Samurai Armor makes hot fashion list
In the days of honor, valor, and the Samurai warrior, there was a special garment called a “haramaki” that was worn around the waist. It kept the insides warm and provided an extra measure of protection for the stomach and kidneys. He wasn’t widely recognized for his ability to parry swords, but he did wonders for circulation.
Over time, it was used almost exclusively by Japanese grandmothers and children of neurotic Japanese mothers. Those who used them did so in secret, fearing social ostracism. Now, however, the haramaki is emerging from the shadows and blazing a trail of fashion in the fashion world.
The man responsible for the latest trend to come out of Japan is Itoi Shigesato, who has been wearing haramaki in his closet for years. When a Niigata knitting company approached him with an offer to work on “something sometime,” he saw it as the ideal opportunity to change the public’s perception of his beloved belly warmers and make them cool.
The risk paid off and now almost everyone in Japan owns at least one fashionable haramaki. The craze has hit the European markets and is making its way across the Atlantic to the trend-hungry United States.
Haramakis can be made from virtually any fabric, as long as it has a little bit of stretch so you can put it on and take it off. They can be as simple as a tube of plain blackhead. You can get jeweled varieties, which look like the leather belts worn by wrestlers or weightlifters, except they’re more shiny.
For those looking to make a dressier statement, there are haramakis made from stretch satin, which look a bit like girdles, but aren’t quite as tight. Itoi-san contributes to the diversity of the haramaki market by inviting a high-profile public figure to be a guest designer for a season. One of the most successful guest designers so far has been Yukiko Harada, an illustrator and graphic designer who designed haramaki outfits that included a matching blanket.
Unfortunately, supply has yet to keep up with demand, and truly trendy haramakis are hard to find outside of Japan. Most providers cater to the maternity market as they are ideal for swaddling growing tummy and keeping in utero conditions safe, warm and comfortable.
Belly warmers work on the principle that when your body is cold, it uses its energy to keep your internal organs warm while your arms and legs have to fend for themselves. The reasoning is that if you keep your core warm, your body will have more reserves to spend heating up your extremities. Haramakis help your body to use its heat more efficiently.
If you want to experience the physical benefits of a haramaki, but don’t have the patience to wait for supplies to become widely available, you can always do what one haramaki fan in San Francisco did and simply accessorize an old tight top. There’s no rule that says DIY haramakis are less cool than their designer counterparts.
Recommended websites:
http://www.metafilter.com/69440/haramaki-waist-warmer
http://www.pingmag.jp/2007/01/15/haramaki-a-granny-item-made-fashionable/
http://www.squidoo.com/haramaki
http://blue_moon.typepad.com/blue_lotus/2006/02/post_3.html
