You’re a man of the world, so we’re not about to tell you how to wear a shirt (how to iron one, maybe). But what about a kimono? It looks simple, right – it sits somewhere between a robe, which you’ve possibly been sporting throughout lockdown, and a Western shirt (although not a western shirt, which often involves rivets). How difficult can it be? Well, as anyone who has been to Japan will know – and as we’ve already ascertained, you are a man of the world – the Japanese, at a social level, know how to wear clothes exceptionally well.

It doesn’t matter how well put together you think your outfit is, there’s a guy currently fixing a back street in Shibuya who is better dressed than you. Japan is a place where every action is imbued with intricate layers of cultural meaning, and choosing your clothes is no different. So you can be sure that wearing a kimono is a little more complex than just chucking it on.

There’s even a word for it: kitsuke, the art of wearing a kimono (also “smelling salts”, as one online Pokémon-based language translator would have us believe). For a start, a kimono is traditionally teamed with an obi, which is a belt rather than a Star Wars character, _zōri sandals and tabi _socks, the latter of which you might be able to picture if you know your Maison Margiela footwear. 

Whether traditionalists will go for the chambray employed in this kimono-style shirt jacket by Mr Greg Lauren (yes, you might have heard of his uncle) is one thing given that rinzu, a silk-satin damask, was the preferred fabric up until the end of the Edo period. But you’d assume the more open-minded would appreciate the flair this very much American designer brings to the garment, not to mention the boro-like flannel patches deployed along the placket. Mr Lauren is not only recrafting ideas but upcycling vintage clothes, too. 

If you don’t snap this style up, we know a road worker in Tokyo who will.