Hakama Sizing Question?

Question

I'm buying a hakama for a costume but I have some major concerns in regards to their sizing. I'm what many would consider a pretty big dude. I'm 6'3", 300ish lbs., and have a 50" waist. According to my height a size 28 - 30 hakama should work; however, waist size is never mentioned.

Would a size 28-30 hakama fit my waist?

Answer 1

Peter Gunn is right about hakama's being 'free-size'.

To ensure that you buy the correct length hakama, measure from the top of your pelvic bone down the side of your leg to the centre of your ankle.  This measurement is the same as the length of the front of the hakama.  

It may also depend whether you will tie the hakama above or below your abdomen.

Answer 2

normally a hakama is made literally one size fits all.

If you check the model of the garment it has pretty wide splits along the sides and the long strings on the thing measure around 6 foot long in our aikido class we have all shapes and sizes of students.  But I've never ran into one that could not fit into a hakama.

Answer 3

Hakama are pretty forgiving for both the thick and the thin.

The important measurement is the length - the waist just expands because there is a deep v on both side to accommodate different sizes.  The same hakama will either have a acute angle in that v for a thin person or an obtuse angle for a thick person.  Either way, its still called a fit.

That said, you would want a deep v - the bigger your waist, the deeper the v for an otherwise un-tailored hakama.

Honestly,the bigger problem is learning to tie is properly.  There are a number of 'right' ways and all of them will effect how you wear it.

I'd select a hakama the same you would a pair of pants - if it a costume, get the waist and inseem right and it should fit well enough.

Now all you have to do is learn to tie it.

Here is on of many sets of instructions:

http://www.ninja-weapons.com/Uniforms/Ha...

A few tips:

1.) be careful if you need to walk up a set of stairs

2.) if you care, folding the hakama is a whole different project, google some tips if it is important to you but keep in mind that if you just throw it in a hamper, the pleats will get messed up and it will be harder to fold correctly...  The pleats are important - they have symbolic meaning.