ikimono

Your style journey into vintage kimono and kitsuke wear

Toulouse, France

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ikimono

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About ikimono

Sales 276
On Etsy since 2009

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Your style story in vintage kimono

Shop members

  • Maggie

    Owner

    Family in Japan sent me my first kimono 15 years ago, and I’ve been adding to my collection ever since.

Shop policies

Last updated on May 10, 2022
Irashaimase! Welcome to IKIMONO

✿ Etsy is such a great place to be part of, especially the pleasure of sending beautiful Japanese (inspired) kimono all over the world. As a dedicated kimono lover and very humble student of kitsuke, I have created your Ikimono set in the hope that it enables you to express your unique style with a touch of Japanese chic.

✿ All my kimono sets are specially selected to look stylish and bring pleasure to the wearer. The vintage kimono are authentic, from trusted Japanese contacts. The cotton Go-obi and collars are sewn by me with love, and designed to enhance the vintage clothes I have combined them with.

✿ All vintage items are checked for quality and suitability, then placed in the relevant shop section. In terms of wearability, unless they are in the Practice Dressing section, sets can be worn in public, though in Japan, they may not conform to strict kitusuke rules. To help you make informed choices, particularly if you are new to collecting kimono, IKIMONO has included some useful explanatory notes in the Refunds & Exchanges policy.

✿ For care of vintage kimono, please refer to the Additional Information section below.

✿ IKIMONO loves offers, like her customers! Returning customers are offered a discount on certain purchases. Coupon Codes also make it easy to give everyone a great deal. Please note that only one offer will be available for each item, but this can be the one which saves customers the most. Always happy to work with customers to ensure the best deal.

✿ If you have any questions or suggestions, please don't hesitate to convo IKIMONO.

Accepted payment methods

Paypal

Returns & exchanges

See item details for return and exchange eligibility.

Payment

✿ IKIMONO accepts PayPal as this gives both the buyer and seller protection in case something goes wrong. You can use your credit card on PayPal even if you don't have a PayPal account.

✿ Orders should be paid for the same day you make your purchase. Payment covers Etsy and PayPal fees, plus handling/packaging. Orders not paid for within 3 days of purchase will be canceled and re-listed, unless we have agreed by convo in advance to vary this.

Shipping

✿ All items will be shipped with insurance to the address on the Etsy receipt unless we agree different arrangements in advance. If the destination address is different, please clarify in a convo. I will not ship until I have an indisputable address confirmed by the buyer. This protects IKIMONO’s good name and avoids the possibility that an undelivered item is construed as not having been shipped. Whilst shipping without insurance is slightly cheaper, I do not recommend this option, for the same reason.

✿ Once your Paypal payment has been cleared, I endeavour to ship orders within 3 days. Exceptions include holidays and weekends, hazardous weather and serious illness.

✿ Ikimono always ships promptly, but on the advice of La Poste, international mail packages should be given 6 to 8 weeks to arrive. I have found that items sent by La Poste to the USA, Australia, Europe and East Asia have rarely been delayed, but please remember that I am shipping from France.

✿ Circumstances beyond my control include issues with customs or local mail handling, holidays, adverse weather conditions. I cannot be held responsible for any hold ups at Customs and any fees due to Customs are the buyers' responsibility. Thank-you for your understanding.

✿ Sadly, IKIMONO is unable to accept responsibility for any damage/loss that may occur during the shipping process.

Additional policies and FAQs

Sizing

✿ Kimono are often described as one size, but although each kimono could fit many women, this is misleading. All are long by western standards, as Japanese women pulled them up to the exact length required with a waist fold, holding it in place with an obi sash. As a general guide to sizing, vintage kimono measuring 48" from sleeve tip to sleeve tip, across the top of the shoulders fit sizes 4-6-8-10, and those with a wing span of at least 50" fit sizes 8-10-12-14.

