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A servant with tucked sleeves

A servant with tucked sleeves.jpg The reformed dressThumbnailsThe obi for ordinary wear. For girls. For womenThe reformed dressThumbnailsThe obi for ordinary wear. For girls. For womenThe reformed dressThumbnailsThe obi for ordinary wear. For girls. For womenThe reformed dressThumbnailsThe obi for ordinary wear. For girls. For womenThe reformed dressThumbnailsThe obi for ordinary wear. For girls. For womenThe reformed dressThumbnailsThe obi for ordinary wear. For girls. For womenThe reformed dressThumbnailsThe obi for ordinary wear. For girls. For women

The ordinary kimono is inconvenient for active work. Those whose work requires a free movement of the limbs, commonly discard the long sleeves and the skirt. Coolies and artisans wear tight-sleeved coats and tight-fitting drawers of cotton. Women, too, who labour outdoors have on similar clothes sometimes; but more frequently they wear tight-sleeved kimono, the skirts of which are tucked up to the knees to facilitate their walking. Women, however, who live indoors but have to move about at their household work, do not care to put on tight-sleeved kimono, and they tie up their sleeves with a cloth cord when they are actively employed. They are often to be seen dusting and sweeping the rooms with their sleeves tied up and a towel on their heads. The kimono appears indeed to be capable of little improvement.