Hakama
Most commercial/ready-made hakama are the same size, differing only in length for short and tall, perhaps with a bit more width added onto the sides. Pleats may be the same depth whether you are a size 4 or a size 54, which is why larger folk in hakama often look short-sheeted. Curvaceous women in particular may be particularly dissatisfied with fit.
Part of the problem is differing cultural expectations: the Japanese hakama was never intended to fit the body in the way that Westerners expect a garment to fit. However . . .
Part of the problem is differing cultural physique: Japanese bodies are remarkably uniform, or made so by corrective undergarments.
The traditional ideal Japanese form is the cylinder, bosoms restrained, slender waists filled in with a towel or other padding.
The traditional ideal Western figure is the hour-glass, with curves unsuited to the flat planes of the classic hakama. Nor are the wild variations in size, shape, height and topology of multi-sourced American bodies readily adaptable to classic Japanese sizing.
Our patterns (and pleats) are proportionally sized so that a hakama for a larger body has as much ease and flow as those on smaller bodies. We stock patterns for hip sizes 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, and 54. Smaller or larger sizes can be special ordered.
