Feminine Fashion in the 1920’s- 旗袍

What better time is it to dress traditionally, than Chinese New Year?  旗袍 better known as cheongsam, originating in the 1920’s, is well known in Chinese culture. Wearing a 旗袍 to any traditional Chinese festival adds style, elegance and culture to your style. But where did this design come from?

旗袍 is a traditional Chinese dress dating back to the Qing dynasty in 1912. During this time, there was a new cultural movement for the emancipation and education of women.  旗袍 is a symbol of empowerment to females in the Chinese culture.  Women that were teachers and students evolved from the traditional robes like  (the traditional male garment) to create 旗袍.  Until the 1920’s, men and women were accustomed to the loose-fitting wardrobe worn nationwide.

Although very form-fitting, wearing a 旗袍 is very comfortable due to the soft silk and careful detailed work put into making the dress.  Another aspect of the 旗袍 design is the slit on the side of the dress to enable movement and again, add comfort to the wearer.  Each 旗袍 is specifically tailored to the wearer and is made usually over the span of 4-5 days. Throughout time, the design of the 旗袍 has adapted to Western design and gained popularity all over Asia while still retaining its cultural beauty.

To explain the design of the 旗袍, there is a famous tale about a fisherwoman and an emperor. In the story, the fisherwoman is hindered by her long, ill-fitted clothing causing her to design the 旗袍. After getting married to the emperor, the 旗袍 became famous.  The legend that is often associated with the creation of the 旗袍 is:

There is a legend that a young fisherwoman lived by the Jingbo Lake. She was not only beautiful, but also clever and skillful. But when fishing, she often felt hindered by her long and loose fitting dress. Then an idea struck her: why not make a more practical dress for work?She got down to sewing and produced a long multi-looped-button gown with slits, which enabled her to tuck in the front piece of her dress, thus making her job much easier. As a fisherwoman, she never dreamed that a fortune would befall on her.

The young emperor who ruled China at that time had a dream one night. In the dream, his dead father told him that a lovely fisherwoman in Qipao by the Jingbo Lake would become his queen. After awakening from his deep sleep, the emperor sent his men to look for her. Sure enough, there she was!So she became the queen, bringing her Cheongsam with her. Manchu women all followed suit and soon the Qipao became popular.”

旗袍 has evolved throughout the decades, but it has never been forgotten. 旗袍 represents the traditional Chinese spirit along with the modern style of China. Who knows what China will bring next?

Sources:

https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-cheongsam/

http://www.my-qipao.com/qipaofct_engl/qipaofc1.html

http://www.chinatoday.com/culture/qipao/qipao.htm

There are 6 comments

  1. Hitomi Honda

    Wow, I never knew about the history of 旗袍 and really enjoyed reading the tale of the emperor and the fisherwoman! I also learned that there was a thought into designing the dress, such as using silk to make it more comfortable. Thanks for sharing!

  2. Gloria Cheng

    This is so interesting! I never knew about how the history of 旗袍 originated from a fisherwoman! I also enjoyed learning about how each 旗袍 is specifically tailored to the wearer and is made usually over the span of 4-5 days. Great article!

  3. Jillian Davis

    I’ve always loved the look of 旗袍 but I never knew how efficient they are as well. It was so interesting to learn the origin of the 旗袍!

  4. Jessica Chen

    I didn’t know that 旗袍 is a traditional Chinese dress from the Qing dynasty! I also didn’t know that the design is based on a tale about a fisherwoman and an emperor.

  5. Darren Cen

    I always loved the look of 旗袍 but I never really knew the history behind it. It was very interesting to learn all about the 旗袍!

Comments are closed.