Vintage Threads for a Living New Year

With the upcoming New Year’s celebrations, Reaghan had the brilliant idea of wearing kimono to the local festivities.

In Japan, the New Year isn’t just January 1. The first two weeks of January are called Shōgatsu — a quiet, sacred season when the old year is being closed and the new one is still being gently opened. Shrines are still welcoming the New Year. Old charms and daruma are still waiting to be burned.

The celebrations last from January 1 through January 15, so there are many opportunities to wear kimono. It begins with Ganjitsu (New Year’s Day) on January 1, followed by Kakizome (First Calligraphy) on January 2–3, when people write good wishes for the year in kanji. Also on January 2 is Hatsuyume (First Dream). The second Monday of January is Seijin no Hi (Coming of Age Day), when young adults wear elaborate kimono to mark their entry into adulthood.

The season closes with Dondoyaki (Sagichō) on January 14 and 15, when New Year decorations, daruma, and old charms are burned at shrines to let go of the previous year. Finally, on January 15, Koshōgatsu (Little New Year) marks the end of the spiritual New Year celebrations. Kimono is traditionally worn for these types of events.

We bought our kimono from a small vintage tailor shop called 3 Minute Kimono in Kōtō City, Tokyo, which had been recommended to Reaghan by a friend. It was the kind of place where nothing felt rushed, even if the name suggests otherwise. Every rack holds garments that have already lived a life. Every stitch carries another winter, another New Year.

That’s what makes wearing a vintage kimono in January feel especially right.

Wearing a vintage kimono adds another layer. We didn't just step into the New Year — we carried forward someone else’s past winter, their hopes, their careful choices. The fabric has already crossed years. Now it crosses into ours.

So thank you to 3 Minute Kimono for helping us find pieces that don’t just fit our bodies, but fit the calendar. They aren’t costumes. They’re quiet bridges between lives — and there’s no better moment to wear them than January, when Japan itself is standing between what was and what will be.

If You Go

3 Minute Kimono is located at 6-8-6 Kiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0042 with the nearest train station being Kiba Station, about 5 minutes walk

Book your appointment early, because since they use vintage apparel they may be short on supplies.