This is a very exciting TL;DR
A couple of days ago, Simon and I went hunting for our very first Yukatas 浴衣
Now for those who don't know, a Kimono is a very traditional and very fancy outfit that you can wear.
Very formal wear, it's not something you wear in a daily basis.
Yeah, the equivalent to North America would be if we are going to a wedding.
And you're wearing a tuxedo.
- And you're wearing a ball gown. - Like a ball gown.
You can't wear a ball gown around when you're going shopping.
Until I hit 70...in which case...
- I'll be wearing my ball gown everywhere thank you! - Damn right, son!
But in Japan, the Kimono is very much for like tea ceremonies or very fancy restaurants.
- We saw some really nice ladies wearing Kimonos at very fancy restaurants - Yes! Of course!
It might be for a wedding.
And a lot of people in Japan don't wear their Kimonos, unless there is a special event.
The Yukata, however, which I've recently learned, is basically a bath robe.
- And I know that I'm saying that it looks like a bath robe, - Right.
♪ Classical Music ♪ I looked it up historically
Turns out back in the day...
Rich people were like, "But I don't wanna put my kimono on..."
"It takes so long... There's so many pieces to it..."
There's like 14 pieces.
"Can we do something a little bit easier...?"
Hence, the Yukata was born.
And it was actually made to get between their house and the bath
- It's literally a bath robe! - Yep.
So it looks a lot like a Kimono but it's made usually out of cotton...
It's quite light and there aren't millions of layers with it. And more importantly...
It doesn't have all the heavy connotations of a Kimono, it's a lot more casual and it's acceptable to wear in
public if you want to go grocery shopping or to like a light festival or something like that.
And the other key is that, when I was looking up stuff on Kimonos...
Kimonos can change according to your martial status -- "Are you single? Are you looking to hook up?"
"How old are you?" Like the colors, the patterns, the sleeves...
There's all this special stuff, not with the Yukata.
There is a distinction with the Yukatas. There's Yukatas for women and Yukatas for men.
And there's a different cut.
So when we went shopping, originally we thought that we were both getting Yukatas.
Hopefully matching Yukatas because we like to wear matching clothing.
But turns out, a lot of the really nice patterns that I liked were only women's patterns.
Awww...
Ohh my cheesy chinchilla!
The selection of men's patterns were very underwhelming.
I was looking for something a little bit more extravagant and flamboyant.
I'm very picky when it comes to my clothing otherwise and this was very challenging for me.
[M] The first shop we found had a big selection for women.
We went through it and the stuff was really pretty, but I think it was more traditional.
[S] Yeah.
[M] Even the people working there were quite old and they were so excited for us to be in there as well.
This little old lady -- she's bent over and we held up a print and I'm like
"What do you think about this? It matches my tattoo!" And she went "Sugoiすごい ! (Awesome!)"
So everything there was really beautiful, but I think it might have been more...
[M] expensive and high class/traditional. [S] Yeah, a little bit too rich for our blood...
Yeah, we were like "Oh we're gonna go get some lunch and come back, I swear..."
[Both] We never came back! Never came back.
- I'm sorry Sugoi lady! - Sorry!
[M] Then we went to another shop that's known to be more funky and modern.
[M] It had cat prints! Cats! [S] Yup, it had cats, it had rainbows [M] Panda bears! [S] It had panda bears
[S] It had mismatched geometric shapes and everything.
Oh! The one that was like neon green with neon yellow and orange polka dots!
And then we came upon the piece that called to me.
You didn't see it happen, but the wind blew and my hair went back and the Yukata flickered and it went
♪ Ohh dream weaver~ ♪
And it called to me, Ducky.
It was pink. And it was mint. And it had a boat on it! It had a pirate ship!
The store attendent came up to me and she's like "Did you want to try it on?" I'm like YES.
It's a very modern Yukata.
[ off-camera fellow shopper ] Kawaiiかわいい! (Cute!)
I'm wearing my least booby outfit. It's like a soft bra.
[ shopper ] Suki desuすきです! (I like it!)
[ Simon ] That's cool.
[S] Oh there are two belts to put on.
That's why Anna was saying she can't put it on alone because it's...
[S] Ooh.
[S] So what do you think so far?
I kinda really like it.
[S] You like it more than the other one?
You're asking me to decide between really funky -- like stars -- and more traditional.
It's really difficult for me.
