• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Looking for something?

Get in touch

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Vivat Veritas

Custom Wedding Dress & Kimono Upcycled Clothes | オーダーメイドウェディングドレス&着物ドレス

  • Home
  • About
    • Press
    • Collaborations
  • Blog
  • Bridal
    • Lovely Words
    • Price List
  • Sewing Class
  • Kimono Dress
    • MADE-TO-ORDER BUSTIERS
  • Contact
  • Location
  • 日本語
/ Blog

Blog

Summer Gataway to Ajiro, Shizuoka

August 13, 2015 By Chie

Ajiro Pool copy

I think Airbnb is the greatest invention – traveling and finding a place to stay on a budget was a pain before, when you had only two options: staying in a hotel or staying with friends or family. Back in June, I was going through Airbnb and found this amazing Spanish style house in a place called Ajiro in Shizuoka prefecture. It is little over an hour away from Tokyo and the beach is nearby. I booked a room immediately and we just went there last weekend.

Ajiro is a quiet fisherman’s town. It is one stop away from the big beach and hot spring resort, Atami. When you go outside the metropolitan area in Japan, you get a very different feel – it is quiet and people are very friendly. We asked directions to the super market from an elderly lady on the street. Not only did she give us the directions, but she also offered her friend to take us to the super market! We decided to walk since it was relatively close but it makes me smile to bump into people who offer kindness to strangers.

The place we were staying was about 1.5km away from the nearest station. The host said to take a cab but Andy and I decided to walk, since we walk and bike daily. We thought why not?! We get to see things on the way. Little did I know there was a reason for cab comment. It was 45 degrees uphill all the way to the house. It took us close to an hour. I felt horrible for Kiko but by the time we realized it was a bad idea, we could not find cab anywhere and it would have been dangerous to climb down the hill. I’m still amazed Kiko made it to the top without much whining.

The host, Yoshiko’s house was lovely and she provided the experience that was more than a regular trip. It was kind of like a home stay experience. She was an amazing chief and we hung out, chatted and drank wine together. Wine tasted so good after all the walking!

Airbnbを使って、1泊だけの小旅行に行ってきました。
泊まったのはこちら。
プール付き、24時間かけ流し温泉付きのスペイン風のお家です。
レビューを見て、評価が高かったので即決しました。
素敵なおうちも素晴らしかったですが、ホストのYoshikoさんも素敵で、いつもとは違った旅が楽しめました!
すごくおすすめです。

Summer House in Ajiro (via vivatveritas.com)Ajiro Local Beach Beautiful Spanish Style Home Spanish Style house in Ajiro Shizuoka Summer gataway (via vivatveritaschie sig2Find me elsewhere:

Upcycled Kimono Dresses

August 5, 2015 By Chie

Upcycled Kimono Dress via Vivat Veritas Blog

Hello! I recently worked on a few kimono dresses so I wanted to show the finished products here. These dresses were upcycled from vintage kimono fabrics. This was the first time I worked with kimono fabric so it presented a few challenges!

The first challenge was that the kimono fabric in Tanmono(反物) form has a very narrow width. If you haven’t seen what Tanmono looks like, here are some examples. Its width is about 35cm and the length is about 12 meters. This is not where I sourced the fabric, but Ichiroya has many beautiful antique kimonos – I love this, this and this (all 100% silk). They also have an English page. Since the width is so narrow, the patterns need to be adjusted so that I can cut out each piece without disrupting the patterns or motifs of the fabric.
blue kimono dress kimono remake blue kimono dress via vivatveritas Kimono upcycle dressBeige Kimono Dress Details Beige Kimono Dress Inside Beige Kimono Dress Vent Beige Kimono Dress

Second challenge is how to match the patterns of the fabric. Since many kimono fabrics are one-of-a-kind, in one roll, you might get all different patterns. What I did was to take a look at the entire fabric (12 meters of them!) before I started cutting and planned out accordingly. For the below dress top, I looked for a similar pattern in the fabric and although they were not completely the same, I mixed and matched so that they look like they belonged together. The process is similar to matching plaids. I’ve worked with plaids in the past (did not love the process though) so it helped. Beige Kimono Remake Dress via Vivat Veritas In process of Kimono Dress1 kimono dress in process

Overall sewing from Kimono fabric was fun, and I love handling the 100% silk. Have you made something with antique or traditional fabrics? What were the fun parts and challenging parts?

