Nope.
Gone are the days when I dreamed of being that gal, so overly produced to make cheap Fast Fashion seem as expensive as the original runway look.
But just because I have no patience for over-edited "effortless glamour" doesn't mean I'm sloppy.
The Zen monk workwear
Can't be sloppy in a Buddhist temple.
You'd better keep your dignified manners even during Samu, aka your daily grind of cleaning, chopping wood, plucking weeds in the garden, cooking, doing the dishes… because everyday chores aren't any less holy than meditation and religious rituals.
But you do need functional clothes, and both monk robes or traditional kimono are pretty far from that.(Also: so many rules concerning age, gender, ranking, season, occasion etc; wearing many different undergarments; and choosing the appropriate sash from an array of different materials, with different knotting styles... or maybe that's just my didn't grow up in Japan complex that makes me wanna believe it's all so outrageously complicated.)
Problem solved with the good old samue:
This is a pretty relaxed piece, but it's still based on the kimono pattern so it works better when you keep your poise: nothing forced, just calm and graceful like a Zen monk taking care of the temple's garden.
Or scrubbing the toilets.
And it usually comes in neutral colours, since you're not supposed to stand out in a Zen temple. But will I stick to that one rule?
We'll see. I'm known to be "difficult" (why do you think I'm a cat person?).