My Shidou cel and I are going to elope. (Sorry Philip!)

(And I know it doesn't necessarily look like it from the picture, but this framing job is absolutely massive. It's definitely impressive.)

I got my fox ring in yesterday - it is SO cute! Much cuter than in the picture! Totally kawaii! And when I went to go place him on the shelf where I keep all of my other foxes, I realized that I have got a bunch of foxes! There's eighteen of them there and that's not including the four silver beads or the two pair of charms. Or any of the plushies that are scattered throughout my apartment. (There's even one that lives in my car.) It's like a whole colony of them have come to live with me!

I feel like Kyo from Fruits Basket. When he's sitting in the classroom and all of the sudden there are a bunch of cats draped across him. If the fox were part of the Chinese Zodiac, I think I would be a Sohma. I wonder what my first name would be?

This evening I am struck by just how much of a fox I really am. I had a lapse of interest with my totem for awhile, although it wasn't anything conscious. It just happened. But recently, I've truly gotten back in touch with the fox. But is this really a good thing? I have to ask because...

I have been bad! I have been very naughty and I have bought something shiny and cute. Isn't it adoreable? Like the most adoreable thing ever? Perhaps only to be rivaled by tiny sterling silver fox beads. I hope it gets here soon.

Okay. Never go to your basic craft store with a framing department if you want proper conservation framing. Not unless you know what you're doing. Because they certainly don't know what they're doing. I just recalled that one of the purposes of a mat is to protect the artwork from the acid of wood frames. Well - a fillet is nothing more than a tiny frame on the inside edge of the mat. Right next to the artwork.

DOH!

I've never worked with fillets myself, so I didn't realize this very important fact at the time I was getting the matting sorted out for Shidou. And neither did the person who was helping me apparently. It can't be that they didn't realize I was going for conservation framing, because I said as much a couple of times. Sigh.

At any rate, it turns out that what you're supposed to do with fillets is have another mat under it. Not even necessarily showing from underneath the edge. Just a protective layer. I'm not entirely sure what I am going to do about it. I guess the best thing to do would be to go buy a piece of acid-free acetate from an art store and have that overlay my cel. I might also think about how it would look with a little line of mat showing from under the fillet. It'd only be about 1/8th of an inch. Maybe it would look good if it were a black mat with a black core. I could get it cut later on and then put it in place myself.

I'll have to think on what I want to do, but at least I caught onto the fact that there was a problem! I have a term paper assignment to thank for it. I've got a ten page paper to write about cel collecting and my last weblog entry inspired me to write a section about conservation framing this evening. But I think it's time for me to go to bed before I start thinking too heavily on the edges of my beautiful Shidou cel getting all yellow and brittle from the evil fillet acid of doom.

I like that. Evil Fillet Acid of Doom. It's clever and posh. I mean - what normal person has the luxury of thinking about fillet acid?

One of my birthday presents was some money to help fund a really lush framing job for my pan cel of Shidou. Usually I frame my cels quite simply, with a mat that compliments the colours of the image and then just a thin metal frame. While I'm sure that Shidou would look just fine in a similar setup, I really did want to do something special with him. And so... Shidou is going to be living in a big gold frame with a velvety suede mat that is a deep wine colour and (dare I say it)... a fillet. Fillets are like the height of framing luxury, let me tell you. Of course suede mats are up there too. At least with this particular cel there is no chance of the framing job ever being worth more then it. That's sometimes a concern with my other cels.

Still. The $100 for the really fancy mat, the fillet, the special conversation glass, and the acid free backing board was "alright" by me. Not great, but alright. However, despite how much I really loved the frame we picked out for it, $200 for it was not alright. All I could say was "Ouch." The frame was cool, especially the way it had some red highlights peeking out from the pale gold, but not $200 cool. So I turned to my friendly online framing website and got one for $40. It is also very cool and although it won't have those little touches of red, I am sure I can work them in without too much trouble if I really want them there. Talk about a significant price difference.

I'll post a picture when it's all framed up and hanging on my wall. I think it'll be totally awesome. But let me tell you - I never thought I would actually be buying one of those velvety mats. When I first saw them when I worked as a framer, I couldn't begin to think why someone would want something so needlessly opulent. But now I know. It's for when you want something over the top because you've got the coolest vampire cel in the world and you want to display him in his full gothic glory. I love you, Shidou!

