165 | Vessel of Memory | Set
FILED UNDER: THE CHRYSANTHEMUM PARLOUR
Recovered from a cedar wardrobe in the rear chamber of the Chrysanthemum Parlour. Corset and trousers stored together. Several silk ribbons showing age-related fraying; no accompanying ownership record found.
SHELL
Lightweight silk from a vintage kimono shell featuring an ivory-pink herringbone weave punctuated by scattered vases. Era undetermined.
LINING
Lightweight silk from the lining of the same vintage kimono.
DETAILING
Elegant standing collar and a signature cutout back. Trousers are finished with deep pleats and hand-dyed ombré hems that fade into a sharp violet dusk.
STRUCTURE
22-panel construction, lightly boned to maintain the drape of the kimono silk; designed to honor the natural body through precise tailoring rather than rigid force.
LACING
Fraying silk ribbons through reinforced silver-toned grommets.
SIZE
S [size guide]
EDITION
One of one.
FROM THE CITY ARCHIVES
The Chrysanthemum Parlour
Vessel of Memory was recorded among the garments kept in the Chrysanthemum Parlour, where clothing, letters, flowers, and other personal effects were sometimes retained long after their original occasions had passed.
The set is made from an antique kimono silk woven with small painted vessels. The motif is repeated throughout the cloth but never in quite the same position, giving the impression that the vessels were intended to be encountered gradually rather than viewed as a single pattern.
Records from the Parlour frequently mention garments being kept for sentimental reasons, though they rarely specify the memory attached to them. Vessel of Memory appears to have been retained in this manner. The corset and trousers were found together, carefully folded and wrapped, with the original silk ribbons still in place.
The identity of the original wearer has not been established. The name Vessel of Memory is a later archival designation.
