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Online Kimono Sellers (Updated 2022)

4/10/2016

7 Comments

 
Here I have listed all the various online websites and stores where you can buy kimono and Japanese clothing.  If you have any more websites or stores that you like to use and have had a good experience with, please let me know! I would love to keep this list updated with as many stores as possible.  Stores are listed in no particular order.

​Please click the name of the seller to be directed to their website.

Dedicated Kimono Websites

Ohio Kimono

I have personally worked with this store when they came to Boston.  The owner is knowledgeable and fair, and I give this store my personal stamp of approval.  They're LGBTQ+ friendly and willing to help you with whatever your dressing needs may be.  You can find various kinds of kimono, obi, dressing accessories, tabi, haori, purses, kimono fabric, etc. The website lists product condition and sizes.  They operate out of Ohio (no surprise) and for now only ship to the US.  But their website also has various information, a blog, youtube channel, instagram, customer gallery, and more!  I strongly recommend you check them out!  I wrote a whole blog post about them here.


Kimono Yukata Market

This site has expanded over the years to sell a wide range of all the wafuku you can imagine.  Men's and women's, furisode all the way to yukata.  They have a rather large selection, a easy to understand quality rating system, lots of information about wearing kimono and measuring your size.  At the time of writing this, they have a whole section devoted to plus size yukata with hundreds of items listed.  Plus, they sell other items related to kimono, including storage containers and display stands. 

​One little note, I noticed on their Who We Are page they owners talk about being fed up of seeing fake kimono being sold online, so they decided to open up their own authentic kimono shop.  Now that's an origin story we can all get behind!

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Sou

Sou has an incredibly expansive listing of items.  They sell kimono, yukata, obi, accessories, art pieces, tea ceremony pieces, and more.  They often have some of the cheapest prices around, if you're looking for discount vintage kimono.  They often run sales and have free shipping as well.  This site is connected to Shinei and often the stores will list each other's products.  Check their ebay for more items and even better deals.

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Shinei

Shinei is a great website for finding a wide variety of color and styles of kimono.  Their array of synthetic iromuji is impressive.  They also sell a large quantity of synthetic kimono of all types.  Be careful, shipping can get expensive and isn't included in the price listing.  One of the best part of sites like this in my opinion is the robust search and filtering system on the website.

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How to Spot Fake Kimono

4/10/2016

5 Comments

 
Many kimono sellers, both online and physical stores, will sell what I like to call "tourist kimono." These garments look similar to authentic Japanese kimono, but often are a cheaper interpretation of kimono that are missing many key elements of a genuine kimono. For many people just starting out in the kimono world, it can be very difficult to tell the difference. Many kimono sellers will stock "tourist kimono" and call them authentic. Sometimes, these cheap tourist kimono will be the primary way the business makes money. In addition, if you try to search for the word kimono on ebay or other shopping websites, you have to wade through more fake kimono than real kimono! But for those looking to buy only authentic historically correct kimono, this guide will help you to pick out the differences. I'm not saying you should never wear or buy these tourist kimono. I just hope this guide will help you understand what you may or may not be wearing. Then you can make the decision for yourself. Knowledge is power!

Material

Most tourist kimono are made of two types of material, cotton or satin. The satin "kimono" are much easier to spot. But sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference between a cotton tourist kimono and a real yukata because they are both made of the same material. So let's take a look at some touristy satin kimono first.

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    Author

    Having developed a love of everything Japanese at an early age, Ara has been exploring various aspects of traditional Japanese culture both in the US and Japan.  Occasionally they also find the time to write a blog post or two.

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