Meisen Floral Haori

In the 1920’s and 1930’s, kimonos were still being worn daily by most Japanese women, and the prices of silk plummeted due to the war. These circumstances made way for the popularity of the Meisen Kimono. The fuzzy, squirrel-tail-like pattern was created to resemble ikat, but produced in a much cheaper and quicker way.

Instead of tie dyeing, the silk was woven on mechanized looms and while on the loom, before been woven, the yarns were stenciled printed to give the ikat effect. The Meisen technique was very popular at the beginning of the 20th century and fell out of favor only when Japanese women started wearing western clothes after the second world war. This Kimono is made of silk and is decorated with abstract off-white, gray, and pink shapes outlined with black spotted lines, and polychromatic florals. It is a shorter kimono, which may mean it was meant for a child, or inspired by men’s kimono fashions.