Ikitai

  Part 1 - Some history Monpe - From practical workwear to national defence. Quick little disclaimer, I'm not a historian, just incredibly nerdy about this stuff. 💗 First, what are monpe? Monpe are traditional Japanese trousers designed for physical work. Monpe - もんぺ / 　モンペ (also seen written mompe some places) are thought to descend (or be inspired) from hakama trousers, though the modern monpe design has evolved over time. They were designed to make it easier for people, especially women, to move freely while working indoors or out and about in the fields. Where do they come from? Well, hakama trousers are believed to originally be based on Chinese ku (trousers worn by nobility). Japan adopted and adapted this style around the 6th century during the later Yamato period, together with other fun stuff like Buddhism, the Chinese calendar, and... mizuhiki? (I promise we’ll get back to that last one. :)) I’ve come across several words for “hakama-like workwear”: yamahakama/bakama, ...

  One of the things that actually inspired me to create this blog was a project I did a couple of years ago and subsequently the hole I ended up tumbling down into afterwards. ✨Japanese historical clothing.✨ Now I would hazard a guess that when most people hear the words “Japanese” and “clothing,” their minds immediately jump to kimono. And, to be fair, that’s not surprising. The kimono is Japans national dress and practically synonymous with Japanese culture itself. But my project wasn’t about kimono. It was about something I’d been curious about for quite some time:  Monpe If you’ve never heard of monpe before, stick around as we try to pick apart (pun intended) and sew back together a pair of traditional Japanese work trousers.   Part 1 - History | Part 2 - Construction | Part 3 - Result/ pattern