What are main differences between womens and mens kimonos?
Men’s kimonos are shorter (though still long), as they are not worn with a big, length-shortening fold at the waist; women’s are very long so that they can be shortened by folding the waist over. The sleeves on men’s kimonos and haoris are attached to the garment’s body all or almost all the way down their depth, whereas women’s kimono and haori sleeves are only attached at the top and swing free from the body for most of their depth to allow a deep obi sash to go round the waist without the sleeves getting in the way. Men’s obis are narrower than women’s obis and worn a lower, so the sleeves don’t get in the way, so men’s sleeves can be attached to the body for their entire depth. Men’s kimonos tend to be very subdued in colour and pattern (apart from stage ones or some yukata kimonos for festivals), whereas women’s can be very colourful and decorative.