I kinda really like this one. It feels really cool actually. I don't mean like "Sugoi", I mean like cold.
Oh, this is really...
- And thus your fate was sealed. - Yes.
Okay. I've decided on this Yukata. Very difficult. There were different Obiおび (sash) and different little like...
[S] You're not getting all those puffs though.
I'm not getting all the puffs because I'll be way too broke.
And I feel like a modern pirate
and I've decided on some beautiful flowers that match the pink and purple in my hair
and I was worried, like, you know -- does it mean anything?
Like "Are you married? Are you not?"
And she said "No. Yukata is just kinda like whatever you want."
But if it's a Kimono, it's different so...
That's it. I'm getting my first, and only, Yukata!
[S] You look wonderful, doll.
Thanks Ducky!
- Now we gotta go to a festival and wear it outside. - [S] Let's do it!
How did you feel about the Yukata selection for men in that store?
That store had even less. While in the first store, I had a pile of maybe 20 to choose from
this one literally had black, grey, and navy blue.
It's not tailored for men at that shop so my selection was pretty bad so I didn't wind up getting a Yukata.
- I'm sorry Ducky. - Hopefully I can find a funky one soon.
I think you might honestly have to get something custom made. I think you have to buy your own panda material.
Well it's possible because the first place we went to, they had a whole wall of fabrics that they could have custom
made for you. But none of those spoke to me, either.
- One of these days I'll find something. - What would you want on your Yukata?
Do you want an animal? Do you want Meemers? Should we make a Meemers and Spudgy?
- Mee mee... - Oh you do like galaxy prints.
- Cat-amaris - *GASP*
- Okay, we need to... - We got Meemers rolling up a ball. It's Cat Katamari.
It's cat... amari!
Omg has anyone thought of this yet?
Should we just copyright it? Are we brilliant? I don't know.
- High five before we google it. - We... we can't copyright the idea that's someone else's name.
- We can't just be like, we change a letter, and it's ours. - We did. It's Cat-amari.
- It's the internet. - Doesn't work that way.
People do that all the time. People take our videos all the time. And then they're like-
Now when Martina tried the Yukata on in the shop, it looked great and she had an attendent to help her out
to make it look really nice.
- When Martina tried to put it on at home... - Oh, no.
by herself, it was significantly more challenging.
Okay...
So, then...
Umm...
How do I....?
Grandma neighbor!
Should I just...
Online people are like "Well, then you take the material and you just tie in a bowsie."
Like there's the Yukatas that are just with a bow.
Like a tiny little bathrobe one. And we got the really nice Obi.
[S] There were also some parts in the store that were sold out.
- Like the different belts underneath. - That's what I was gonna say!
- It's not fair. Because the belts-- - So you're missing out on a lot of the equipment that you need.
And that stuff is really cheap and you can buy it on Amazon for 9 or 10 bucks
so I'm not gonna buy it at the shop for like 50 just because it's a shop. I'm gonna go online and get it.
Great thing about the shop is also that they tell you "if you want to this out somewhere...
"Bring the Yukata over to their shop and they will help you put it on"
So you don't embarrass yourself in front of our neighbor Grandma like you did.
Hooooohhhh!
It was the only person I didn't want to see yet.
She was super excited about my Yukata because she wears Kimonos almost everyday
- We see her going to her tea ceremonies. - Just about, yeah.
She's a tea ceremony, like, master.
And so I said "Oh, I'm getting a new Yukata" and she's like "Ohhh!"
She's all excited... and then she walks up the street with her little milkbag...
What are the odds?!
So that's it for our Yukata adventure. I'm actually more than happy with our purchase today because
I really thought we'd end up having to get a traditional kind. I really wanted to get something "Martina."
And this is definitely it.
We were talking to our friend who's been living here for like 15 years and she said that
back in the day, like 10 years ago or so, you wouldn't be able to find anything like this.
So, the youth of Japan are definitely trying to have something more fun and festive, I guess.
Yeah (◠‿◠✿)
(✿╹ っ ╹)
[S] Oh, hello!
I got it!
This is it!
- [S] Except the back ... - Look at my back!
Do you like this? I will show you a good Obi.
This is... this is laundry Obi.
Thank you.
It's very young, right?
[S] You look great.
But this (obi) is terrible...
