Ohoho! I really like Asian traditional and modern traditional clothing, but my area is kimono. I have a lot of thoughts on the matter, but I'll try to not get too excited!
I've been a kimono enthusiast for almost half of my life. I don't have a great collection, but I read about them and "kimono lifestyles" (it can be considered a hobby!) frequently. So I look at things a little differently than most Westerners.
When I see Asian-inspired costumes and lingerie, sometimes it hurts my eyes. Usually it's a little cheesy to me. Often, what makes the real garments wonderful to me are completely absent (or there is something weird going on--right over left is for burial!). I sometimes have a hard time finding them very pretty or classy, but sometimes I can find them very cute. I have a few Chinese style tops that, if worn with something classy can be classy, but I try to avoid shiny brocades. I also have a Chinese-style top that I believe to be based on Chinese-style bras. It's shiny brocade, looks appropriate for club wear and it makes me feel sexy. It's pretty revealing.
So no, I'm not really against these creative garments, but I dislike a lot of it. I like more traditional things most.
Kimono sometimes are thought of as sexy. Maybe it's because of Westerners' WWII experiences with working girls? The same guys that probably brought to us the mispronunciation of saké, thanks. :/
A little peek into the way a kimono enthusiasts see actual kimono...
There is a whole little world one can appreciate with kimono. Kimono has a somewhat complex language and methods that I find very interesting.
The "correct" way of wearing modern kimono might be kind of prim or even cold in some eyes. The shape of the body in kimono often de-emphasizes things that in the West (and in modern Japan) are considered sexy. Under a kimono, padding is worn to hide curves--Breasts and waists disappear. The layers are tied in place. It is understandably compared to bondage--which might be sexy to some and to others, offensive. But that's especially to be said of modern kimono. There was a time when they had to be lived in, and could be sloppy, tied for work convenience. It's interesting comparing new photos of people in kimono to photos of people in them 100 years ago.
Kimono are usually worn in a way that makes women into a severe tube. Or the very informal cotton version for summer can show a little curve--depending on how much neatening padding is worn. Geisha, I believe, often wear the kimono everyone else does, the language different from "civilian" kimono. They often add a few more pounds of clothing (I think I've read of a 40 lbs formal ensemble), so that you can see little of their actual shape. They almost always wear their collars very low--nearly to their back. This is considered very sexy. Other women may this, too, but to a far lesser degree. When I wear kimono, I usually show a little more nape than is "proper". It's like showing cleavage, but reversed.
Yukata. They can be worn with things that make them more formal like kimono, but often they are thrown on with little underneath for a festival and as I said, without padding, can show curves. I wear a little underneath to make mine neat, but my significant other knows about the holes under the arms that make breasts accessible...
So I try not to wear too much if I think he might get an opportunity to touch. Hehe.
OK, I should stop for now, I got too excited. I'm sorry! But that is a little on how kimono are not sexy/sexy in my eyes.