✿ Haori jackets are worn edge-to-edge, so less complicated, size-wise. Their fluid, easy-to-wear qualities are becoming increasingly borrowed as a chic alternative to the western tailored look. Sizes vary very little, and most haori fall into the category of “one size fits all”. The key measurement for western fit is the width of the back hem, which gives a good indication of hip girth, and most haori would fit a hip measurement of up to about 44 inches. For those wishing to find larger garments, IKIMONO often comes across men’s haori, perfect when worn blazer style, or lining side out to reveal the decorative back panel for a particularly dramatic effect. Again, to avoid the need for exchanges, the message is, when in doubt, convo.

Care instructions

✿ Strictly dry clean only for all vintage silk items. Find a dry cleaner who is used to working with vintage silk or wedding dresses, point out stain locations, and tell them that the item is vintage Japanese silk. Wool kimono may be dry cleaned (recommend) but some place the kimono in a laundry net and wash on wool cycle. This is at the owner's risk, and no lined vintage kimono should be washed, as the lining and outer textile react differently to water. The new handmade Go-Obi sashes and collars made from modern cottons may be carefully hand-washed, and ironed on the appropriate setting.

✿ If you just want to freshen a kimono, either after wearing or to get rid of any musty vintage smell, carefully hang or place it in the shade, outside on a breezy day. Never wash or wet vintage Japanese kimono and obi, as even spot cleaning can leave a water mark.

✿ One natural route to protect silk (and any other vulnerable items in your wardrobe) from moths is by using a blend of lavender, peppermint and rosemary essential oils on a cotton wool pad, without making contact with the silk, or any polished wooden surfaces in the storage area. This also helps remove any musty smell from vintage garment.

✿ When stored for a lengthy period, keep garments folded, rather than on hangers, and out of sunlight, which could fade the item in places. Best practice is to do as the Japanese do, and use a purpose designed washi paper kimono wrapper, which I can add to your order for $10. Please convo your request at the time of ordering, and your item will be shipped in its wrapper, with folding instructions for future storage.

✿ Items for display also need to be kept well away from sunny interior places, humidity and hot air vents.

Owning and Wearing Vintage Kimono

✿ Lovely vintage kimono deserve to be worn and admired, but unlike new garments, may have small faint areas of minor discoloration or a slight odor of storage. Most kimono lovers accept that there may be a patina of age or slight signs of use that pose no risk of spoiling the experience of wearing beautiful earlier pieces.

✿ Although most of my kimono are excellent vintage examples, the overall condition is always reflected in the pricing. Similarly, a rare motif or valuable textile holds its price because of its cultural merit. I have included a category of Wearable Practice Kimono, where the design or textile is delightful to wear, but there may be such flaws as a worn hem, or more noticeable stains, often in the lining. Given the accessible price of these sets, you may be happy to keep these sets for kitsuke practice, rather than wear them outside the home.

✿ If you have questions on any aspect of vintage kimono and kitsuke, please don't hesitate to convo me. I am very convo friendly, and can often pass on great sources of kimono dressing knowledge and inspiration. I am very happy to discuss custom orders for Go-Obi and cotton collars, or put together a particular set of vintage Japanese clothing.

✿ Copyright © Please note that all text, designs and images are owned by Maggie Healy, ikimono.etsy.com. Copyright is non transferrable. My designs and images are protected by copyrights owned by me. All text in my descriptions, shop profile, shop policies and feedback is copyrighted to me as well. (Please, no copying and pasting my words as they are or with the intention to paraphrase or change around for use elsewhere without asking permission. It takes time, skill and knowledge to write descriptions for my shop so I expect this small courtesy.)

✿ Ikimono’s Go-Obi is her own design concept (UK Design Right, 2014) and as such is protected against being copied under UK law.

✿ Every effort is made to capture the true colour when adding photos to listings, but these can vary, even from one shot to the next. Vintage Japanese items tend to reflect the harmonious colour schemes found in nature, a perennial inspiration in their culture. Just convo me if you would like more colour information about a listing.

✿ Please note that each item is sold as described, and does not include any set props or accessories included in the shot, unless this is made expressly clear in the description.

Last updated May, 2014