Design
Asthetics
Rumiko Takahashi tends to draw noble or royal women in very similar ways. If you look through the series, it's fairly easy to notice
how many women share the basic characteristics of beauty, elaborate kimono, petite frame and long, black hair (Princess Tsuyu, the Water
Goddess, and Shima for example). Izayoi is really no exception to this 'rule'; she is frequently described as "beautiful" by the other characters (and I have to agree with them). Her movements are almost featherlike, very soft and slow, walthough this may be partly becayse of the number of layers of kimono she wears. Izayoi's hair is very long, and is almost able to brush the ground. She has bangs covering her forehead that are parted down the middle of her face and come to about eyebrow length. Covering her ears are shorter pieces of hair at each side. Occasionally there will be longer strands of hair that will brush across each shoulders. The style was made common in the Heian era, and is known today as the "Hime cut". Perhaps Izayoi's most notable features are her eyes. While not particularly unique in shape or color, they always seem to have an air of sadness about them. Although not very noticable, Izayoi's eyelids are faintly colored with lavendar eyeshadow. She also has her bottom lip painted red, while the top is left white. (1)
Ensambles
The outfit Izayoi almost always appears in is a multi-layered kimono with a flower design on it, which resembles a style of kimono worn in the Heian era. This is the only kimono she is seen wearing in both her appearances in the manga and the anime series, also including the flashback sequences for the latter.
Beginning from the skin outward, she wears a light blue kosode [lit. "small sleeve"] that
is similar to the modern kimono. Her scarlet red nagabakama [long pleated pants] are very high waisted, coming just below her bust line.
Although that particular garment was originally so long that the wearer would have to tread on it as he or she walked, it appears that Izayoi's
nagabakama is only so long as to always cover her feet. (3) Because of this,
we are not able to see what type of shoes she is wearing, although I assume she wears zori [thonged sandals], or perhaps geta
[higer wooden sandals] and most likely tabi [ankle-high white socks]. As mentioned earlier, this kimono has multiple layers, and although
"it's supposed to be a 12-layer kimono, only 5 are shown", probably for ease in design
(1). Still continuing from the skin outward, we see four
kinu [under robes] of lavendar, yellow, pink, and green. The outermost layer of
Izayoi's kimono was the uwagi. It is a light shade of pink and decorated with a large flower-type pattern with each flower having an orange
center. The sole color manga image of Izayoi shows that these flowers are either dark pink (the larger ones are this color) or a yellow-orange color
(the smaller ones), although in the anime the flowers are all one color; dark pink
(4, 5).
Historically speaking, Izayoi's kimono most resembles that of an extremely simplified junihitoe,
which began to appear in Japan around the 10th century during the Heian era. The kimono was only worn by court ladies,
probably because each layer (of which there could be as many as 12) was made of expensive silk. The kimono layers
were color coordinated by season or celebration, and they often held a deeper meaning than mere colors. The outermost kimono
was often elaborately decorated. The total weight could be as much as 20 kilograms, which caused strained and difficult
movement for the wearer. This kimono style is very rarely worn today. 
Izayoi wears this very simple kimono during her appearance in InuYasha the Movie III : Tenka Hadou no Ken, specifically during the
prologue of the movie. The kimono itself is a solid shade of dark pink (pink must be her color of choice) and is worn loosely around her
body with the hem coming to about her ankles. Around her waist is a purple obi [sash] that is tied in a bow on her right side.
Unlike the previous kimono (eloquently titled "Kimono I"), I have no idea if there is any historical significance to what Izayoi wears.
Because she wears it while pregnant and directly after having the baby, I thought maybe it was some sort of of kimono worn specifically
during pregnancy. Personally, it makes much more sense to wear something plain and light rather than that heavy, decorative (and expensive)
juni-hitoe. However, I could find nothing on maternity wear in Ancient Japan, although the kimono appears similar to a slightly altered
yukata [lit. bath clothing], which is often worn today in the summer months and, as the name suggests, after a bath. The garment is
worn more for comfort, rather than style or beauty, in Japanese society today and usually has a simple design on it. 
Although this kimono does appear in the film, it is never actually worn during the movie, but is rather used as a cover over Izayoi's body (the image
at left is slightly deceiving, I think). The kimono is seen best while Izayoi and Takemaru speak with each other during the beginning of the film, i.e while she
is still pregnant. If you look for it, the kimono can also be seen on the floor while the mansion is aflame. Historically, it appears to be an
uwagi, or one of the outer layers of a junihitoe, and would have most probably been worn with the other layers. Departing from Izayoi's
usual pink, this garment is decorated in green and has a bold stripe pattern. Adding more color are small orange and pink flowers.
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