pink kimono upcycled dress via Vivat Veritas pink5

最近お仕立てした着物ドレス達です。
反物を扱うのは初めてだったのですが、楽しかったと同時に中々頭を使いました。
最初に生地(12メートルほどあります)を確認して、どの模様をどうやって合わせるかを大体決めてから、裁断していきます。
布幅が35センチほどしかないので、型紙の調整もします。

やはり良い生地を扱うと気分が上がりますね!
絹100%で、特にブルーのほうはうっとりする手触りです。

chie sig2Find me elsewhere:

Handmade Bow Ballet Leotard

July 25, 2015 By Chie

Bow Ballet Leotard

My daughter started taking ballet lessons in last October and I made a lace ballet leotard for her back then. It’s been nine months and I already had to make a second one since she’s grown out of the first one! Although the leotard had some stretch, at the end her nipples were exposed and its time had passed. I already made the pattern, so I made simple modifications on the pattern and didn’t need to change much (here is a good alternative PDF pattern on etsy). I added 5cm in bodice and few centimeters around chest and waist. It turned out that chest is a bit big for her but I have no doubt that she will grow out of this leotard very soon.

She did not like the last dress I made for her, but thankfully she received this leotard with much love and gratitude. So funny that a child has preferences over what she wears at this young age.

The fabric is a leftover from the jazz dance costumes I made back in 2012.  It’s some kind of spandex mix two way stretch fabric I bought in the second floor of Nippori Tomato, knit section. After making her leotard, I still have a ton left so I’m thinking of making myself bathing suit for this summer. I’ve been eyeing this vintage inspired one piece number by Ohh Lulu Sews. Has anyone made this?

9ヶ月前に始めたバレエですが、既に2着目のレオタードが必要になってしまいました。
すごい勢いで背が伸びているみたいです。
型紙は1回目に作った時に市販の水着を元におこしたものを少し調節したのみ。
サイドがちょっと大きいですが、これで何か月か着てもらえるかな♪

White bow leotard handmade bow leotard for little girlhandmade bow leotard for little girl via Vivat Veritaschie sig2Find me elsewhere:

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

JOIN MY EMAIL LIST

You can read a sample newsletter here, including my latest edition.

Recent Posts

  • UNPLAN shinjuku Pop Up
  • Japanese Iconic Pop Up & Mini Fashion Show 
  • Responsible Marché Vol.8 — A Day to Discover the Stories Behind Clothes
  • Seplumo Nihonbashi POP UP
  • Coaster Aobadai X VIVAT VERITAS POP UP

Categories

Follow me

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

♥ Blog Archives

  • Etsy
  • Creema

Footer

ABOUT ME

My name is Chie. I design and make custom wedding dresses in Tokyo, Japan. Read More…

GET UPDATES!

Get monthly updates including new items in the shop, favorite links and more!

CONTACT

Feel free to send a message if you have any comment:

chie@vivatveritas.com

LET´S GET IN TOUCH

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
大正から昭和初期、若い女性たちの間で流行した銘仙。 かすりの技法を用いた平織りの絹織物で、さらりと 大正から昭和初期、若い女性たちの間で流行した銘仙。

かすりの技法を用いた平織りの絹織物で、さらりとした軽い着心地と、鮮やかな色柄・大胆なデザインが特徴です。

境界がにじんだような風合いと、鮮やかで大胆な色使い🌈

独特のにじみは、たて糸とよこ糸をわずかにずらして織ることで生まれます。

自分の一枚を自由に楽しむために生まれた、女性たちの心意気そのもののような布。その大胆さをそのままに、クロップ丈のキャミソールとまとうラップパンツで、今の暮らしにも映える一枚へ仕立て直しました。

Photographer @capturetokyo
Model @yaos.aisai 
Make up and hair @mami_hmua

Meisen — the kimono fabric that swept through fashion among young women in 1912 to the early 1930s.

A plain-weave silk textured with a kasuri (ikat) technique, prized for its light, breezy feel and its bold colors and daring patterns.

That soft, blurred-edge quality comes together with vivid, fearless color combinations 🌈

The signature blur comes from weaving the warp and weft threads slightly offset from one another.

