A The benefits of wearing Western clothes compared to the kimono are many. Western clothes can be worn the whole day without coming loose, the top and bottom can be freely matched, it can be easily adapted to heat and cold, etc.

The kimono however, is worn even today at weddings and on formal occasions, so perhaps wearing a kimono regularly would not be such a bad idea after all. But there are drawbacks. Wearing a kimono properly can be troublesome unless one is used to wearing one.

There are very few people in the younger generation nowadays who are able to wear a kimono properly. They have to depend on their mothers or pay more than 10,000 yen (US $80) to have a beauty shop consultant help them. However,
the mothers are now of the generation where they themselves are unable to wear a kimono properly.

The care that must go into a kimono can be a burden. Those made of synthetic fibers can be dry cleaned, but high quality kimonos must be cleaned by araihari, a special process that is costly.

Another reason why the younger people shun the kimono is the problem of underwear. Regular panties cannot be worn with a kimono because the contour shows up clearly under the kimono. Using the lavatory is a great inconvenience. The kimono comes loose when the skirt of the kimono is pulled up, and straightening it out is a big has-sle. At any rate, wearing a kimono is just too much of a headache for the contemporary person.