Haori


The Haori is a traditional Japanese hip- or thigh-length jacket worn over a kimono.
The haori resembles a kimono in its sleeves, which are constructed in the same manner as a kimono, but differs in its lack of overlapping front panels and the addition of thin, triangular panels at each side seam.
During the Sengoku period, sleeveless haori were worn over armour, much like the tabard was in Europe. During the Edo period, economic growth allowed the socially-low but economically-wealthy merchant classes the ability to buy haori, which – following the introduction of laws forbidding grand displays of wealth amongst the lower classes – gave rise to the creation of haori with sombre external appearances and lavishly-decorated linings, a trend still visible on men's haori today.
During the early 1800s, the geisha of the Tokyo hanamachi of Fukagawa,_Tokyo began to wear haori over their kimono in an effort to appear iki - stylish in a casual, subdued manner. Before this time, haori had only been worn by men, making the style unusual and fashionable. By the 1930s, women wearing haori had become commonplace, and geisha dropped the practice.