Punk Rock Yukata

It is SO not summer! It's snowing like a beast today, and I'm snug as a bug in my thick leopard robe with a space heater blasting my toes. So I reminisce on my summer past and remembered these punk rock yukata I saw in Tokyo.


I went into a shop, Tsukikageya in Harajuku (across from Condomania!)and spoke to this woman

using my remedial Japanese about her yukata. These light cotton summer robes are worn to festivals, in ryokan (hotels), to baths, or at night to bed. I'm not into chinoiserie in general, a term recognized as anything Asian-influenced, although it literally means "Chinese-esque". Borrowing dress from Asian cultures-specifically just doesn't translate well in my opinion. Perhaps this is why I did snatch one of these up at around $100 each (without obi sash).