How to… Wear a Yukata

Everyone wants to look their best during the summer festival season—if only it wasn’t so darn complicated. Save yourself a headache by consulting Metropolis’ idiot-proof guide to wearing a yukata.

01 First things first… Take a quick shower to cool off. Put on a white or skin-colored tank top or camisole. A hanjuban, or yukata undergarment, is preferable but not strictly necessary.	02 Hold the sleeves with your fingers and pull outwards, so the stitching on the back of the yukata runs straight down the middle of your back.

03 Hold the lapels about 20cm away from the hem. Keeping both hands level, bring them up slowly until the base of the yukata just covers your ankles.	04 Still holding the lapels, bring your left hand to your right hipbone, making sure that your right leg is properly hidden when you do so. This will help you see how the outer layer will look.	05 Bring your left hand back to where it was, and then bring your right hand to your left hipbone. This is the inside layer. As you do this, pull the yukata a little with your left hand to straighten the cloth around your hip.
06 OK, that’s enough practicing. Repeat, this time for real. For a clean look, have the hem of the outer layer 3-4cm higher than the inside layer.	07 Fasten the waist cord from the front, passing the two ends around your back. Tie them once at the front and tuck away the excess material. There’s no need to make a knot.	08 Stick your hands inside the side openings under the arms, and smooth out the extra material (ohashori) around your hips. Do this until there are no creases or wrinkles and the ohashori is straight.
09 Repeat at the back.	10 Straighten the collar so that your collarbone doesn’t show. Note: A “kimono belt” can also be used at this point to stop the yukata coming undone. Clip the left side opening, wrap it around the back, and clip the right side collar. Make sure both sides are symmetrically clipped, and that the belt isn’t too tight or loose.	11 Adjust the back of the collar by lightly pulling the ohashori from behind for a clean neckline. The space between the collar and the back of the neck should be wide enough to fit your fist down.
12 Wrap the datejime (under-sash) around the yukata from the back. If you’re a first-time yukata wearer, we’d strongly recommend getting a Velcro one.	13 A firm maeita plate can also be affixed to the datejime to keep your wobbly bits in place.	14 Ta-da! OK, we cheated with the last part. We could spend the rest of the magazine describing how to tie an obi, but you’d be much better off getting a ready-made one from a department store. You can always try the real thing next year.