Women’s Hakama

So there are not many women's hakama on the market. If you live in Europe, your best choices are Kendo24's very nice aizome one, Nine Circles Maeba wide or now Meijin's Shinbu women's tetron. Above is pictured the difference between the maeba style and the Shinbu brand ladies hakama. The Kendo24 hakama is similarly cut for a woman's bell shape.

The maeba is a man's hakama and very standard color, fabric and basic shape. However, it's cut from a wider bolt of cloth and so the pleats don't flair. If you want a synthetic, I actually think it's a really decent option.

The Kendo24 is my favorite. It's a proper old fashioned hakama, but the pleats stay flat, because of the accommodations for a woman's body. The crotch is not too high and my only complaint would be that the slits on the sides are a bit longer, meaning you need to watch out your keikogi isn't too sort.

Now the Shinbu lady's cut is a novelty. This is my first encounter with pleat lock stitching. I can see the real appeal for beginners, though as a seasoned practitioner I find them condescending, like a child's men that has straps on the side to keep the himo from getting tangled. Any kendoka worth her salt should be able to fold it consistently without having someone sew the pleats in place.

The crotch zipper I just find weird. First of all, it is perfectly easy to use the toilet in a hakama. You simply push open one of the leg holes wide enough, yank your panties to one side and do your business. I have never found this difficult. Perhaps the zipper is more useful in Japan over a squatting table, but I am mystified as to how it actually makes things easier unless you're going commando under your uniform. Furthermore I would be concerned the zipper might fail at some point and you'd be stuck with an open legged hakama. It just doesn't feel built to last.

I will say the pockets are a hoot. You can actually hold a slim wallet, your cell phone, you passport or other valuables there easily without ruining the lines of your figure. I believe it’s actually designed for sanitary napkins. There is great irony in the fact that women's clothing never has pockets, yet somehow in hakama we are the first to get them. That said, I think they're cool, albeit all three of these features just make the hakama feel less dignified.

I really like the brand Shinbu, they make real quality products and the fabric has a more pleasing heft than most synethic hakama, but at the end of the day, this would be my dead last choice for a woman's hakama.