"The Kimono Minute" - Kimono Shopping: Sleeve Length

When shopping for kimono, there's one more length that's very important if you're going to be wearing your kimono traditionally or to a formal event that may not necessarily be obvious to the novice kimono buyer, and that is yuki. Yuki is the measurement from the middle back seam of the kimono all the way to the edge of your sleeve, and my yuki is far too short for modesty's sake. Your yuki should reach all the way to your wrist, maybe slightly over. Why is that so important? Because traditionally, wearing kimono is a modest endeavor, and you don't want to be showing too much skin. Think Victorian counterpart would be a woman showing her ankle. Now, if you're out with your friends and just having some coffee, does the yuki matter so much? Not so much. But again, a formal event, a traditional event, you're going to want to make sure that your yuki is the right length. Or you may want to borrow a page from one of those fashion kimono magazines that dedicate pages to this. How to pose or hold your sleeve to hide that your yuki isn't quite long enough. This has been Your Kimono Minute.