Pleated Kimono Mini Dress Set 'Wabisuke'

The camellia kimono top over a short pleated skirt with a bow

The same camellia top, cut to a shorter story. The top crosses left over right in the kimono way, with a straight collar band and sleeves to below the elbow, printed with red camellias and dark leaves on white, and ties at the waist with a red cord. The skirt is short, falling to mid-thigh, box-pleated from a high waistband with a bow tied at the front, and it stands out from the hip the way a pleated skirt does when the cloth has body. Together they are the school outfit of old Japan with the hem taken up by sixty years.

It comes in two skirts. Black, in the photograph, is the sharp one. Red matches the flowers and is the one for a festival.

The name, Wabisuke, is a small single camellia, the modest one the tea masters preferred, and it is the small version of the set.

The flowers are printed, not embroidered. The cloth is a polyester-cotton blend, light in the top and firmer in the skirt so the pleats hold. Both wash cold and hang, and the pleats come back on the hanger.

Wear the top tucked into the waistband with the cord tied over it and the bow at the front, with white trainers and bare legs in summer or dark tights when it turns. It is the set for someone who likes the kimono top and wants to show their legs.

From across a street it is a white top with red flowers over a short black or red skirt with a bow. From close the pleats are box pleats, wide and flat, the camellias have their stamens, and the collar band has its red piping.

It is the mini of the collection, and it wears like one: quick, bright, and not asking for permission.

The waistband is wide and firm, so the bow sits flat and the pleats fall straight from it. The collar band is piped in red and the sleeves are cut wide enough to push to the elbow, which is how the top is worn in the heat.

It is the set in the collection that reads youngest, and it does not pretend otherwise. Worn with white socks and white trainers it is a Sunday in Harajuku. Worn with black tights and boots it is an evening, and a shorter one.

Sizes run from S to XXL. It is cut to Asian sizing and runs small, so take one size up from your usual. Between two sizes, take the larger.