‖ kimono
(kɪˈməʊnəʊ)
Also occas. kimona.
[Jap.]
A long Japanese robe with sleeves. Now freq. applied to a similar loose, wide-sleeved garment, fastened with a sash, and worn as a dressing gown, coat, etc., in Western countries. Also attrib., as kimono blouse, kimono coat, kimono gown, kimono shirt, kimono sleeve.
| 1886 W. Conn Japanese Life, Love, & Legend xii. 134 There were no unwieldy articles difficult to carry, no useless luxury; the tatami, the kimono, a few musical instruments, a collection of cooking and household utensils constituted the bulk. 1887 Pall Mall G. 17 Nov. 5/2 A troupe of geisha dancing girls..dressed in pink, flower-variegated kimonos. 1891 A. M. Bacon Jap. Girls & Women vii. 188 The old-fashioned embroidered kimonos which are now entirely out of style in Japan. 1894 Yng. Gentlew. 168 At a fancy ball one frequently sees real Japanese kimonos, of exquisite material. 1902 Daily Chron. 11 Jan. 8/3 Over a soft skirt a silken kimono makes a new looking tea-gown. 1903 Ibid. 11 July 8/4 Lightweight canvas cloths..are used for kimono coats. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 9 May 13/2 Tailors are trying to get their clientèle away from the kimono line of bodice or of coat. They are weary of it; and no wonder, when one comes to think of the hundreds they must have turned out—kimono blouses, kimono bodices, kimono coats. 1919–20 T. Eaton & Co. Catal. Fall & Winter 153 Slip-over nightgown.., short kimona sleeves. a 1922 T. S. Eliot Waste Land Drafts (1971) 33 line 137 A bright Kimono wraps her as she sprawls In nerveless torpor on the window seat. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 554 Under the umbrella appears Mrs. Cunningham in Merry Widow hat and kimono gown. 1949 Wodehouse Uncle Dynamite viii. 127 When a housemaid in curling pins and a kimono finds herself in a drawing-room..with her employer.., she should as soon as possible make a decorous exit. 1960 B. Leach Potter in Japan ii. 51 She wiped the bowls..and folded and replaced the napkin in the breast of her kimono. 1968 Guardian 13 June 10/2 Kenneth Tynan, in a kimono shirt. 1968 J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 57 Kimono [sleeve], a sleeve cut in one with the body of the garment and hanging loose. 1970 Times 9 Mar. 7/7 The Japanese bride has always worn the traditional wedding kimono. 1971 Guardian 28 Dec. 9/3 Japanese influenced dresses with kimona sleeves. 1972 V. C. Clinton-Baddeley To study Long Silence i. 15 The green kimono wrapped across her bosom. |
Hence kiˈmonoed a., dressed in a kimono.
| 1894 Yng. Gentlew. 168 One accustomed to the kimonoed beauties of Japan. |