This fabric was born from women’s desire to wear something entirely their own — it carries their spirit of freedom in every thread. Keeping that same boldness intact, I’ve remade it into a cropped camisole and wrap pants that drape and move with you — a piece that fits naturally into everyday life today🧚

 #KimonoUpcycled #MeisenSilk #VintageJapan #着物リメイク #銘仙
和のかたちを、新しい日常へ。 一本の帯を丁寧にほどき、普段づかいできるワンショルダーバッグへと仕立 和のかたちを、新しい日常へ。

一本の帯を丁寧にほどき、普段づかいできるワンショルダーバッグへと仕立て直しました🌸

見た目からは想像できないほどの収容力。ハサミや糸、リッパー、ペンチ…制作道具もすっぽりまとまって収まります✂️✨入れるのは私だけだと思うけど😆

内側の裏地も可愛い♡

一本の帯が、誰かの日々をまとう相棒に生まれ変わりますように。

From tradition, into everyday life.

One obi, carefully unstitched and reborn as a one-shoulder bag for daily wear🌸

It holds far more than it looks — scissors, thread, a seam ripper, pliers… all my sewing tools tucked neatly inside✂️✨ Though I’m probably the only one who’d pack it like this😆

The lining inside is a little secret I’m quite fond of♡

#帯リメイク #着物リメイク #DIY #アップサイクル #制作動画
金色に輝く森は元は着物の羽織でした👘 漆黒の地に、金彩の木立が幾重にも連なって
夜の神秘的な森を歩 金色に輝く森は元は着物の羽織でした👘

漆黒の地に、金彩の木立が幾重にも連なって
夜の神秘的な森を歩いているような、静かで奥行きのある一枚🌳

水着の上に羽織れば、そのまま街へ歩き出せるビーチカバーアップにも。

お揃いのキャミソールは既に素敵なお客様の元にお嫁に行きました👰‍♀️
 
Photographer @capturetokyo
Model @kumabeeesan
Make up and hair @mami_hmua

A forest of gold, once a kimono jacket👘
L
ayer upon layer of gilded trees on jet-black silk. A quiet, deep piece, like walking through a mystical night forest🌳

Wear it over a swimsuit and go straight from the beach into the city as an effortless cover-up🖤

The matching camisole has already found its way to a wonderful new home👰‍♀️

#着物リメイク #ラップパンツ #kimonoremake
Furisode — the long-sleeved kimono young women tra Furisode — the long-sleeved kimono young women traditionally wear once in their lives, for their Coming of Age Day ceremony (Seijin Shiki) at 20 — often gets worn just that one time. I actually wore my cousin’s furisode for mine, so hers got a second life. But most don’t. They live for one single day, then disappear into the back of a drawer, unseen for decades 😴

But beautiful silk doesn’t have to end there.
From a once-in-a-lifetime ceremonial robe to something you can wear again and again. This piece — butterflies mid-flight, flowers in bloom — deserved a new season. So I remade it into an i line dress.

振袖は、生涯でたった一度しか袖を通さないことが多いです。

私自身は従姉妹の振袖を着たのでその振袖は二度人に着られたけど、成人式の日だけを生きて、あとはタンスの奥で眠り続ける😴誰にも見られないまま、何十年も。

でも良い生地には、終わりがないんです。

一度きりの晴れ着から、何度でもまとえる一着へ。蝶が舞い、花が咲くこの1着に、新しい季節を与えたくて、マーメイドラインのドレスに仕立て直しました。

#kimonoremake #振袖リメイク #upcycledsilk
オーストラリアからのお客様がオンラインで着物を選び、オーダーしてくださいました✂️ まずは仮縫いを オーストラリアからのお客様がオンラインで着物を選び、オーダーしてくださいました✂️

まずは仮縫いを郵送でお届けし、Zoomの画面越しに丈や身幅を確認しながら、少しずつドレスは形になっていきました。

桜の下で、鳥居の朱色の中で笑う二人の写真が届いたとき、 遠く離れた場所からでも、確かにこの手で紡いだものが誰かの人生の一部になったのだと感じて嬉しかったです♡

A customer from Australia chose her kimono online and placed an order✂️

I first mailed a mock-up, and little by little, checking the length and width over Zoom, the dress took shape.