[S] Sooo beautiful. You are soooo beautiful ^_^
- [S] So beautiful - ♪ You love me ♪
Run, Ducky!
[S] Is that a laundry pin you have behind you?
The only person I didn't want to see my shame.
Hooooohhh... (///ㅅ///✿)
[S] She's judging you. She's like "ohh no."
[S] Princess Peach what do you think about that?
- "Ohh my." - "Oohh no."
- Ohh, Ducky. - Ducky...
[S] Whoa, what do you want?!
My hairclip's falling out, this is uneven. I was like "This is the only person I don't want to see."
[S] She's like "why are you showing your vagina to everyone?
Hahahahaha...... AHHHH!
Omg, so I learned things already.
Your Yukata is supposed to be straight.
Mine isn't. The part that goes underneath, they were sold out of. It wasn't my fault.
[S] Okay, look. The whole point of this video is that we are not the definitive source on Yukatas.
And we're trying to learn.
Definitely get a Yukata. And definitely wear one out and not, like me, shamefully so your neighbor sees you
and then judges you forever. AAHHHHHH.
Huh?
Huh??
HUH??
That laundry pin that we have in the back, that's a good addition.
Very... modern.
- It's the modern take on it. - Very, very chic.
Now the one thing I will say that was a bit overwhelming was the actual sash, the Obi --
the amount of packaging that she put on me, like I was birthday present.
So the main belt that I had on, the very thick one, you have to get one of those to actually just to have on.
You can get smaller versions that l kinda look more like a robe tie.
But then, she added on that white fluffy stuff and the pink fluffy stuff and the yellow fluffy stuff.
And every one of those was like 70 bucks.
- Yep. - And I'm like NOPE.
Every bow for 70 bucks. 2 bows for 140 bucks.
- This is cool but you know what... - I could get another Yukata for these bows.
- I'll be alright. You know what? I'm good. - I'm okay.
And my friend that was with me was like "You can just go online and buy some scarves."
- And I'm like "I will." - That'll... that'll work.
But that cute puffiness that made me look like sweet bunny, you can see how young and youthful that look is.
- It did not look like a grandmother fashion. - Not at all.
And that's what I like about the Yukatas changing now. It's becoming much more fashionable and trendy
but it still has that nod to tradition without being old-fashioned.
Wait, can modern Japanese culture culturally appropriate old Japanese culture?
- How dare they. - Can old people be like "Hey you've culturally appropriated this"?
- We can start a new trend. - I don't know. Can they, like, shame themselves
Hey, like, liberal arts students, how do you feel about this?
Actually, very interestingly, I was reading a lot of articles about this.
And they were saying that the actually Kimono, the Kimono culture, and the fabric shops that make these
are dying because they've made the Kimono so traditional.
Young Japanese people are like "I don't want to wear this" and that some people are scary away
foreigners from trying on Kimonos, thus it's creating an overseas, like, no one wants to wear them.
And because of that, it's actually dying out completely.
You're killing the industry.
So a lot of people in the fashion world in Japan, like Japanese people, are saying they need to
stop marketing it as "traditional." And they need to start being, like, "It's an outfit that people used to wear."
So they're saying that this Yukata revival is really bringing back the industry.
- Good. - And that's awesome!
- It's helping out. - Yeah.
So that's it for our TL;DR on Yukatas vs Kimonos
Let me know if you like my Yukata choice.
Or if you think I should have got one with cats on it.
I think my pirate boat Yukata is pretty good. (It's so pretty, Martina (◡‿◡✿))
- I think you got a great one, girl. - I think I did too.
And hopefully I can find one soon.
If you know any place that I can find one for men that's a little bit funkier please let me know
because I really want to get one too.
We're gonna talk a little bit more about the traditional stuff in the blog post if you click on the link below.
- And that's about it. - That's it.
I'm gonna learn how to work my Yukata
we're gonna go to a festival and I'm gonna be really proud to wear it.
I'm also very happy because the neighbor said that if you need help with your Obi, then you can just
go over to her house and this can finally be the bonding moment that we need.
She'll let her guard down and we can kidnap her!
And we can keep her in our house forever because that's the plan because she's awesome.
Kidnap her across the street?
I love you, old grandma lady.
- We'll lure her with my Obi. - Yes!
- We'll unroll the sash and slowly... - Yes! Come... come...
And lock the door.
Subtitles by MissDichotomy (〃‿〃✿)