East Meets West as Exhibit Shows Kimono's Influence on Western Europe and U.S. Fashion

by Pat Taylor

Standing in front of the Cincinnati Art Museum are: Cindy Blunt, a young person, Saskia Van Leersum, Laura Leigh Hahn, Tara Petit, Pat Taylor and Kara Shay Thomson; Below, outside the Kimono Exhibit are: Tara Petit, Kara Shay Thomason, Cindy Blunt, Laura Leigh Hahn, a young person, Saskia Van Leersum, and Pat Taylor.

Seven St. Barnabas parishioners visited the Cincinnati Museum of Art in Eden Park on Sept. 7 to view the Kimono Exhibit and how Japan's beautiful flowing simple coverings influenced the fashion world in the West. Traditionally, the kimono was made from one piece of fabric with no waste. Western designers incorporated the pattern but soon moved onto more complicated designs with more cut pieces. Fashion pieces in the exhibit covered the period from the late 1800s to the present day. Keeping the theme going, the group had lunch at Mei, a Japanese restaurant in the Marketplace off Montgomery Road.

Tara has taken on the task of reviving women's fellowship activities. This was her first outing after the planning dinner.