The Haori is a Japanese formal overcoat traditionally worn over a kosode (full-lenght kimono). It is worn either open or closed by a string that connects the lapels called haori-himo. During the Sengoku period, its predecessor, the jinbaori, was used over the armour for protection against cold weather.

It is said that the first woman who wore a haori in public was a geisha in the mid-Edo period. However, as the shogunate considered it as a luxury garment, women were not allowed to wear it until the Meiji period.

Since then, due to its versatility the haori has been evolving becoming a worldwide fashionable garment.