Well - today was my birthday. Not sure if I would say it was a happy one, but I'm officially 23 now. It'll make it all that much worse when people in airports ask me how old I am and if this is my first time flying alone... Must control fist of death. I spent a good portion of the day in classes, and the rest of the day feeling overheated because it was such a warm day. I didn't really go do anything or see anyone, although that wasn't unexpected. Still - Philip did call me early this morning so he could make sure to be the first person to wish me a happy birthday. That was really sweet, although I ended up going back to bed about an hour later because I just felt bleh. Didn't get quite enough sleep I guess. I felt much better after my nap. Philip also left a cute little message on my answering machine so it would be there waiting for me when I got back from classes.

And although I didn't get any presents today, I did get a package! (To be fair - my birthday celebration actually took place on the weekend and that is when I got cool presents. And last night Shannon took me out to a Japanese steak house!) The package contained my uchikake and my tsuke obi, both of which are very awesome! So it's all good. You know me and packages.

But so... the obi was a lot bigger then I was expecting. I guess the photographs of it were a little deceiving just because there was nothing for size comparison. Let me tell you - that's a big bow! It's really cool what the place I bought it from does. They take old, used obi that maybe have some stains here and there, but that are still quite lovely. They then give the obi a new life by cutting it up and using one section to make the bow, making sure all of the stains are hidden, and then basically doing the same thing to the part that you wrap around your middle. The only thing I don't like about my obi is that it smells of moth balls. I've put some incense in the box with it and then one of these days I'll have to see if I can't air it out some.

The business I ordered from have got to be the coolest people ever. So if you're ever looking for a kimono or anything related, I can highly recommend Ichiroya. They've got great prices too. Besides being incrediably helpful, they are just so friendly and accomodating! I had been asking them about what sort of designs were common for the all-white variety of uchikake, because I really didn't want any sort of birds on mine. I had mentioned that I quite liked cherry blossoms in particular. Although my uchikake didn't end up having that particular motif, they included a postcard with a photograph of cherry blossoms in my package! Apparently it was just cherry blossom season in the past week or two. They also included a thin cotton hand towel (tenugui?) that had a cherry blossom symbol on it. How awesome is that? I don't think I could compliment them enough. It was just a really great transaction.

I had ordered a whole bunch of various kimono accessories through two seperate dealers on eBay - and both packages arrived today. Talk about a ton of stuff spread out on my bed! And there were all sorts of interesting things, like split-toed socks and pretty silk sashes that aren't actually ever seen. It's good stuff.

*gets a spacy little smile of contentment* Packages.

Oh - and somehow a copy of 'Satan Impact' arrived in the mail today too. I wonder how that got in there! ;) It's nice to have finally gotten a copy of it considering how long I've been after that particular Final Fantasy VII doujinshi. I think it is safe to say that my days of getting doujinshi are more or less over now. I have to say 'less' only because every now and then one shows up that I had never seen before and I get taken in by the pretty pictures of Sephiroth.

Chibi-Sephiroth says: I AM SEPHY!

My nagajuban arrived today! (Don't forget, nagajuban is the underkimono.) It is very lovely and quite luxurious! I've been seeing nagajuban being refered to as a 'short kimono', but I don't think I would say that. It almost touches the floor when I have it on. I suppose relatively speaking it is shorter then other kimonos, but I had been having these visualizations of it not going below the knee. Obviously I was wrong.

The only thing actually "wrong" with the nagajuban itself is that its condition is not exactly as it was described. The description said that the replacable collar had some light stains on it, as did the lining. I understand that sort of thing is quite common and that's okay with me. But when I got it out, I spotted at least one stain on the outside of the garment and I noticed that the lining had a tear near the neck. Both are pretty minor, but it would have been nice if I had known about them beforehand. I haven't even really taken a good look at it yet either.

Nonetheless, I really love it! It all just makes me feel wierd, because although I wouldn't have wanted to pay as much for it as I did, that doesn't change the fact that I'm still glad to have it.

In other news - I've found a date eri! (That's the double collar that you attach to the inside of your kimono.) I had been thinking about trying to find one in yellow and as luck would have it, someone that I had bought some of my accessories from had one. In fact, it's a reversible one! Both sides are yellow, but different shades and textures.

I just wanted to point out that all the meanings I have been giving to the kimono terms are only the meanings that I have come to understand. Different sources may say they are different things! Like I just found out that sometimes the term shiromuku is used when the entire bridal outfit is white, or sometimes only refers to an all-white kakeshita (wedding furisode - Layer 003). My understanding was that it was an all-white uchikake. So please bear this in mind!

