Although I’m a woman and yet I still enjoy looking at other beautiful women. The reason is neither for fashion inspiration nor that I am eager to obtain a kimono for myself. Rather, women in kimono are simply like moving pieces of elegant art. They are very much a delight to look at, a respite for the senses dulled from the mundane of everyday life. Kimono is different from other national costume as it flatters women of any shapes or sizes. Even for women with congenital postural defect, kimono is less exacting. The only challenge is putting on a kimono requires either help, experience or both.
Gion is the perfect place to photo stalk elegant women in kimono. For your information, we asked for permission to take photos. My husband and I got to Gion just before noon. By then, we already had late breakfast, lunch, and dessert. There are so many scrumptious dessert shops in Gion. This is truly the most relaxing and fun travel experience ever. Now we sort of understood the meaning of the good life. The good life though meant different things to different people.
Since there are so many shrines and temples in Kyoto, it is such a good excuse to dress up a little. The idea of dressing up to appease the eyes of Gods and Goddesses is too clever. These days, everything is all about the fast pace. Sometimes, people get so disconnected and then annoyed at each other that they do the unthinkable. Beauty and art are truly remarkable. So much so that I got especially inspired to write about it.
There are rows of charming but narrow back alleys, traditional buildings, shrines and so on. My husband and I took our time to savor each one up-close and personal. If we had more time, we would have interviewed all the shop owners. However, we understood that it was peak hour so it would be rude to impose on others. We also went into a special shop selling parasol and umbrella. It would have been nice to take a stroll in kimono and a lace parasol when the weather was this lovely while in Gion. The earliest street fashion must have begun here back when Geishas strolled the streets of Gion mainly around the Yasaka Shrine area.
Thank you for reading! 💗
IN CHINESE
虽然我身为女性，却依然乐于欣赏其他美丽的女性。这并非出于对时尚的追求，也并非渴望拥有一件和服。而是因为身着和服的女性，宛如一件件优雅的艺术品，令人赏心悦目，仿佛能让被日常生活琐碎所麻木的感官得到片刻的慰藉。和服与其他民族服装不同，它能衬托各种身材的女性。即使是先天性体态缺陷的女性，穿着和服也相对轻松自在。唯一的挑战在于，穿戴和服需要帮助、经验，或者两者兼备。
祇园是拍摄身着和服的优雅女性的绝佳地点。顺便一提，我们事先征得了她们的同意才拍照。我和丈夫在中午前抵达祇园。那时，我们已经享用了丰盛的早午餐和甜点。祇园里有数不胜数的美味甜品店。这真是一次无比轻松愉快的旅行体验。此刻，我们似乎领悟了美好生活的真谛。然而，美好生活对不同的人来说意义各不相同。
京都神社寺庙林立，这真是一个盛装打扮的好理由。用盛装打扮来取悦神明的想法真是妙不可言。如今，生活节奏飞快，人们有时彼此疏离，互相厌烦，甚至做出一些令人意想不到的事情。美和艺术的确令人叹为观止，也正因如此，我才有了写下这些文字的灵感。
这里有一排排迷人却狭窄的小巷、传统的建筑、神社等等。我和丈夫放慢脚步，细细品味每一处景致。如果时间允许，我们真想采访一下所有的店主。不过，我们也明白现在是高峰期，打扰别人是不礼貌的。我们还去了一家专门卖阳伞的店。在祇园这样阳光明媚的日子里，如果能穿着和服，撑着蕾丝阳伞漫步，该是多么惬意啊！最早的街头时尚一定起源于此，当时艺伎们主要在祇园的街道上漫步，尤其是在八坂神社附近。
感谢阅读！💗
[//]:# ([//]:# (!worldmappin 35.00558 lat 135.77451 long Gion Tatsumi Bridge d3scr))