This cream houmongi is the latest addition to my kimono wardrobe - I was lucky enough to win it last night on Ebay.

I have been umming and ah-ing over getting a new houmongi lately. Now that I regret the decision to cut up my first-ever houmongi, I've been looking for one of similar quality but also affordable, and it's been a tall order.

One black one with yuzen cranes that I had my eye on went for $80 recently - way out of my league - and since I had cancelled another bid to bid on it, and then the other one went very cheaply, I was left kicking myself. 

Consequently, when I spotted this one from Japanese Antiques, my eyes lit up. I'm guessing it's not particularly old, but it ticks several of my boxes:

* Long sleeves

* Multicoloured

* Yuzen

* The pattern reaches to the collar at the front

* The pattern continues under the obi, rather than breaking. 

It also has a two-tone background, multi-coloured decoration, sayagata-patterned Rinzu silk, silk embroidery, gold thread embroidery, surihaku, and the pattern extends to both sleeves, both front and back. 

All those attributes made it very desirable, so I placed my bid before going to bed last night, and was astonished this morning to find I'd won it for only $20.50 (this is FAR less than I paid six years ago for my other houmongis). 

I seriously look forward to wearing this kimono, and also to displaying it, as it should liven up my dark back wall.