Kickin' It with Kimonos - Yellow Floral

It seems that floral is a very popular pattern for kimonos. I am not sure it that is because most of us use our kimonos during the warmer months as a way to level up an otherwise, “normal” outfit like a pair of jeans or shorts or if I just am more naturally drawn to the floral prints in my purchases. Today’s kimono is a shorter style, but once again is covered with a floral print, although this time a bit more tropical.

I was on the verge of getting rid of this pretty yellow kimono. It is a brand called TruSelf and I think I got it at Walmart a few years ago. I am not real thrilled about the length of this piece. If the hemline was more asymmetrical, I think I might like it better, but for the sake of trying something different I kept it.

One of the bloggers I have followed since becoming a blogger is Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style. Jodie is such a warm, friendly lady, and an actual person. She isn’t at all fake, and I love that about her. Most of the fashion bloggers I follow are real women, who have their own sets of struggles and difficulties, but they are trying, just like me, to accept themselves and this process called aging. Jodie featured a post on a different way to wear your kimonos and that is where I learned this trick of tying the front to give the kimono a different look. You can see Jodie’s original post on how to make kimonos look more fitted here.

I tied mine differently than Jodie did in her post, but it still serves the same function, to make the kimono more fitted, rather than boxy. Here’s what it looks like tied up.

My light blue tee is a thrifted Sonoma piece. I love graphic tees and a great place to find them are thrift stores. Whether you like band tees, place tees or just random word tees, you can find plenty of different graphics second hand. Be sure to check out the men’s section as well. I found a few tees that were perfect for my younger daughter.

My pin striped skirt is reminiscent of the old time railroad engineers’ caps. this was a recent online purchase from Christopher and Banks. I was looking for another pencil type skirt with a little different look than just plain denim. This works perfectly. I am looking forward to cooler weather and styling this skirt with some tights and ankle boots.

Since the chunky sneaker look is trendy with skirts and dresses right now, I knew I could add my bright blue thrifted Keds and be spot on. My other accessories consisted of my thrifted Jaclyn Smith bag, a navy flower pendant necklace from Christopher and Banks and a simple beaded navy bracelet.

Do you have a kimono in your closet that you are not sure how to wear? I hope these little posts are offering you some inspiration. Sometimes we only need a new way of looking at something to give us a whole new set of ideas for styling outfits with clothes already in our closets.

I hope you week is off to a great start.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull.

Have fun looking over the shopping links below. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Is it a Kimono or a Ruana? Week 1

There are numerous over layers that we can wear including sweaters, blazers and jackets, but what about kimonos, and ruanas? I'll admit, I had to look up ruana, because I wasn't sure exactly what that was. I am familiar with kimonos and have been seeing lots of bloggers showing off these stylish pieces over their summer tanks and shorts. I bought a few pieces from Christopher and Banks recently and realized that one was more like a kimono and one was more like a ruana. Needless to say, I now have acquired a number of these and thought it would be fun to do another series, before we have to start thinking about the reality that fall is coming. 

This first pretty piece is a short kimono I recently found at Meijer on the clearance rack. For each of these posts I'm going to show you a picture of the outfit before I added the kimono. For this week I chose my Sonoma (Kohl's) Bermuda shorts, a Sonoma tank (Kohl's) and my light blue Keds (thrifted). 

For some reason, tank tops seem to be the perfect under piece for a kimono. I think what I like about it, is that the kimono really takes center stage and there is no bulk or extra fabric to deal with when wearing a tank top. I won't normally wear just a tank top, unless it is really hot and I am doing yard work. However, a tank top under a kimono, shawl, ruana or other light weight piece is perfect. 

Here are a few other pics of the kimono. I love the color, the pretty blue flowers and the lace edging. I kept my accessories simple with a teal fringe pendant necklace. 

I'm carrying my navy Simply Vera Wang bag (thrifted), as I thought it went well with the colors in the kimono. 

Of course, the footwear had to be ultra casual as well, thus my bright blue Keds (thrifted).

Do you have any kimonos? How do you like to wear them? I have become more fond of them over the last couple of years and seeing how other bloggers style them really helps. They are a great piece to add pizzazz to any outfit whether dressy or casual like this one.

I love to hear your feedback. Did you like this outfit? Do you like this kimono? I usually think of kimonos as being longer, but I think this short one works and I'll be looking at more ways to style this in the future. 

I've included a few shopping links for shorter kimonos, Bermuda denim shorts and Keds, just for fun. These are affiliate links which means I get a few cents if you click on a shopping link. If you make a purchase through one of my links, I get a small commission. All opinions are my own. 

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull. Make up Rachel Christensen.