I was initially drawn in by one of the kimonos they had on display in the window. When my grandmother saw my interest, she suggested we go inside.
We were greeted by a very friendly staff member. She told us to take off our shoes and come on to the carpeted area to look at some kimonos. She asked me what my favorite color was, which is green, and she let me look through some of the green kimonos. All of the kimonos were folded up and hung on racks to save space. I sifted through some colors and found a green I really liked. The staff member then followed an elaborate ritual to help me into the kimono. She helped me into a small undergarment used to keep sweat off of the kimono. Then went on the kimono coat itself, pulled taut and tied tight. Then went on an obi belt, over a pad to keep the obi flat, that was quickly tied up into a large bow on my back. Then came on the obijime, another waist tie that kept the obi in place and decorated the outfit a litte. Then she tucked an erishin (a sort of fake collar to keep the collar of the kimono clean, also colored and decorated a little so it blends in with the kimono) around my collar. And with that, the look was done.
She was very kind and adept at helping me into the kimono. A lot of the time, I was just standing there and she was running around grabbing this and that to add to the kimono I was trying on. After trying on the green kimono, I had to try the dark blue kimono on display. She helped me out of the green kimono, which was much quicker than putting on the kimono, and then helped me into the blue one. I decided on the blue kimono, and my grandparents and I made reservations to do a photoshoot in January.
