shiromuku with hints of red. It's specially common to see this color peeking from white as in here, inside the wataboshi, and in the garment's lining. Photos from Hayato Blog (left) Takehiro Misawa Photograph Office (rigth).~ ~ ~ The Gorgeous Iro-UchikakeStarting from the Edo period (1603-1868), a new wedding garment came for brides from wealthy and noble families. After the wedding ceremony, for the reception, they would change their all-white shiro-uchikake for another uchikake outer-garment, called iro-uchikake (iro meaning "color").Iro-uchikake features the same auspicious kind of pattern and rich brocade we see on shiro-uchikake, only this time very colorful. Red is the most traditional base color for this kind of wedding kimono, but other tones like gold and pink are also common. Slightly more modern designs feature all kinds of color, preferably deep, rich tones like deep purple or green, and even turquoise.A super-traditional red iro-uchikake with auspicious motifs, and another a bit more modern, deep purple and pink with sakura (cherry blossoms) as main pattern theme. Notice the kanzashi, also less traditional in the purple uchikake photo. Both from K-Bridal.~ ~ ~ The Elegant HikifurisodeApart from shiromuku and uchikake, another classic kind of bridal kimono is the hikifurisode - "trailing furisode", also called hanayome furisode ("bride furisode") or kakeshita (just like in shiro-kakeshita, only without the "shiro" for "white"). Hikifurisode is typically an o-furisode* with a small trail, worn without a fold at hip-height - different from standart furisode, which, like most female kimono, is folded so the hem will go almost up to the ankles.*All furisode have long sleeves, but they can be divided in ko-furisode (usually only worn with hakama, for graduation ensembles. The sleeves are 75-87cm long), chu-furisode (standart type, with sleeves of 91-106cm), or o-furisode (the more formal, with sleeves of 114-125cm).Standart o-furisode (left) and bridal hikifurisode (right). Notice the absence of the fold at the waist/hip line on the bridal garment, as well as the padded trail and bridal accessories (sensu, kaiken and hakoseko). Pretty sakura-themed furisode from K-Bridal, and elegant hikifurisode from Ogiya Wedding Salon.Hikifurisode started to be worn as bridal garment by samurai women in the late Edo era, and is popular today as a lighter (and probably less expensive) alternative to shiromuku/uchikake. More traditional brides may use it as a third change of clothes during their wedding day celebrations, after shiromuku (for the ceremony) and uchikake (for the reception).~ ~ ~ Modern Twists!Finally, after knowing all the traditional garments, it's time to see more contemporary-born variations of bridal kimono! There are "modern twist" versions of all of them, and even new shapes altogether. The possibilities are almost endless, so I'll just brush over a few styles!Today bridal kimono can range from super-traditional black hikifurisode with classic motifs and tsunokakushi (from Juin Perle) to crazy leopard-print butterflies and foofy ruffles uchikake (from Scena D'Uno) - and every style in between! ;)About the hairstyle... Both traditional bridal headwear tsunokakushi and wataboshi used to symbolize a bride's obedience to her husband (specially the tsunokakushi, which was worn to hide the brides "horns of jealousy"). So, maybe