Women's Belted Kimono Robe 'Asagi'

A longer kimono robe in faded sea green, with cranes drifting through the haze

Longer and softer than the short jackets, this is a robe rather than a layer. It falls to the thigh in a hazy sea green, the colour of old glass, printed with white cranes in flight that seem to drift through the cloth rather than sit on it, and finished with black borders down the front, black bands at the sleeves, and a black tie belt at the waist. At the hem, the green gives way to a warm band of brown, like a weathered pier under a misty sky.

The washed-out colour is what sets it apart. Nothing here is crisp. The cranes are pale on pale, the green shades into grey, the whole print looks like a memory of a scene rather than the scene itself, and the black borders are the only hard lines in it. It is the gentlest print in the collection, and the one that photographs best in soft light.

The name, Asagi, is the old Japanese word for this exact colour: a pale blue-green between water and sky, the colour of a dawn seen through paper.

The cloth is a light polyester with a fluid drape, chosen because a robe needs to float rather than hold a shape, and because a faded print wants a soft ground. It is light enough for a summer evening and long enough to feel like something more than a jacket.

The belt is the practical difference. Worn loose, with the belt hanging, it is a long open layer over a tee and jeans. Tied, it closes into a robe, which is how it works at home over loungewear or on a warm night with nothing much under it. Both are right. The three-quarter sleeves keep it easy either way.

Wear it over white in summer, over black in the evening, and let the cranes do the rest. It is the piece in the collection for someone who wants a kimono to live in rather than to make an entrance in.

The border is the tell. On most robes it is a trim; here it is a wide black band that runs down both fronts and around each sleeve, and it does the work of a frame, holding the faded print in place. Without it the piece would drift. With it, it hangs, and the belt finishes the line.

It comes in one size, cut to drape with an easy fit. It is Asian sizing, so it sits closer than a Western one-size; if you prefer room, wear it open rather than tied.