Traditional Kimonos - Before the twentieth century, the term kimono was not heavily used. Individual
garments had their own specific names based on all aspects, from sleeve opening
size to the formality of the occasion for which the garment was going to be
worn. The term kimono actually came into use to describe a normally T-shaped
garment that had the potential of many different names and functions, now lumped
together. The T-shaped pattern is made out of seven panels cut from one of
cloth. It is sewn together at all the edges, allowing the panels to form a
distinctive T-shape that the entire world now associates with "traditional" Japanese dress.
Traditional Kimonos
While indeed the kimono is referred to as "traditional"
Japanese wear, it is important to note that the kimono in all its different
forms is anything but traditional. The word kimono means literally "thing to
wear" in English. Because it has encompassed a vast array of clothing types that
were once categorized separately, and because of the large variation of actual
garment styles of kimonos, pinning down a solid history for the kimono is not an
easy task.
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