Grey Kimono Obi Belt 'Usunezu'

Grey pre-tied obi belt with white dotted stripes, the narrow kind worn low

Grey, with white stitches in rows. This narrow obi is a stiff band in a heathered grey, with three dotted white stripes woven near each edge and a plain grey centre, and a pre-tied knot at the front that hooks on. The stripes are made of small white dashes rather than lines, so from close the band reads as stitched and from across a room as striped.

It is the lightest-coloured of the narrow obi in the collection, and the one to wear over the darker yukata in the range, where the grey shows.

The name, Usunezu, is the pale mouse grey, the colour of the band, and it is one of the old names for a grey.

The band is a thick woven cloth folded double and stitched flat, stiff enough to hold its line round the waist, and the knot is sewn in place on a short separate tab that hooks over the band at the front, so the obi goes on in one movement: wrap, fasten at the back under the band, hook the knot on. The closure is adjustable and hidden.

Wear it over a yukata, a jinbei top, a kimono or a haori, wrapped twice round the hips rather than the waist, low, the way a man ties a narrow obi and a woman ties one when she wants the same line. The knot sits at the back or at the side, as you prefer; the photograph shows it at the front only so you can see it. Over a plain tee and a wide trouser it works as a belt.

The dotted stripes sit in two groups of three, one near each edge, and they run across the knot on the bias, which is how you see the knot is a separate piece. The centre of the band is left plain, so the belt reads as grey first and striped second.

Hand wash cool, flat, and dry flat; do not wring, because the stiffening in the band creases. Iron on the reverse if it needs it. It is a belt, and it takes a belt's life.

From across a room it is a grey band with white lines. From close the lines are rows of dashes, the knot shows its bias, and the grey its heather. It is the obi for a navy or black yukata and a person who wants a lighter line at the waist.

One size. The band wraps a waist from about 70 to 110 cm with the closure adjusted, and the pre-tied knot means the length does not change how it looks. It is cut to Western sizing, so there is no size to take up.