The name “kimono” (着物) means simply “wearing thing”
“The widths of [material used]- 38 centimeters (15 inches) for women’s kimonos and 40 centimeters (15 3/4 inches) for men’s- are invariable. They are determined by the weaving frame used to make the fabric.” Kimono by Sophie Milenovich
“the furisode,an extremely long-sleeved version of the kimono,is worn only by young unmarried women on formal occasions…Only Enka singers have the privilege of wearing furisode regardless of their age and status” Kimono by Sophie Milenovich
In the Heian period (794- 1185) women of the Japanese wore up to 25 layers of kimonos, making movement virtually impossible
The kosode, the short sleeved kimono that is standard nowadays, started off as the bottom layer, ie the underwear, of Heian court kimono
Japan Explained FASAQ 
Andy said,
April 26, 2010 at 4:47 am
“women of the Japanese wore up to 25 layers of kimonos” is grammatically (and politically) incorrect, is it a quote? That number of kimono had to have been for women in the court only as they didn’t have to work the fields like most women did.
crella said,
April 27, 2010 at 2:30 am
It may have been ‘women of the Japanese court’ or ‘nobility’, as they were the ones to wear those. Probably just a word or two got omitted.
Kuldeep said,
May 28, 2019 at 10:16 am
Thanks for the information! Really helped me for my test about Japan