---

Alongside seasonalities, obijime are also divided into formalities. This means that not all obijime can be worn for the exact same occasion. Like with our western clothing, some is meant for more festive or formal occasions, whilst others are meant to be worn on an every day basis. Kimono works no differently from that.
Choosing the best accessories for the occasion at hand is something a lot of kimono-enthusiasts enjoy. Mixing and matching until the perfect outfit is achieved.

What are the formalities?
Broadly speaking, there are three formalities that most obijime are divided into. Each of these has certain characteristics that indicate the specific formality. Do keep in mind that seasonality does not indicate the formality or vice-versa. Summer obijime, for example, also come in formal styles and aren’t just limited to casual.
– Casual
– Semi-formal
– Formal

Casual obijime are the biggest pool of obijime that you’ll be wearing. These can be flat, round, square, with multiple colours or just a plain single colour, made with various weaves. Often these are slightly narrower compared to formal obijime.
Some casual obijime may have beads attached to them, these can be arranged in whichever way you please.
What levels of kimono can you wear these obijime with?
Tsumugi, komon, edokomon & iromuji. Depending on the presence of crests on both edokomon & iromuji, you may want to select a more formal obijime. Crests do elevate the formality of a kimono and therefore suitable accessories need to be chosen.

Semi-formal obijime will have a little bit of gold and/or silver added to the obijime. These can be made out of any colour. Motifs with a special meaning like cranes, pine, chrysanthemums etc are ones you can find sometimes on semi-formal obijime.
A specific weave that is considered semi-formal is this fishbone-like weave.
What levels of kimono can you wear these obijime with?
Edokomon, iromuji, tsukesage, houmongi. Edokomon & Iromuji will depend on whether there are crests found on the kimono. A good rule of thumb: When a kimono has one or three crests, it can be considered to be worn with it.

Formal obijime are made with silver and gold threads though white can be mixed in as well. White & gold or white & silver are the  There are a lot of varieties available. Just like the semi-formal obijime, motifs with a special meaning are likely to be added. It’s also not a given but you may find them.
What levels of kimono can you wear these obijime with?
Mostly, irotomesode & kurotomesode. Depending on the houmongi, it may be an option as well. If there are at least three crests on the kimono, you may want to consider wearing one of these obijime.

---

Do all obijime come with formalities attached? In short: Yes.
Some obijime may look a little different, like summer formal obijime compared to winter formal obijime, but others appear almost identical. One such example are sanbuhimo. These obijime are specifically meant for wearing with obidome or decorative brooch-like accessories. Sanbuhimo are narrower in width to accomodate the loops on the obidome. These loops on the obidome are often too narrow for regular obidome, hence why sanbuhimo are worn instead.

Some sanbuhimo have weaves that mimic regular obijime, looking nearly identical if it were not for their narrower width and shorter length. Full gold and/or silver sanbuhimo are readily available too, not just casual ones.
Because of how they are made, the formalities for regular obijime can be considered for these sanbuhimo as well.

---