Is it appropriate to wear a knee-length yukata on summer festivals?
My friends and I are planning to attend a natsu matsuri, a summer festival, in Japan. We all have bought our yukatas online, and unfortunately two of our yukatas are only knee-length long. Is this still appropriate to wear to the said event, or are we in any way offending Japanese people?
Best Answer
It's not offensive, it's just a bit silly-looking. Summer festivals are very casual events, so friends may rib you a bit but nobody will seriously mind, especially after a couple of beers.
As an inexact analogy, imagine wearing a pair of jeans that fit otherwise but end mid-calf: only the fashion police would take offense (and who knows, maybe Capri pants are back in style this year).
I do second RoboKaren's advice to wear underwear. Even a full-length yukata can slip pretty easily when sitting down.
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Can you wear yukata in summer?
When to Wear it? Yukata are most popular during the summer months, where the unlined cotton fabric is most suited to combat the hot temperature. They can be worn around every day; however, it is most common to see young people enjoying them during the firework viewing festivals, known as hanabi in Japanese.Do you wear yukata to festivals?
Nowadays, the yukata is commonly worn at summer events like festivals and fireworks; that's why it is commonly known as Japanese Festival Clothing.Is it okay to wear a short yukata?
Did your yukata come with shorts (short pants)? If so, there's no problem, just wear those. Remember that yukata are effectively pajama and no one wants to really see your underwear or worry that you're going \u201ccommando\u201d (no underwear or undergarments under your yukata). This is true for both women and men.Can you wear a kimono to a summer festival?
Festivals don't have a dress code, so you can just show up in casual clothes. But if you want to do as many other Japanese do, wear a yukata\u2014a kimono that's typically worn by men, women, and children alike in summer.8 Helpful Yukata Styling Tips!
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Answer 2
If I were you, I would not wear the knee-length yukata, and would just go to the festival in normal clothes.
No, you are not going to offend anyone; if there's one area where Japanese society is tolerant, it's clothing (at least outside of school or business settings). At the same time, I still would call it inappropriate, not in the sense of "offensive", but in the etymological sense of "not suited". As you can easily see from a Google Images search, and will definitely see when you are there, it's just not done. I am, in fact, quite surprised that you were able to buy one, and would be interested to know where you bought it (I suppose, from a retailer with only cursory knowledge of what they are doing).
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Images: Wendy Wei, Tan Danh, Deep6 photography, Oleksandr Pidvalnyi