I will do my best. First of all I must say what a wonderful friend you have! That's fantastic  
 
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Yukata is usually worn just on bare skin, since the very idea of it is that it's cool and you can feel the summer breeze on your bare skin. It won't usually expose much skin and the wide obi prevents the hem fluttering too much even if you walk over a warm ventilation shaft alà Marilyn  Monroe.  
 
Usually there are only two of three sizes of yukata, the size is adjusted by tucking it under the obi. Actually you can get very cheap yukatas from shop called UNIQLO during summer. And most of them are very nice. Check out more: http://hanami.ath.cx/yukata.html
 
Like in the photo, you can tie your own obi on front, then just turn it to the back as the lady in the photo does ^^ If you need help how to tie yukata obi, I have instructions which I may post here.
 
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Well one rule above all when wearing kimono is that one must remember the relationship with the garment and the occasion. There are few things that matter when wearing kimono:
 
    *  Wearer's Age
    * Quality and Formality of Occasion (!)
    * Season (!!)
    * Wearer's taste
    * One's Class
 
I think it shouldn't be such a big mistake, as long as you didn't walk upon that hot air ventilation shaft.  
 
Remember to think about the big picture. Is the kimono furisode or tomesode? What kind of obi do you use? For young unmarried women furisode looks great. Nowadays, women wear furisodes in their twenties whether they are married or not. It's more related to age and one's expression rather than marital status. Personally I think furisode would really suit you. You'll have plenty of time for tomesode later.
 
I'm sure some of the Japanese women can answer better. But my feeling is that if the kimono is not formal and the obi is something like nagoya obi, a narrow style, you wouldn't have to worry about underkimono so much, maybe you can leave it out.  How long are the sleeves?
 
Please post pictures here.
 
Check out: http://hanami.ath.cx/kimono.html

Wow, they both look very nice!
 
I think they remind me of kosode, and tsumugi fabric
 
Yes you can wear white under kimono with them. In the old times, the court ladies wore up to 12 kosodes on layers. That would keep you warm (and dry!) even in räntäsade
 
More layers - more status

haha I see
 
Once I saw young man in Jyvaskyla wearing Japanese girls school uniform. He was fan of "Sakura" manga. I was surprised.
It reminded me of the Banana Yoshimoto's "Moonlight Shadow" short story which was printed in Finnish edition of Kitchen.

Yes I wish they will translate more. I wish translators like Jay Rubin would translate her works. He is such intelligent and smart guy, I love his style.
 
Banana Yoshimoto has written so many books. I went to bookstore in Japan and found out huge collection of her essays, novels, and short stories. At least 30-50 books..
 
Many of my friends recommend me Kaori Ekuni. Too bad her books are not available here. When I get creditcard I will order them from Amazon, or ask my friend to order.

I really want a kimono.
I'm studying sado (or Chadô) and many of the older students have kimonos already.
It would also be useful to train in one so you know how to not drop your sleeves in the teabowl

I have geta!  And a purse that matches the blue ..yukata..
And I have collected fans but sadly I do not have flat ones - only folded.
 
I have thought about buying instant obi or two. But I want to see them - I want to feel the buying situation - so that is why I don't buy anything big from Internet.

Pics, pics, pics!