The History Of Cheongsam In The Past Century

Wu Yifang, the first Chinese University headmistress, was also known as the world famous nuclear physicist Dr. Wu Jianxiong, Miss Zhao, miss Zhao Yidi, Mrs. Song Meiling, miss Zhan Jiemei of Shanghai, the wife of Mrs. Xu Zhimo, Mrs. Xu Zhimo, the wife of the Xu Zhimo, and the wife of Xia, and so on. The cheongsam, which began in June 29th, appeared at the Shanghai National Museum of art.

There are many changes in cheongsam during its centenary development. How did these changes happen from skirts, cuffs to slits? How did the history and artistic charm of Shanghai style cheongsam go through?

The change of Cheongsam in the past century

Local embroidery of Cheongsam

Local embroidery of Cheongsam

Local embroidery of cheongsam {page_break}

Cheongsam local embroidery

Miss Zhao (left three) was in Shanghai with her female friends and friends when they were young, and they were all dressed in cheongsam

The {page_break} of Qipao worn by Yan Yun

Wu Yifang's cheongsam

Song Meiling's cheongsam

Zhao Yidi's cheongsam {page_break}

It is reported that the development of cheongsam has gone through a hundred years from late Qing Dynasty to today.

Over the past more than 100 years, there have been many ups and downs.

Looking back on the history of cheongsam, it was a very important node in the early 20s of the last century. During this period, cheongsam went from the court to the people, from Manchu to Han nationality, and was accepted by a large number of Han women.

Shanghai is the birthplace of the Shanghai style cheongsam.

Cheongsam, on the soil of Shanghai, has absorbed the traditional style of dress, absorbed some elements of western dress, and made comprehensive reform.

Now the cheongsam we call it should be called "Hai Pai cheongsam" in principle.

Speaking of cheongsam, there are actually two systems.

One is Beijing school, the other is Shanghai school.

The so-called "Peking style cheongsam" is what we call the early Manchu women's wearing.

Beijing style and Shanghai style originally refer to a style of literati. Two different styles do not have any commendatory distinction.

In a sense, the Peking School represented Beijing, and the crowd gathered in Beijing was the old Qing Dynasty's old man, warlords, bureaucrats, and many other politicians.

They also retained some of the ideas of the feudal society, which were more orthodox, including women's demands.

According to tradition, they should abide by women's morals and three virtues and four virtues.

They generally adopt a kind of inconsistent attitude towards western culture, which is not easy to accept and unwilling to open.

But Shanghai style is different, Shanghai style itself is a colonial culture.

So some people say that the Beijing school is the Loess culture and the Shanghai school is the marine culture.

Shanghai style is relatively open, and it is more acceptable to Western foreign things.

Shanghai, the birthplace of Shanghai school, is a place where Chinese and Western cultures can be integrated.

Beijing School of traditional Chinese silk fabrics are more, its clothing is wide and wide, with a lot of decoration on it.

Shanghai style cheongsam developed to the later stage and used many Western fabrics.

The cheongsam is cut into a more suitable body, which reflects the graceful posture of Oriental women.

The collar, cuffs and waist are perfectly done.

Therefore, Shanghai is the birthplace of the Shanghai style cheongsam.

Cheongsam, on the soil of Shanghai, has absorbed the traditional style of dress, absorbed some elements of western dress, and made comprehensive reform.

Now the cheongsam we call it should be called "Hai Pai cheongsam" in principle.

Cheongsam has become a national costume.

When it comes to the history of cheongsam, there is also a time node which is very important, that is, 1929.

At this time, the northern expedition was over and the national government was established.

In April 16th of 1929, the national government promulgated for the first time a "Regulations on service", which formally confirmed the status of Qipao's national service and wrote it for the first time.

In the past, Chinese Han women wore cheongsam as a voluntary act.

However, since April 16th 1929, there is a strict rule that cheongsam is considered a formal dress. Chinese women must wear cheongsam in important ceremonies, festivals and ceremonial occasions.

For example, when girls raise their national flag, they must wear cheongsam at important occasions such as opening ceremony and graduation ceremony.

