THE WRONG SHAPE

I’ve always been the wrong shape. The wrong shape for jeans. The wrong shape for mini-skirts. The wrong shape for bikinis. But the one piece of clothing that I always regretted being the wrong shape for, even in my thinner days, was a kimono.

They are usually made of such exquisite fabric - silks and cottons, embroidered and printed. Images of flowers and birds, mountain and temples, moons and lakes. In the past, I have owned a couple - black silk with gold leaf embroidery of flowers; deep red silk with printed abstract patterns. But for a kimono to drape well, you have to have slim hips and modest breasts and that just isn’t me. They end up gaping and hanging awkwardly. In Japan in 2023 where many of the hotels provide kimonos for breakfast and onesen (bath) wear, the problem was the same. Sadly.

So it was both depressing and thrilling to see the brilliant kimonos that are part of an exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria when we were back for a minute for a memorial service. Thrilling to see such exquisite craft work and depressing because I’m never going to be able to wear one.  


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