Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
Kimono: Fashioning Culture
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Kimono: Fashioning Culture (Paperback)

by Liza Dalby (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


10 used from £14.25

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
   Kimono Sale From Japan opens new browser window
www.kimono-yukata-market.com  -  Many desings, High quality Kimono Worldwide, Price $69-, Returns OK 
   Women's Kimonos opens new browser window
www.very.co.uk  -  Buy Women's Kimonos. In Stock Now at Very! 
   Japanese Cotton Kimono opens new browser window
www.japanya.co.uk  -  Fantastic selection of Kimono & Japanese gifts. UK webshop. 
  
 

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Geisha

Geisha

by Liza Crihfield Dalby
3.9 out of 5 stars (15)  £5.74
Geisha of Gion: The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki

Geisha of Gion: The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki

by Mineko Iwasaki
4.3 out of 5 stars (30)  £4.77
Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World

Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World

by Lesley Downer
4.8 out of 5 stars (14)  £6.99
Autobiography of a Geisha (Vintage Original)

Autobiography of a Geisha (Vintage Original)

by Sayo Masuda
4.4 out of 5 stars (8)  £4.49
Kimonos

Kimonos

by Sophie Milenovich
4.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £9.21
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: University of Washington Press; Reprint edition (Oct 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0295981555
  • ISBN-13: 978-0295981550
  • Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 20.8 x 2.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,166,372 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #9 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > D > Dalby, Liza

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

From the Publisher

By the author of the bestselling Geisha
‘She offers a tour of the cultural collisions that have become part of the fabric not just of the kimono but of modern Japan. It is a tour well worth taking’ Wall Street Journal

In this beautifully written and lavishly illustrated book Liza Dalby traces the history of the kimono – its designs, uses, aesthetics and social significance.

The colourful and stylised kimono, the national garment of Japan, expresses not only Japanese fashion and design taste but also reveals something of the soul of Japan and is seen by many as a symbol for all that is Japanese – simplicity, elegance and beauty. Amazingly beautiful, the kimono has gone through many changes in the centuries since it was first imported from China, changes that reflect the way that Japanese society has also developed over the ages.

‘An impressive, unusual and beautiful book. There are many valuable insights here – not only about Japanese clothing but also about patterns of gender, class and identity in Japanese culture’ Joseph J. Tobin, author of Re-Made in Japan

‘A lively, informative study of the kimono, tracing its evolution throughout Japanese history to its current status as the national dress of Japan…At once scholarly and enjoyable reading’ Journal of Japanese Studies --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
kimono
geisha
liza crihfield dalby
japan
costume
customs
traditions
fashion
dalby style
ceramics
anthropology

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Kimono: Fashioning Culture
50% buy the item featured on this page:
Kimono: Fashioning Culture 4.8 out of 5 stars (5)
Geisha of Gion: The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki
17% buy
Geisha of Gion: The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki 4.3 out of 5 stars (30)
£4.77
Geisha
13% buy
Geisha 3.9 out of 5 stars (15)
£5.74
Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World
11% buy
Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World 4.8 out of 5 stars (14)
£6.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great pictures, good insight, 3 Jul 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Kimono (Hardcover)
...I have to be honest I bought this book because Liza Dalby wrote the introduction and because Arthur Golden was quoted saying it was a good book. Having read the books by Liza Dalby and Arthur Golden I wanted to see some pictures of kimono and geisha that were more than just pretty pictures. And that's exactly what this book does, it gives you 120 beautiful pictures and a lot of information.

The book is divided into sections: 1. The use of kimono in festivals, 2. Kimono you see in the street, 3. Production (weaving,spinning, dyeing), 4. The commercial side of kimono (fitting, kimono shops), 5. Maiko and Geisha (including some wonderful pictures made at the Nyokoba Geisha Training school in Kyoto), 6. Men wearing kimono (storytellers, sumo referees, tea ushers, monks) 7. Kabuki (this is my favorite. You see a kabuki player back stage getting dressed for a female role) 8. Work (the kimono as a uniform) 9. Footwear (an interesting detail) Apart from the beautiful pictures this book has an informative introduction by Liza Dalby and with each picture you get a caption that gives you some little piece of insight that changes the way you look at the picture. Having been to Japan this book to me is a souvenir of some of the things I've seen, the people wearing kimono in the street, the festivals. But it also showed me some things I could never see (the behind the stage kabuki pictures and the manufacturing of the kimono). If you have been to Japan you too will recognize some of these pictures. If you have not been to Japan this book gives you a great impression of what to expect (kimono wise that is). Last but not least the book has a beautiful design, it's a great coffee table book.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Very well researched, though quite dated, 14 April 2003
By A. Yoshino "o-zapper" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Kimono (Paperback)
As someone who wears kimono almost everyday, I found the book informative and fascinating. The research concerning the history of Kimono developement is absolutely fantastic.
As always, she is most brilliant when dealing with Japanese history rather than modern Japan.

When she starts talking about "modern Japanese society", it often sounds extremely 1970-80s and what she calls "Japanese mentality" to me looks like the characteristics of a generation or two above.
All in all, I find them boring and having no resemblance to the reality as I know it in Japan.
(If you can imagine yourself meeting a Japanese who had been to the UK in 1970s and firmly believed some of the hippies' styles as "essentially British", you would see the slight dizziness I felt in reading some of her comments.)

As for the kimono in our life, although she makes a point that it has more or less completely dissappeared, they are making a new come back. Observations of a foreign culture is a difficult thing. Just like milk, they have sell-by date and once it's gone, they start smelling rather bad.
But perhaps I should not be too harsh on those points.
After all, the book itself was first published quite some time ago. And, as I have already stated at the beginning, the research itself is absolutely brilliantly done.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Not just a pretty dress, 9 Jan 2002
By A Customer
'Kimono: Fashioning Culture' is much more than the story of a single garment. A dynamic blend of fashion, social history and anthropology, the book traces the evolution of Japanese self-identity through the kimono. Dalby offers a carefully researched history of kimono, mouth-watering excerpts from a seventeenth-century Japanese fashion magazine, interviews with modern kimono wearers, and illustrations that are informative rather than blandly pretty.
Far from being a stable, tradition-bound political and cultural symbol, the kimono has passed in and out of fashion, changing to suit its times and wearers. Dalby deftly dissects the subtle differences-the length of a sleeve, the placement of a collar-that proclaim a woman's age, class, marital status, and personal taste.
Dalby writes about the look and feel of kimono with the authority of personal experience; while researching her doctoral dissertation in a geisha community in Kyoto (the basis of her previous book, Geisha), she wore kimono every day. Indeed, geisha are the only women who still wear kimono on a daily basis, and Dalby points out that the fates of geisha and kimono are intertwined: 'Whether or not a Japanese has ever met a geisha or used her specialized service (and most have not), a feeling remains that Japan would be losing something unique and precious by allowing geisha to disappear. Kimono has a similar hold on the Japanese imagination.' After reading Dalby's insightful account, it is easy to see why.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars costume history and anthropology
This is an excellent book - recommended for costume, art, literary and social historians, as well as those interested in modern and older Japanese society. Read more
Published 1 month ago by maryleopard

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
If you've read 'Geisha' by Liza Dalby, you'll find this a wonderful exploration of one important aspect and reflection of Japanese, and Geisha culture. Read more
Published on 4 April 2002

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject












i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.