Women's Tonal Navy Kimono Jacket 'Aonami'

Navy water moving in brushstrokes, with small white cranes flying through it

This is a crane print that does not shout. The ground is a deep navy, and across all of it, sleeves, fronts and back, water moves in long brushed curves of a lighter blue, like a river seen from above, or ink dragged through a wet page. Through the water, small white cranes fly in every direction, wings out, legs trailing, dozens of them, none larger than a hand. Two blues and one white, and the print goes edge to edge with no band, no border and no centre.

Because it is tonal, it reads as texture from a distance and as a picture only up close, which makes it the easiest crane jacket to wear on an ordinary day. It is navy first and cranes second, and navy goes with everything.

The name, Aonami, means blue wave, and the brushed water is exactly that: the wave drawn as movement rather than as a crest, the way a calligrapher would draw it with one loaded brush and no second stroke.

It is printed, not embroidered, with the lighter blue kept soft at its edges so the water looks brushed rather than drawn, and the cranes kept crisp so they sit on top of it. The cloth is a light polyester with a smooth surface and a soft drape, chosen because a navy this deep must stay even through washing, and because an all-over print looks best on cloth that moves. Three-quarter sleeves, open front, no fastening, hem at the hip.

At three metres it is a navy jacket with a swirl in the weave. At thirty centimetres the swirl is water and the flecks are birds, each with a red crown and grey-edged wings. It is the kind of print that a stranger notices at the second glance and asks about at the third.

The cut is a short open kimono jacket for women, relaxed through the body and easy at the shoulder. Over a white tee, the tee links to the cranes and the whole outfit goes blue and white, the oldest pairing in Japanese cloth. Over a navy tee, the jacket becomes one deep blue shape and the cranes are the only light in it. It goes with denim of any wash, with white trousers, with grey, and with pale shoes.

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 are usually L or above, expect it to fit close rather than loose.