When the photos arrived of the two of them smiling under the cherry blossoms, in the vermillion red of the torii gate — even from far away, I felt so happy knowing that something woven by my hands had truly become part of someone's life♡

📷@whoshotthephotographer
👰‍♀️@cscambary 

#KimonoUpcycled #MadeToOrder #BridalCouture
#着物リメイク #国際オーダー
このシルクの軽さ、暑い季節にちょうどいい🫠 一枚の着物から、ワイドパンツを作りました✂️薄手のシル このシルクの軽さ、暑い季節にちょうどいい🫠

一枚の着物から、ワイドパンツを作りました✂️薄手のシルクは風を通して、歩くたびに裾がふわりと揺れます♪

後ろ姿には、着物の袖だった部分を使っていてお尻の部分の花柄が上下逆さまになっています👻最初は迷ったけれど、これはこれで面白いなと思ってそのまま残しました🫶🏻

一点ものなので、この一本だけ。気になる方はプロフィールのリンクから見てみてください♡

This silk is so light, perfect for the hot season 🫠

I made these wide-leg pants from a kimono✂️ The thin silk lets the breeze through, and the hem sways softly with every step ♪

The back is made from what used to be the kimono sleeves, so the floral pattern on the hips ends up upside down👻 I wasn’t sure at first, but honestly it grew on me, so I left it as is 🫶🏻

One of a kind, just this one pair. If you’re curious, the link is in my profile ♡

#着物リメイク #kimonoremake #正絹 #一点もの #和柄 夏の装い ワイドパンツ
数年前に制作したシルクのドレス。 今回「Released. Reimagined.」というコンセプ 数年前に制作したシルクのドレス。

今回「Released. Reimagined.」というコンセプトに合わせて、@redyeingproject さんに黒染めをお願いしました。

Helen x Vivat Veritasのイベントにベンダーとして出展してくださったご縁から生まれたコラボレーションです。

「服を捨てる前に、黒染めという選択肢を。」
色あせた服を、グラム単位の染め直しで蘇らせる——そんなコンセプトに強く共感しました。

天然素材のシルクスカート部分は深く美しい黒へ。
シャンティレースの部分は、少し緑がかった表情のある色に変化しました。

一着を長く着続けるための、小さな選択。
Before / Afterの写真、ぜひご覧ください🩷🖤

A silk dress I made a few years ago.

For this ""Released. Reimagined."" concept, I asked @redyeingproject to dye it black.

This collaboration grew out of a connection made when he joined the Helen x Vivat Veritas event as a vendor.

""Before you throw it away, consider black dyeing.""
His concept — reviving faded clothes through by-the-gram redyeing — really resonated with me.

The silk skirt, a natural fiber, transformed into a deep, beautiful black.
The chantilly lace took on a subtly greenish tone.

A small choice, in service of wearing one piece for longer.
Take a look at the before/after photos🩷🖤

黒染め
@redyeingproject

Photographers
@nothing_special_88
@japanphotographer_

Model
@sienna.christinaaa

Jewelry
@viviange

Hair
@angh0
@sho_kanaida
@iam__little__boy

Make up and videos
@glam_by_jyoti

#黒染め #RedyeingProject #ReleasedReimagined #着物リメイク #サステナブルファッション
実はこのお洋服、今回のショーに入れるか自分では迷っていました。結構前に作った作品だったので。でもヘレ 実はこのお洋服、今回のショーに入れるか自分では迷っていました。結構前に作った作品だったので。でもヘレンと話す中で、これも一緒に見せようと決めました。

ヘレンと3週間近く一緒に準備を進める中で、コレクションの作り方、見る人を楽しませる魅せ方、ルック全体の組み立て方など、本当にたくさんのことを学びました。自分一人だったらこのルックスを入れる決断はしなかったと思う。誰かと一緒に作ることで見えてくるものがあるんだなと、改めて実感しました。
ヘレン、ありがとう♡

Honestly, I wasn't sure whether to include this piece in this show. It was something I'd made a while back. But talking it through with Helen, we decided to show it together after all.

Working with Helen for almost three weeks to prepare for the show, I learned so much — how to build a collection, how to style looks that engage an audience, how to put together a look as a whole. I don't think I would have made the decision to include this piece if I'd been on my own. Creating something together with someone else really opens your eyes to things you wouldn't see alone.

thank you Helen @designerhelen♡

Model @izumi_nishida

Photographer 
@nothing_special_88 

Jewelry
@viviange

Hair 
@angh0
@sho_kanaida
@iam__little__boy

Make up
@glam_by_jyoti

#KimonoUpcycled #SustainableFashion #DesignerCollab #着物リメイク #ものづくり
Follow me on Instagram

Copyright © 2026 · vivien theme by Lovely Confetti DMCA.com Protection Status

Copyright © 2026 Vivat Veritas