Our first Uchikake!

For a little while now, Mummy Mel and I have been talking about buying an Uchikake for the eBay store. An Uchikake is a wedding kimono coat, worn over a kimono without an obi. They are usually exquisitely embroidered and brocaded and extremely expensive. Due to their price, most brides nowadays will rent rather than buy one for their special day. The daily rental price often starts at $3000!

The hunt to find one at a reasonable price has been fun and frustrating at the same time. We have seen some amazing pieces, but they are mostly way over our budget, but the good news is... we finally got one! You can see a couple photos of it - isn't it just gorgeous!

If you look at the fabric we have on our store, you may have guessed that my favourite colour is red, and my favourite motif is the tsuru, the Japanese white crane. It was fitting then, that our first Uchikake is red with white cranes and auspicious flowers.

Red is considered a colour of celebration in many Asian countries including Japan. The crane is a symbol of not only good fortune and a long life, but is also often used in Japanese weddings. The reason for this is that these cranes mate for life and then build their nest and raise their young together. I used both of these symbols and an Uchikake for my own wedding.

The uchikake could be kept and hung as a feature piece in a room, or could be remade into a unique dress like that designed by SaiSo.

We will soon be putting this simply stunning Uchikake up in our store. Keep an eye out for it before it goes!

*** Update****

This stunning Uchikake has now gone up for sale! You can find it in our eBay store here.