Since 1930s, cheongsam has changed more and more.

A large number of Western clothing elements came in, and a large number of Western fabrics were adopted.

Many fashion designers absorb nutrients from Western clothing, draw inspiration and improve their clothing.

We can see the change of cheongsam from the real world. Some of them are very exquisite. The fabrics used are very noble. Some fabrics are identical with those of Paris's fashion and evening dress, and even in the fashion time they are only one month apart.

It was often a fabric that appeared in Paris, and probably appeared in Shanghai a month later.

The production of cheongsam is also changing greatly, showing more and more unique characteristics of Oriental women.

1930s is the peak period of Qipao. The cheongsam's slit is getting higher and higher, almost to the buttocks, revealing the whole thigh.

Shoes matched with cheongsam are also popular in western countries, and heels are also very thin.

This cheongsam is very close to our modern concept cheongsam.

Cheongsam fade out of life

After 1940s, the popularity of cheongsam slowly slowed down due to the war, but it was still the woman's favorite.

The biggest characteristic of Cheongsam in 1940s was that it changed from plane cutting to stereo cutting.

The way of cheongsam cutting is sleeves and gowns, and a piece is added below the elbow joint.

The cheongsam later made the sleeves into tubes, also called tube sleeves.

Some use cushions and some thick fabrics such as silk floss.

The third characteristic is that before 1940s, cheongsam was mainly used buttons, and after 1940s, zippers appeared.

After the zipper has appeared, the whole cheongsam, especially in the chest, waist and two shoulders, appears to be more obedient and more convenient to wear.

After 1950s, because of the constant political turmoil and the national economic recession, women gradually left the cheongsam and began to wear Lenin suits, dual shirts, casual clothes and so on.

But cheongsam is still in existence.

The wives of some of our leaders, including Ms. Song Qingling and Mrs. Jess Zhang, mayor Chen Yi, are still wearing cheongsam during their important visit activities.

Ms. Song Qingling loves cheongsam all her life.

To Song Qingling's former residence, she opened her wardrobe, and almost all her clothes were made of cheongsam, leather, silk, satin, gauze, silk and all kinds of clothes.

After 1960s, because of the "Cultural Revolution", sweeping the "four old" and breaking the bourgeois ideology and so on, some Chinese mainland leaders, including some important leaders, no longer wore cheongsam. Cheongsam seems to be fading away from our lives.

But it still has its due status in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Why does the cheongsam last forever? Can it continue to the present? Because its unique charm attracts everybody.

Oriental women are different from Western women in their stature and way of thinking.

In modern times, Western women like to expose themselves in clothes. They are looking for a kind of sexy, especially in the Mediterranean and Europe, and they have many edges and corners on their clothes.

But Oriental women are subtle and soft, unlike western women.

Western women have wider shoulders, wider buttocks, and rear warping.

Eastern women have their shoulders, flat chest, slender waist, round buttocks, and so on. This kind of figure in cheongsam just shows her unique charm.

Because the waist is relatively thin, the hips are wide, and the Eastern women wear the cheongsam from the front, from shoulder to chest, waist and hips, the whole shape forms a X shape; from the side, the back and buttocks are prominent, the waist is tiny, and the shape forms a S shape, which shows the curves of the eastern woman perfectly.

So it has been favored by Oriental women.

In addition, the cheongsam's collocation is different from other garments.

At that time, Song Meiling walked on the international stage wearing a cheongsam, giving lectures in the US Congress, matching cheongsam and Western fur coats, or matching his suits with daily wear.

After thousands of years of development of Chinese clothing, it can be said that no dress like cheongsam has charm, and has continued to this day.

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Changing the concept of cheongsam style

There are many changes in cheongsam during its centenary development. How did these changes happen from skirts, cuffs to slits? It is related to many fashions, that is, the popular concept.

The fashion of cheongsam mainly takes Shanghai as an example.

Let's start with one problem, from breast to breast exercise.

In the early twentieth Century, although the women of Shanghai were very open, they were still influenced by traditional customs. They were ashamed of their body curves. Many girls wore tight underwear. At that time, a kind of "thorax aesthetics" prevailed, which made their breasts look like those of the immature women.

