From Shortage To Abundance: 70 Years Of Clothing Changes Witness The Rise Of China's Industry

Editor's note: Clothing is the first place in clothing, food and shelter. In the 70 years since the founding of new China, people's material has become increasingly abundant. Clothing has also become colorful with the development of the economy and the improvement of people's living standards. There are new clothes from sewing and patch to three seasons to every quarter. Until now, people's clothes are no longer monotonous, single style, costumes are diversified, styles are personalized, production emphasizes technology, and fabrics tend to be high-grade. From the fashionable "foreign cloth" to the "MadeinChina" nowadays, the world's stage is shining brilliantly.


From the early days of the founding of the PRC, "new three years, old three years, sewing and making up for three years" and then to the "blue, black, gray and green" theme of the whole street, and then to 80s, "bell bottoms" and "bodybuilding pants" became popular for a while, and then to the branding, individuation and high-end customization. In the past 70 years since the founding of the people's Republic of China, people's clothing has been keeping warm from the shelter to become more comfortable and outstanding personality and aesthetic feeling. The change of costumes not only tells us how China is going from waste to prosperity, but every change of clothing also represents the progress of China's economic development and consumption upgrading.


From shortage to abundance and going abroad: 70 years witnessed the rise of Chinese clothing industry


"New three years, old three years, sewing three years"


Grandma Deng is more than 70 years old. She was sitting on the sofa wearing a pair of presbyopic glasses, giving our beloved Premier Zhou Enlai a nightwear, and there were several patches on her pajamas. Many people are impressed by this text in the Chinese textbook.


In the early days of the founding of the people's Republic of China, patches were too common. In fact, some people don't even have a decent patch of clothes. They are all caused by the shortage of materials. Mr. Wang, 73, recalls.


Uncle Wang told reporters that in 50s and 60s, because of the economic conditions, clothes were not only color and style monotonous, almost every piece would become "Chuan Jiabao". At that time, the young children wore coarse clothes, shoes were hand-made cloth shoes, and the young girls wore the very popular Biraghi dress from the Soviet Union, while the young man was a Chinese tunic suit. For ordinary workers and peasants, they are frock clothes. At that time, the most fashionable dress was blue or gray strap, overalls and white shirts.


"In the era of ticket purchase, big brother wore small clothes, and his second brother wore it. But when I was wearing it, it was already broken, and I could not see the original color or patches. The oldest old man recalled the clothes of that era, and the most talked about was the story of big brother and second brother.


"Do not love red dress, love arms"


It is worth mentioning that by 60s, influenced by poetry, "no love for red dress and love," military uniform is the most fashionable and revolutionary garment, especially among young students. A large number of workers, peasants, teachers, cadres and intellectuals also wore military uniform.


The 60s wedding photo is basically a uniform standard of green army uniform, which shows that Chinese people are obsessed with military uniform at that time.


Clothes go with fashion.


Most people's impression of the movie "Hawthorn love" is not only the pure love, but also the attention of the protagonist wearing the "Dacron" shirt in the crowd. Indeed, for those who grew up in the 70s and 80s of last century, there must be "Dacron" in deep memory. At that time, with the beginning of China's textile industry, this kind of cloth that could produce many kinds of colors without cotton could not only cause a fashion trend, but also end the coarse cloth era of "big change, old renovation, patch and patch".


"When I was a child, many pieces of Dacron dress, shirts and trousers were tender pink, goose yellow and light blue." Wang Fang, born in 1975, recalls.


In the early 80s, with the development of China's reform and opening up and the development of agriculture and light textile industry, the supply of cloth became more and more abundant, and there were more and more kinds of cotton textiles and chemical fiber products. China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and even some of the world's most popular clothes have begun to enter the Chinese market. For example, accompanied by thunderbolt jeans, body building trousers, bell bottoms and bat shirts, not only the color and style of clothes are no longer monotonous, but also the trend clothing is changing rapidly.


By the 90s of last century, with the development of the economy, the income and living standard were constantly improving, and the clothing market was also flourishing. Besides the style, the brand, texture and fabric of clothes also became the choice standard when buying. Dressing is no longer for keeping away from cold and warmth, but for the expression of temperament, taste and attitude towards life. It is also the constant pursuit of a better life. This is seen from a common saying at that time: "no matter how many officials, they all wear jackets, no matter how big they are, they wear body pants."


Fashion and environmental protection in the new century


After experiencing the shortage of clothing market from the shortage to the surplus, since 90s, Chinese people have no longer blindly pursued fashion or only valued clothes in their choice of clothes. Instead, they began to take the initiative to choose some high-end and comfortable clothing with beautiful appearance and practicality. "Poor mink, rich cotton, big money casual" jingle is the main theme of people's clothing - nature, health, environmental protection, fashion. Moreover, more emphasis is placed on quality and taste. More and more people no longer pursue expensive and famous brands, but prefer small clothes such as customization and private kitchen to show their taste through reasonable collocation. "More and more personalities, more and more diverse, more and more beautiful" become a vivid and powerful portrayal of Chinese costumes since the new century.


On the other hand, during this period, changes in Chinese clothing were also reflected in the purchase channels. With China's accession to the WTO, opening up efforts and the rise of the Internet, Chinese people are no longer limited to commercial super stores and stores, and the popularity of Internet shopping is becoming increasingly popular.


Chinese clothing elements go global


Besides, during this period, Chinese clothing elements also gradually moved towards the world. In 2014, during the APEC period in Shanghai, the leaders of the participating economies wore the traditional Chinese costumes, commonly known as "Tang costume", in front of the Shanghai science and technology museum building, which became a highlight of the event. Moreover, all kinds of elements, such as patterns and colors with Chinese national characteristics, have been incorporated into the design concept of the major brand clothing, and a "most dazzling national wind" has been quietly blowing up abroad. Silk, which has thousands of years of history in China, has become the favorite new fashion favored by foreign markets because of its soft and smooth material and special health care functions.