Traditional Chinese Dress
Qi Pao or more formerly known as cheongsam is traditional Chinese dress, which has a high neck line, fitted waist and sleeves of varying length, though traditionally short, and decorated with beautiful Chinese art/patterns. Its comfortable to wear, and westerners praise the design for its elegance that exemplifies the feminine charm.
Cheongsam is gaining in popularity abroad, and starting to find its way into mainstream fashion. As such lets learn a little about its history and how best to wear this beautiful dress.
The Legend of Cheongsam
It was said that a young women who lived around the Jinbo Lake designed a long, elegant dress with many buttons and slits down the sides to better aid her while she worked.
Unbeknownst to the young women, the emperor of China had a dream of his deceased father. In this dream, his father told him that he will marry a lady who lived by the Jinbo Lake. Soon after the dream, the emperor sent a convoy to find this women, which turned out to be the women who invented the Cheongsam. Soon after the marriage, the women would elegantly wear her self-made dress, and this dress spread throughout the kingdom.
Though this is just a legend, the Cheongsam did become an important and coveted dress of royalty. The dress was part of the banner of Qing Dynasty, and was adapted to be worn by both men and women. The main style of the dress — long, embroidered with broad lace — stayed relatively consistent until the collapse of the Qing Dynasty.
During this time, women gained more freedom in the way they could express themselves, and changed the design of the clothing to become more comfortable, tighter fit and to reveal more of a woman’s figure. To be more in line with westerner design of beauty.
With its new, updated design, Cheongsam’s popularity continued to grow, and became a formal attire for important social occasions and activities. Though this popularity was short lived, and it went into decline from the 1950’s, until its revival in the late 1990’s.
This revival saw aspects of Cheongsam being incorporated into the fashion industry, and many Chinese women choosing this as their bridal dress. Also, many Chinese hotels and restaurants have hostess wear traditional Cheongsam to greet and serve customers.
Tips for buying and wearing Cheongsam
Due to the wide variation of the female body, avoid buying readymade Cheongsam. Instead opt for a custom made one. This also has the additional benefit of ensuring you can pick and choose the right colour and design.
Choose the right material for the right season. Silk and similar material should be chosen for hot summer months. While you may opt for a cashmere or similar material for the winter.
Cheongsam are best washed by hand, due to its delicate nature. Take extra care with stains as it could cause unnecessary damage when being washed.
For common stains, cover it with wet cloth and use an iron to remove the stain.
Aim to hang your Cheongsam and ensure it remains smooth and wrinkle free.