In particular, some puberty girls are more embarrassed to expose their breasts. They wear a dress called a vest and wrap them up with a row of buttons.

This dress habit is harmful to the female body.

At the time, some enlightened people, especially those with higher education and overseas study, called for the removal of women's vest and the liberation of women's breasts.

Then a "milk movement" appeared.

Women in many big cities abandoned their vest and replaced it with a new type of underwear, revealing their curves.

This change has a direct impact on cheongsam.

Influenced by the social trend of thought, the old concept of women has also changed.

They feel that their exposure to the body is no longer as shy as they used to be. They think it is a beautiful human body and natural beauty.

By 1930s, short sleeved cheongsam and sleeveless cheongsam appeared.

For fashionable women at that time, they might also wear sleeveless cheongsam in winter.

We find that the style of cheongsam is becoming more and more generous, and can even be said to be more and more exposed.

From the changes of the length and length of the cheongsam's sleeves, we see a social fashion.

Its collocation -- what socks and shoes should be put on the bottom should have a series of changes. Later, after the introduction of pparent stockings, the cheongsam's slits will be higher and higher.

The changes in these fashions changed the length of cheongsam, and even changed its material orientation later.

We now think cheongsam, stockings and high-heeled shoes are three in one and naturally formed.

In fact, this is not the case, because the entry of high-heeled shoes is also a later stage.

In the early days, they were also cloth shoes or flat leather shoes.

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Cheongsam women student school

Different women may have different needs for cheongsam because of their different identities and occupations.

Generally speaking, there are three categories of dressing styles in terms of their occupations: female students, professional women, celebrities, and wives.

Let's look at the girl student pie first.

In the social structure at that time, the female student faction was the representative of the new women at that time.

There are a lot of big cities in Beijing and Tianjin.

What do girls wear in school? The regulations of the Republic of China stipulate that Qipao serve as a national costume.

In 1930, many middle schools and universities prescribed uniforms to cheongsam.

The colors are pure and plain, representing the female student's Qipao fashion.

Although the texture is relatively simple, the style is very new.

At that time, there were many activities for female students. To do exercises and play ball games, the school stipulates that on the existing cheongsam, the hem is raised by an inch above the knees, and the sleeves are also sleeved in western style.

In addition to female middle school students, there are also some female college students, who are relatively mature among students and occupations, and are more daring to pursue beauty than middle school students.

In the 30s of last century, female college students who wore perms and short cheongsam were generally more common.

Cheongsam women and dancers

Hu Die was the movie queen at that time. Although she was famous, she didn't have a high status.

You can imagine that this kind of professional characteristics will require dressing to attract attention.

This style of women's cheongsam style is more bold and more prominent.

In 1929, a dress called "Mei Mei dress" made a sensation in Changsha, which made Changsha women follow suit.

What is called "Mei Mei Zhuang"? This dress is named for Yang Naimei, a female star in Shanghai.

According to records at that time, when she was performing in Changsha, she wore "clothes as thin as cicada wings, with skin showing up, bare chest and arms, no clothes on top, no skirts under trousers".

In 1932, Xue Jingyuan, a famous social butterfly in Shanghai, was also ingenious. It created a fashion trend, with larger lace around it.

Women who were more curious at that time followed suit.

There were still some reports about the female stars, dancers and social costumes.

In 1929, an article in the Republic Daily said that many modern women wore the dress of the gauze, revealing their inner lining.

This cheongsam is basically permeable, very thin, and has very thin underwear inside. It really reaches the point where the skin is finished.

Since 1930s, due to the opening of social concepts, women's aesthetic standards and the courage to choose clothes have reached a very advanced level.

Cheongsam women's residence

Their social status is generally relatively high, or they are born in famous families, or married husbands of higher status, such as lawyers, Bank senior staff, etc.

Such ladies dress up in a more elegant manner.

Because of this social status and status, the economic conditions are very good.

Their choice must be very different from that of female students and dancing stars.

She did not have to be as plain as a girl student, and disdained to act like a dancing star.

