Vintage & Antique Japanese Fabrics by Piece: Other Type Fabrics

7465: 1930-50s Japanese Meisen Silk 53 in. Piece Deadstock

Catalog# 7464

1930s-1950s Japanese Textiles:

Deadstock: Japanese Kimono Meisen Silk Fabric Piece

Width: 14.25 inches / 34.92 cm
Length: 53 inches / 137.16 cm

US$18.00 per piece plus shipping

Item Details and Description

Fabric History/Pedigree: 1950s or earlier silk fabric pieces unused, deadstock from a previous era.
Fabric Description: Meisen silk, lightweight for summer wear, slightly translucent with the background color of purple, with designs in silver-gray; This motif has a similar look as the arrow feathers, and swallows in flight (both common traditional designs), but this one is different, and we're unsure how to properly describe this pattern; These designs are intentionally fuzzy-edged -- typical of meisen silks; This piece is the same on both sides; minimal sheen; not as stiff compared to thicker winter-wear meisen.

Colors: Please NOTE that colors and contrast differ on each device, so please use our text descriptions to complement your sense of the fabric.
Condition: Excellent.
Recommended for making scarf/accessories.

Background Information on Meisen Kimonos:

Meisen is defined literally in our Kenkyuusha dictionary as "...common silk stuff"; meisen fabrics (or garments made from them) are currently called 'meisen'; Meisen kimono were made similarly to Kasuri (ikat), though meisen usually have very colorful patterns with distinct -- often more modern -- motifs and a slight sheen; 1950s meisen have intentionally fuzzy, almost Impressionistic look and often larger designs; Kasuri/ikat, of course, is mostly indigo blue and some white with black. To learn more about kasuri click here.

To see pictures of meisen silk vintage kimonos from Google, touch HERE.

Other Cultural Notes: The best discussion we've found of Meisen silk fabric was on an old blog post by Japundit, excerpted here*:

"...Young women have rediscovered(Japan Times) the kimono, and you can see them out in Harajuku on the Sunday fashion parade. There's even a term for these girls -- not surprisingly they are called "kimono girls." There are even some nice books documenting the trend which you can check out at J-List and are definitely worth having if you are at all into fashion.

"The meisen kimono in particular has become very popular. These kimono were made in the first half of the twentieth century, and were characterized by a glossy sheen, and brilliant patterns. There is often a sort of blurry quality to the silks...."

[*original article has been pulled]

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