. Yeah, the tonbo. The waiting insect tonbo here. Yeah, dragonfly. Exactly. And let's go on to this side of the room as well then. Oh, there are the obi on this side. Oh, obi! Oh my god, they're so colorful. They're really, really colorful. Awesome. Again, as I was saying earlier, because the kimono tend to be quite simple, the only point where men's kimono can be rather fashionable are the haori or the obi. But the obi too. But where I got mine is really hidden. It's mostly hidden. So they have really, really fashionable designs as you can see here. So many colors, different colors with blue, brown, yellow, a little bit reddish, white. Down here, there are the simpler colors as well. More simple colors. Just simple patterns written on them. So then we'll love to ask the manager of the shop to find some nice coordinations for us with this kimono then. Alright, let's move on to that. Today, we had the manager show recommended kimono coordinations for kazu and men. The first kimono that she introduced was a casual kimono for summer called お道紙 omichijimi, which is a kimono made from cotton and hemp cloth. This type of kimono's main feature is the unique texture created by twisting and weaving the threads. Thanks to this wrinkly surface, the kimono doesn't stick to your skin, and even when it absorbs sweat, it dries very quickly. There are two kinds of kimono you can wear mid-summer, yukata and summer kimono. According to the manager, you can wear お道紙 omichijimi both as a summer kimono or a yukata. The main difference is the combination and the rank. Within every type of kimono, yukata are the most casual and you wear the geta with your bare feet. You would usually wear these when meeting with a friend or going to a summer festival. Summer kimono, on the other hand, are higher in rank as you wear juban underclothes and tabi socks. I thought the fabric that was slightly striped was fashionable, so I asked for an obi that would go along with it. What kind of obi do they have? With the kimono being white, you can choose a gray obi to give a sharper image, or choose a beige obi for a softer atmosphere. They also have reversible obi that have two designs you can choose from depending on your mood. I prefer simpler combinations, so I really liked the gray obi. With this combination, let's ask for the haori recommendations. Wow, this is a beautiful haori! This haori with stripes is also a popular item. If you prefer more vivid colors, haori with deeper colors are also a good option. With this haori, a brown obi will give out a mature image. It's so interesting that every combination looks so different. Once you have chosen your kimono obi and haori, now you should choose a haori himo. A haori himo is an item to clip the front part of your haori, and men can choose ones to their liking just like they would for ties for a shirt. This haori himo has a magnet in the center, which makes it easier to wear and take off the haori. Choosing a black obi for this item makes you look sharper, doesn't it? This haori himo can be used all year round, and the manager showed us one that is made for summer only. This is made from lace fabric, so it is light and looks cool. A kimono will cost a bit of money, which is why many people enjoy several types of fashion by choosing haori himo with different colors. The manager also showed us a magnet haori himo which has a see-through design. The red beans give out a slight accent and completes the color design of the item. Excuse me, but I really like this one. Yes, this one. This type. It's pretty, isn't it? It has blue in it. How much does this kimono combination cost? 9,900 yen for the haori himo and 30,800 yen for the obi. The kimono costs 49,500 yen with tailoring fees included, and the haori costs 160,000 yen with water repellent finishing. The total price of my set was 250,200 yen. Next is Kazu's turn! For Kazu, the manager showed us a more casual kimono for autumn. This kimono is a type called tsumugi, which is made from spun silk thread that is dyed before being woven. Tsumugi is said to require delicate techniques and it takes more time to dye threads before they're woven. This tanmono with a reddish-brown color is Eritaroya's original product and is popular among foreign customers. This can be made into a kimono and haori as well, and for today, we chose this fabric for kimono. And the haori that goes with this is… Wow, this is a combination only a pro would suggest. If you choose a combination with single colors only, the whole figure tends to look boring, which is why this gray haori with a bit of navy blue is great. If you match it with an obi like this, the whole atmosphere changes. It's amazing! It looks like a kuro-oto! And it's beautiful! The obi is hakata-ori and is made with very firm fabrics. This is a popular obi for kimono as it rarely hurts even when you pull and tighten it hard. For the haori himo, the one that Kazu brought with him is a perfect match. By the way, this haori himo was a present for Kazu when he joined the team. If you're interested, please check out that video too. She showed us an obi that goes with this haori himo. This area might be cool as well. Is it purple? Yes, it's nice. You can use this on both sides. If you don't want to bring a lot of colors, you can choose a simple one like this. If you're going with the same color scheme, this one might be good too. Wow, it's very bright. You can also go with this one. Wait, I've never seen an obi that has such different designs on each side. This obi is also hakata-ori, and it is a slightly higher-ranked obi because it is made from Japanese silk. So the manager has shown us many coordinations. Which one did Kazu like the most? When you have chosen your items, you will now have your measurements taken. You will wear a kimono for this and have the length of each body part measured. If it's hard for you to imagine the entire design on the desk, you can partially wear the tanmono. I tried on two types of yukata fabrics that caught my eyes. The first one was a cool-looking black yukata with pictures of fish on it. It's amazing how a single piece of fabric instantly turns into the shape of a kimono. With this, it is much easier to imagine the final product. While doing this, you can also see whether the obi matches with your chosen fabric. The other yukata has dragonflies on it From the past, dragonflies are said to be symbols for good fortune as they always fly forward and never turn back. What's interesting about this tanmono is that the gradient colors go sideways and you can tailor it so the direction becomes vertical. This is an absolute feature you can enjoy only when designing clothing from fabrics. So that's it for today! Thank you very much for watching! This was an amazing experience, but first, I'd like to ask Tomoko and Kazu. How was it for you, Tomoko? I didn't know that men's kimono had such a various series of designs. A lot of different kinds and designs, yes. I really recommend to foreigners to come here and buy kimono. Absolutely. And for you, Kazu, putting it on and everything? Like I said, I already had an image that men's kimono tend to be dark and dull. It's not that flashy, simple. Looking at all those combinations and all those glorious obi belts, it just opened a whole new world for me. I didn't think that men's kimono had so much variation, so many colors. Exactly. The time when she was showing us one obi and then she flipped it over and it was completely different coordination. That just blew my mind. Kazu and I always talk about this, but if you go to a regular kimono shop, the men's kimono section is really small. 0.1% of the whole shop. This place, the whole shop is for men. I was really enjoying it too. And for me personally, the best part about it is that not just the manager showing us so many different types of men's kimono, but also even giving us some tips to put it on properly. And the combinations, like these colors are more for young people and these are for older people, so on and so forth. If it's this kind of occasion, you should choose these kinds of designs and colors. All of the knowledge that she gave us was really, really interesting too. So I hope this video is really fun for you to watch as well if you're interested in kimono. We learned so much today. Yes, a lot today. Yeah, right? So then guys, if you are interested in coming here to Eitaro-ya-san, please take a look at our description box. We have a link to their website. And we'll see you in our next Kyoto Hidden Gems. And thank you very much for watching. Bye-bye! We had a lot of fun. This was great. Sugosugiru!