Also, I found out that you're supposed to wear a special obi (kakeshita obi), tied in a particular knot. So that part of my wedding outfit will not be traditional.

My blue furisode arrived yesterday! It is so beautiful - I unfolded it and put it on to see what it is like. It's very dense! It's much thicker and heavier than a normal kimono. I found out that there is actually a term for this type - kakeshita! Kakeshita is a wedding-specific kimono that is much more substantial then a normal one and that has a lightly padded hem. I had noticed the hem in the pictures and it made me wonder if I was getting the right thing, since that was definitely different from normal kimonos. I know it was being called a 'wedding furisode', but it still gave me reason to pause. Because I guess you could say that an uchikake is a wedding kimono. Nonetheless, it turns out that I got the exact type that I needed! And it makes me strangely happy to have learned another term.

I learned how to do something else last night as well - I taught myself how to properly fold a kimono! It is a pretty elaborate procedure, but I managed well enough by following some instructions I found online. I'm going to practice doing it on a normal kimono that I have so that I get the hang of it.

I didn't take any photographs of it when I had it out and I'm not sure when I'm going to feel like getting it out again, but it's slightly different then the pictures showed. In the seller's photographs of it, the blue looks like it fades to black at the bottom edges where the majority of the flowers are - but in reality it is a rich purple! Definitely not black. That works out just fine though, because I was planning on having a sparse third colour of yellow and it will be a beautiful contrast.

For now it is living in a plastic storage box that I keep under the bed, wrapped up in torn pink tissue paper. The paint used to make the flowers has a plastic smell, so I put in a couple of sticks of incense into the box too. There's actually a special type of wrapping paper for storing kimonos, as well as incense, so one of these days I might have to order some. I feel bad that these beautiful kimonos that I'm going to be getting over the next couple of days won't be living in ideal storage. I hope they don't mind.

Part of me truly hopes that the day I get married, it rains in the sunshine. It doesn't happen very often, but I have always found those occasions to be very special. When I later started to associate with the fox, I found it is an old Japanese folktale that when it is sunny but raining, a fox is getting married.

On the other hand, I don't want to ruin my silk kimonos.

Although I suppose that basic white wedding gowns can be quite lovely, they have all started to look the same for me and I wasn't sure if I could visualize myself in one and feeling really special for it. So I have decided that I am going to wed in something that I find exceptionally beautiful: Kimonos. I am going to be more or less traditional in my dress. The 'less' part is because one of the layers of the kimono is supposed to be white, whereas mine will be blue. The layer that I WILL have in white, can traditionally be very colourful if the bride wishes. So I'm doing it a little backwards.

Until a couple days ago, I couldn't make heads or tails of what all the many different pieces of the kimono were. There are a staggering number of items that you need besides just the kimono. Like narrow belts (koshi-himo), wider belts (date-jime), support pillows (obi makura), stomach boards (obi ita). Then there's the stuff you don't really need, but that are nice to have anyways, like a fresh new replacable collar (han eri) for the under-kimono, and "fake" double collars to add an accent of colour (date eri).

But so I had this really strange moment where all of the sudden everything came together for me. Suddenly I understood what all these things were for! It was a pleasant feeling because the job of gathering all of these things didn't seem quite so daunting anymore. I've gotten all the layers of my dress now, minus a couple of pieces that while they are very important, are nonetheless small.

Layer 001: Underwear!

This layer is more commonly known as hadajuban or hadagi. There isn't much to say about this layer. I think the idea of it is to keep you from sweating on the silk of the other layers. Here's a picture:

Layer 002: Under-kimono!

This layer is more commonly known as nagajuban. (Let the confusion begin!) This layer can actually take a couple of forms. One is where the top and bottom are quite seperate and are in the basic design of a kimono. Definitely has an underwear look to it however. Another type is where the top is more like an actual kimono and much prettier. You can wear it on its own casually, but when you're wearing it under a kimono, you need to wear a slip with it. (Or borrow the bottom part from the other variety as I intend to do).

Both types have a collar on them that will show when you're completely dressed. These collars are called han eri and are replaceable so you can always make sure you have a perfect collar. You can get them in different colours, but white is the most common. You then need eri shin collar strips that slide onto the inside and keep the collar crisp and stiff when you're wearing it. This layer is also tied closed first with a narrow silk belt (koshi-himo), then with a wider one (date-jime) to help it from getting wrinkled and to help set the stage for the obi.

