For all its simple style, the kimono has lost status in Japan as daily apparel. Japanese women talk about kimonos with a sense of ritual and preciousness.

How can something almost sacred return to daily life?

I met a young Tokyo mother at the aquarium in Shinagawa taking her two daughters and a friend. In contrast to most children, who wore pragmatic clothes, the three girls were dressed in beautiful, billowing kimonos with colorful belts.

I had seen kimonos for children in shops, but none with the pattern or cut, especially the one in the photo below. I asked the mother where she found the kimonos. She said she had sewn them herself. I correctly guessed the fabric on the right was Liberty.

Not only did the mother sew the kimonos. She also personalized them with waves to the shoulders.

No need to wait for a wedding, a casual outing is a great way to initiate children and keep a tradition alive.

Kimonos are perhaps my next project, having stopped by the craft shop with the pattern recommended by the mother. (Yuzawaya Ginza outlet in New Melsa department store)