Their cheongsam is very elegant and elegant. They show their identity and show no expression. The fabric they choose is very unique. When people pull this cheongsam fabric, they may choose in a pile of fabrics. However, some of the more exquisite ladies will choose a unique fabric for their cheongsam, according to their request, maybe they have only one cheongsam.

Now the star will also produce a crash suit, but not at that time, a fabric is specially tailored for the wife of the mansion.

The general residence is not made in the tailor's shop.

At that time, the largest tailor shop in Shanghai was Hongxiang company.

Hongxiang's master is very good, and of course the price is very expensive.

Mrs. mansion usually goes to Hongxiang company.

The fabric is exquisite and the style is elegant.

In this category, the top figures can be said to be Song Qingling and Song Meiling.

Song Meiling likes to wear black velvet cheongsam very much. She is wearing cheongsam and is active in the international political arena. She shows the Oriental women's demeanor in the world.

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Cheongsam and fashion culture

Hu Die was the movie queen at that time and made her the spokesman of the cheongsam cheongsam.

And the advertisement is very particular.

It is said that the cheongsam cloth made of cheongsam cloth is very simple and elegant without any decoration.

But Hu Die wore a necklace in his neck. The necklace was invaluable.

Therefore, the tension of the garment made of Yin Dan Lin cloth is very large, which is both noble and plain.

At that time, there were many ways to make cheongsam.

It can be done at a big fashion shop, like Hongxiang, which can be tailored to tailors or door-to-door.

There are still some hands that can be done by themselves.

Of course, the cheongsam that can lead fashion is certainly not from the hands of a small tailor or a self-employed person.

At that time, the famous fashion companies were Hongxiang company, the two brothers of Jin Hongxiang and Jin Yixiang.

The fashion company also dug a lot of tailors from them.

Hongxiang company is not satisfied with the current situation. It constantly recommends and packages its products, asks some stars to do endorsements, combines with fashion shows, and does lots of commercial advertisements.

When Hu Die married Pan Yousheng in October 23, 1935, Jin Yixiang, the owner of Hongxiang's own company, made a dress for her. The dress was covered with 100 butterflies, which coincide with Hu Die's name.

This event was very sensational. Hongxiang company took the opportunity to print Hu Die's photo into five or six inches and distribute it to customers.

In 1946, they also sponsored the draft show in Shanghai.

The cheongsam of this event is sponsored by Hongxiang.

This makes Hongxiang famous in Shanghai and in the fashion industry.

Fashion companies, together with the film industry and entertainment industry, have created the fashion trend of clothing.

At that time, the development of urban culture in Shanghai was very prosperous.

Movies, dramas, periodicals, newspapers, magazines and photo advertisements are all very prosperous.

It also played a role in promoting the fashion of Qipao.

At that time, newspapers and magazines opened many columns, including clothing columns, hired many artists to make fashion designs for them, and also reported many beauty contest and fashion contest information.

At that time, movie companies also had a group of fashion designers who designed a batch of new cheongsam according to the star's temperament and figure every time they had a new movie.

After the movie shows, the society will cause repercussions and sensations. Many women will imitate the stars' cheongsam in the movie to make some cheongsam.

Drama is actually a very important medium of communication.

Aesthetic constitution of Cheongsam

After understanding the history of cheongsam and knowing the story behind the cheongsam, let's take a look at the composition of cheongsam.

Each cheongsam is made up of many elements, including fabric, style, color, pattern, decoration and manufacturing process.

Silk is widely used in cheongsam fabrics because China is a country of silk.

Secondly, cotton cloth, including the just said shade cloth.

Silk and cotton cloth are the preferred fabrics for Chinese women, especially women in the Republic of China.

Besides, cheongsam's fabric is also related to the season of wearing. Qipao worn in winter also needs a lot of lining.

There are many kinds of lining, such as camel's hair, velvet, and even more noble fur.

In the Republic of China, some rich families had more fur.

Ordinary people use silk floss or cotton to make cotton Qipao.

The summer is more often using gauze.

Influenced by western dress culture, hollowed fabrics come in and are chosen by many women.