Here is a picture of my really beautiful silk furisode nagajuban! (Furisode is characterized by long sleeves and is for unmarried women. All of my kimono layers are furisode.) This picture isn't very good and I may updated it later, but the pattern is of cherry blossoms:

Layer 003: The Kimono!

This is generally the final layer in a traditional kimono attire. But with a wedding set-up, there is one more layer beyond this. This is where things really begin to get beautiful. There is more to SEE about this layer then there is for me to describe. But it is kept closed in basically the same way as the under-kimono, with another round of koshi-himo and date-jime. There's also a korin belt, which is a strip of elastic with two soft clips. It's attached to the edge of a collar near the bottom and then wrapped around to the other side and gently attached to the kimono. It's to help make extra-sure that the collar doesn't start to slip open. I'm thinking about getting a double collar (date eri) for this, maybe yellow. The double collar is attached to the inside of the real one and it makes you look like you're wearing two kimonos as was once a fashionable thing to do.

This is the layer that is traditionally supposed to be white, but when I saw this kimono on eBay, I just have to have it. It was actually described as being a wedding furisode, so I'm assuming there is some subtle difference between it and a regular furisode kimono. As is pretty common, the outer material is silk, but the lining is synthetic:

Layer 003 - 2: Obi!

This almost deserves to be considered a layer of it's own. The obi is the really wide, fancy belt that is worn over the kimono. And there is a lot that goes into it! After the kimono has been tied with the other belts, there is a very elaborate procedure for wrapping the obi around yourself, securing it with temporary strips of cloth, tying the special knot in the back, making sure the knot has it's support pillow (obi makura), and finishing it. Two of the finishing elements of the obi that I don't have yet are the obi-age and obi-jime. The obi-age is something like a scarf and it's wrapped around the top of the obi and tucked inside of it. It adds a sort of frill-effect emerging from the top of the obi. The obi-jime is a fancy cord that is tied around the outside of the obi. I don't have pictures of either of these two things because I haven't picked them out yet.

I'm avoiding much of the hassel of the procedure by using a pre-tied obi, called tsuke obi. I'm not sure how it works yet, but the bow is pre-tied and you attach it after you've finished I think. Mine was made from a pre-existing obi. Here's a picture of my tsuke obi:

Layer 004: Outer Kimono!

This layer is most commonly called uchikake. It is a bridal kimono that is worn open over all the other layers. It's longer then average so that there is a train and the bottom hem is padded so that it is weighted down. Uchikake can come in any number of colours, although red is very common. The majority of them are incrediably bold. Common motifs for uchikake are cranes, peacocks, and flowers. The crane is the most common because the crane keeps its mate for life. It's actually really hard to find one of these without cranes.

There are also all white uchikake, which are refered to particularly as shiromuku. Sometimes you'll see a white uchikake with a bright red lining, but I'm not sure if they're also called shiromuku or not. Sometimes these white wedding kimonos have a shiny silver look to them or use iridescent threads.

Mine is supposed to be all white, but I think the detail work will come off as being silver simply because of the shine. I'm just glad I was actually able to find one without cranes on it. I like cranes well enough, but I'm not big on birds in general. Mine has a floral and stream/wave motif. There are some beautiful little flower carts hiding in it as well.

That is basically it! There are a few other things that I haven't mentioned, like the split toe socks (tabi) and the shoes (zori.) There's also things to consider like hair ornaments (kanzashi) and other accessories, but they're not so important.

Philip says it is a good thing our wedding is at 2 in the afternoon, because I will need all morning to get ito this. He might be right! I'm certainly going to practice beforehand!

Finally setting the date for the wedding caused this strange cascading effect whereas I now have almost all of the parts of my wedding dress on the way! All 4 layers of it. Well - one layer is not yet on the way because I have not picked out the layer in question, although I know more or less what I want so it is just a matter of keeping an eye out.

I might show pictures of the different bits if anybody would be interested in seeing them. I don't care so much about the silly bad luck tradition of the groom seeing the bridal gown before the wedding, so if anybody is interested in sharing in what is proving to be a unique experience, please say so!

I realize that I haven't been posting much again lately. I guess I really have just been distracted. That and I go back and forth between thinking this should be a place where I talk about meaningful things and it just being someplace where I should just say whatever comes to mind.

In other news, Philip and I finally set a date for our wedding. It will be August 27th at 2:00pm in the registrar's building in York, England. Afterwards we will then go to the park where there are some really beautiful abbey ruins, and have fancy pre-prepared picnic baskets by Harrod's.