• What women wear to festivals in Japan depends as much on their role in the festival as the type of festival they are attending. As observers, they'll wear casual Western-style clothing, a yukata or a jinbei. As performers, they'll likely wear a happi or some other specially-designed costume.
  
  

Yukata

• A yukata is a casual summer kimono. Yukata are considered perfect for summer festivals because they made of light cotton and are quite colorful. You wear a yukata by wrapping it around your body and then securing it with a sash. Yukata are especially popular with younger women and girls. Yukata are seen as both practical and festive, making them well-suited to crowded summer festival environments where more formal clothing would be unsuitable. A basic yukata costs around $50.
  
  

Jinbei

• In recent years, jinbei have gained popularity with younger women at summer festivals. Jinbei are very casual, and have long been considered "old man" pajamas. Most jinbei are plain, though some display a design or symbol. The newer style of women's jinbei tend to be brightly colored, and some display popular culture characters or motifs. A jinbei consists of a top which is tied closed, and matching shorts. Jinbei are similar to yukata in that they are less expensive and made of light cotton; however, jinbei are typically less colorful than yukata, tending to be solid blue or black for men and pink for women.
  
  

Happi

• A happi is a straight-sleeved coat. Many stores now sell them with matching shorts or pants, but the traditional happi is just a coat. A happi is made of blue, indigo, or brown cotton, and bears a Japanese crest or symbol on the back. Festival goers who wear happi are usually dancers, drummers, or some other type of performer. It is traditional for people wearing happi to wear a rolled-up bandana called a "hatchi-maki," which functions as a sweat band.
  
  

Kimono

• It is exceptionally rare to see a woman wearing a kimono at a festival, and those that do are typical older or elderly women who will stay clear of the more crowded, rowdier sections of the festivities. The reasons for this are simple: a kimono is expensive, difficult to wear, difficult to care for, and too hot for festival wear. A basic kimono might cost $2,000, with an additional $2,000 (or more) for the ornate sash (or "obi") tied about the middle. To wear a kimono (that is, simply putting one on) correctly takes a lot of practice and knowledge; most women may go to a specialist to give them assistance, some may take special classes beforehand. Also, since a kimono is made of many layers of silk, caring for it is a time-consuming and delicate task, and they are too warm for summer wear. In the end, most women would not want to risk damaging a precious kimono at a festival.
  
  

Other

• Many women take part in festivals as dancers. These dances may be traditional or modern, Japanese or not, and the costume these women wear will depend as much on the preferences of the dancers as on the type of dance being performed. While happi are popular with dancers and drummers, it is not uncommon for these same performers to wear costumes of their own design and make.