This permeable fabric is not only breathable and cool, but also reflects a kind of temperament and a little romance.

The early cheongsam style mainly adopts plane cutting.

In the later stage, it was completely cut in three dimensions.

If a garment is to be fitted with a suitable body, it is not like our normal master to measure two circumference, three circumference and length.

The cheongsam is really good. During the production process, the top 36 of the chef swatches must be tailored. The cheongsam made in this way is completely tailored for you.

When it comes to the sleeves of cheongsam, there are more changes.

It has long sleeves, short sleeves, or even sleeveless.

Some even reveal their shoulders.

Cheongsam's length also changed, and the early Peking style cheongsam was long.

But the Shanghai style cheongsam changed this phenomenon and gradually revealed high-heeled shoes.

Even revealing silk stockings, the length of cheongsam gradually shortened.

Some even reach this part of the knee.

But once again, the long cheongsam became popular and walked on to the floor to sweep the floor. This cheongsam was mostly used for evening gowns. It would be very inconvenient to wear such clothes in daily life.

Cheongsam collar changes more.

Sometimes the short collar is short and almost no collar. After 1933, there was once no collar cheongsam, with only one round neckline.

Another exaggeration is that the collar of the cheongsam is underneath, dug up into a U word, and the V collar has appeared, and even to the big open door of the chest, even a small suit collar and lapel has appeared, but more is the Yuanbao collar, which is an important element of the cheongsam.

Cheongsam collar is sometimes short to a few inches. When it is high, it even reaches to the ear. Some of the neckties are made of one button, others use two rows or even three rows and four rows of buttons.

Color and pattern of Cheongsam

Cheongsam is colorful, colorful, and all kinds of colors can be chosen.

All in all, young women use more colorful jumps, bright red, greenish and yellowish.

Women over the age of 30 may choose more stable colors, such as gray, blue, gray, gray green, coffee and so on.

By the age of 50, more choices were made in black.

When it comes to patterns, cheongsam patterns are much more varied.

In feudal society, Chinese people have no right to choose their favorite designs.

For example, dragon and phoenix patterns can not be used arbitrarily in feudal society.

But by the time of the Republic of China, some people would embroider the dragon and phoenix patterns on their cheongsam, which is quite common.

But after 30s, influenced by the European and American clothing custom, the traditional plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, dragon and Phoenix and flowers were used less and less, and the abstract geometry was used more.

For example, stripes have straight stripes, vertical stripes and oblique stripes.

Grid patterns, ripples and ripples are also more numerous. These patterns are generally better in shape and thin.

It is necessary to wear a straight clause in a fat body.

Abstract flowers are used more. Some people pform flower patterns to form geometric patterns, especially for young women.

Making process of Cheongsam

Chinese cheongsam's production techniques are quite different from those of Western costumes.

The quality of a cheongsam is important, but the more important thing is to do the work.

Summed up, there are 9 secrets.

The first is the "setting", the border process, with two different colors on the collar and edges of the cheongsam.

The second is "embedding", wrapped with a thin thread, with different cloth, and inlaid between cloth cracks.

The third is "roll". The roll is to slit the cloth. When we were young, we saw a roll bar when making shoes.

It can increase the fastness of clothes, usually in the outer layer of the cuffs and inside of the clothes.

The fourth is "delay", which is different from rolling, rolling in the outermost, and in the most inward.

The fifth is "disk", which refers to the technology of disk buttons.

A cheongsam sometimes costs less than one button for labor.

So the disk is an important technology. A good master can produce hundreds of tricks.

The sixth is "embroidery", instead of the brush with embroidery needles, instead of the color with fine embroidery thread, with different needles, the cloth is punctured up and down, and the pattern is depicted according to needs.

The seventh is "paste", with cloth paste pattern, paste after the surrounding line sewing.

The eighth is "painting", which is much more hand painted, with ink and fine brushwork.

In the Hai Pai cheongsam, the use of fine brushwork is quite a few.

The ninth is the "nail", that is, using a piece of light material beads to make it into one section, small, and nail patterns on the cheongsam. Under the irradiation of the light, there will be a strong reflection and a special effect.