An early Showa irotomesode, a type of formal kimono. Curiously, no mon! Not even embroidered. This has a red momi (lining) which had not been replaced with white cotton, like so many were. Collar style is bachi-eri, prefolded and sewn, no snaps or strings. There are various marks on it, like the prominent one on the collar. The kimono outer is in so-so condition.
I love the long sleeves. It feels strange wearing kimono these days. I'm getting too old for long sleeves to look right, but short (modern) sleeves feel inelegant.
Kinsha mon, woven designs with yuzen dyeing on top. Autumn colourings and patterns. I almost have an entire 1930s set! I need an obi. I tend not to count high-use items like obiage and obijime. The collar is from the late 20s or early 30s, however.
The front uses an iromuji in pale peach with sayagata-pattern weave for a nakagi. The peach layer is a bit larger than the gold one, but I tried to make it work on the mannequin. I would have unfolded a juban as well but I don't want to have to re-fold it... I already HAVE a stack at least 5-6 high.
I like the visual and tactile difference between the smooth, shiny iromuji and the textured kinsha of the irotomesode. It's more tan than gold in person, but I expect kimono to photograph oddly when it comes to colouring. Actually, the kinsha doesn't feel entirely like silk, and it has a weird shine to it. Maybe it was semi-synthetic. It doesn't feel crispy or rough like many synthetics of the era do.
Wrist to wrist: 50in / 127cm
Sleeve length: 26.75in / 67.5cm
Body width: 24in / 61cm
Neck to hem: 56in / 142cm
The obi is a modern nagoya obi with patterns of kumihimo, mon, fuji, kiku, and bangasa that resemble the shell game. Can you see it, too? I love the imagination of shape. The colours are perfect for autumn. I tried to keep the mood as close to the original kimono colours as possible.
Obiage is white with clouds shibori, lined in gold. Obijime is a bold paprika-orange with other colours running through it.
I was thinking of this kimono when I bought it, since the original photos looked more golden yellow instead of tan. Still, I like the outcome very much. It seems the red/white clouds pattern obiage was very popular in this booklet! So I chose a plain white clouds pattern one instead. Since the kosode is also tan instead of yellow, and the nakagi here is probably orange, I also toned it down to peach.
If you are interested in old Japanese kimono-related books, Kimono no Asobi (Naomi's) flikr is still active. This scan is from 1932's "Wedding Ceremony Should Know."
The New Book 📕 Jung’s book was a private record of dreams, visions, and inner exploration. He kept it hidden because the material was so strange and personal that he feared it could damage his reputation. 🧠 Yet he spent years crafting and preserving it, suggesting it mattered deeply to him.
✨ Many of his later ideas grew from these pages. It seems he wanted it protected - not necessarily published. 🔒📖
At 2026 Trooping the Colour, Princess Charlotte debuted a 3-strands pearl bracelet. The clasp shines so it could be made of diamonds. It could also be a necklace used as a bracelet.
The Princess of Wales wore for the first time this necklace with a round gemstone likely or presumably a diamond surrounded by smaller ones at Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling's wedding on 6th June 2026.
My guess is a bespoke Grace White Topaz and Diamond Necklace (no smaller gemstones and the chain is also different) or a not-currently-on-the-website diamond necklace.
Circe, the temptress. Oil on canvas (1898)
Charles Hermans (Belgian, 1839–1924) reimagined the ancient Greek sorceress as a captivating nineteenth-century femme fatale. While Ovid’s Metamorphoses tells of men turned into swine, Hermans presents a more grounded, psychological scene.
A modern gentleman in evening dress sits defeated and slumped at the table, suggesting that her "magic" is found in social allure and the decadence of modern life.
The composition is defined by a bold, monochromatic red background that pushes the figures toward the viewer, creating an atmosphere of intense intimacy and entrapment.
Circe stands dominant and detached, her salmon-colored gown nearly dissolving into the crimson wall behind her.
The sharp, horizontal line of the white tablecloth cuts through the heat of the red, anchoring the slumped figure of the man whose "transformation" is one of total moral and physical exhaustion.
Thick, sketchy brushstrokes dissolve the lower ruffles of the dress into the floor, blending her legs into the environment to elevate her image as an elemental sorceress rooted in the earth.
Loc. Private Collection. Sold at Christie's in 2005. Dim. 123.4 x 199 cm (48 5/8 x 78 3/8 in.).
