In a woman’s life, she seem to have an inextricable connection with clothes. Although a variety of colorful and dazzling costumes can be chosen, what makes women miss most is the graceful cheongsam. Cheongsam takes the lead in women’s clothing and women has countless ambiguous feelings with cheongsam. Recently, thousands of women in cheongsam held a grand gathering to “Promote cheongsam culture and cultivate elegant temperament” and called for the creation of cheongsam day on which every Chinese woman will wear cheongsam to show her elegant, noble, gentle and subtle temperament. The establishment of cheongsam day can carry forward the cheongsam culture of the Chinese nation, arouse people’s attention to traditional culture, promote people’s understanding of traditional Chinese culture, and inherit the beauty of cheongsam culture, which has once again aroused the cheongsam craze in China. Cheongsam is also known as Qipao. With “Qi” in the word, cheongsam has always been inseparable from the Manchu history. Originated from the traditional Manchu women’s clothing, cheongsam was originally a kind of straight and loose robe, with upper garment and lower skirt connected. Its fabric was luxuriant and soft silks and satins, with complicated edge piping process. From the 1920s to the early 1930s, cheongsam was quite in fashion. At that time, the cheongsam was tailored and designed to be feminized. With its unique combination of Chinese and western styles, cheongsam led the women’s wear and became the symbol of new woman. The design of cheongsam introduces more western-style clothing elements, such as sleeves, shoulder pads and zippers, so cheongsam is called a modified cheongsam. At that time, the changes of cheongsam style mainly focused on collar, sleeve and length. Its sleeve changes from wide to narrow, from long to short, while its hem changes from long to short, then from short to long, completely with the changes of the times. Some people say that the essence of cheongsam lies in its high stiff collar and proper waistline design. I quite agree with this view. The high stand-up collar makes the woman involuntarily look up, and the proper waistline design fully reflects the woman’s figure. At that time, cheongsam was popular with high collar first, and the higher the collar, the more fashionable it was. Even in midsummer, the thin cheongsam must be matched with a stiff collar high up to the ears. Later, cheongsam with low collar became in vogue gradually. The lower the collar, the more fashionable it is. When the collar is at the lowest, women simply wear cheongsam without collar. The same is true for sleeve changes. There was a time when cheongsam with long sleeves was popular, with sleeves longer than wrists. There was also a time when cheongsam with short sleeves was popular, with sleeves as short to elbows. The cheongsam style had changed from wide to narrow, with shorter sleeves or no sleeves, and slits on both sides of the legs, revealing the graceful figure of Chinese women. Cheongsam makes women more confident and attractive. How can it not be admired? Therefore, I have a special liking to cheongsam which has evolved from classical to modern. I like its combination, its elegance, its classical charm, its dignity and grace, and the gentle walking of ancient women. Subconsciously, I even wish I could travel back to the poetic and picturesque era of “Dry vine, old tree, crows at dust. Low bridge, stream running, cottages”.

In a woman’s life, she seem to have an inextricable connection with clothes. Although a variety of colorful and dazzling costumes can be chosen, what makes women miss most is the graceful cheongsam. Cheongsam takes the lead in women’s clothing and women has countless ambiguous feelings with cheongsam. Recently, thousands of women in cheongsam held a grand gathering to “Promote cheongsam culture and cultivate elegant temperament” and called for the creation of cheongsam day on which every Chinese woman will wear cheongsam to show her elegant, noble, gentle and subtle temperament. The establishment of cheongsam day can carry forward the cheongsam culture of the Chinese nation, arouse people’s attention to traditional culture, promote people’s understanding of traditional Chinese culture, and inherit the beauty of cheongsam culture, which has once again aroused the cheongsam craze in China. Cheongsam is also known as Qipao. With “Qi” in the word, cheongsam has always been inseparable from the Manchu history. Originated from the traditional Manchu women’s clothing, cheongsam was originally a kind of straight and loose robe, with upper garment and lower skirt connected. Its fabric was luxuriant and soft silks and satins, with complicated edge piping process. From the 1920s to the early 1930s, cheongsam was quite in fashion. At that time, the cheongsam was tailored and designed to be feminized. With its unique combination of Chinese and western styles, cheongsam led the women’s wear and became the symbol of new woman. The design of cheongsam introduces more western-style clothing elements, such as sleeves, shoulder pads and zippers, so cheongsam is called a modified cheongsam. At that time, the changes of cheongsam style mainly focused on collar, sleeve and length. Its sleeve changes from wide to narrow, from long to short, while its hem changes from long to short, then from short to long, completely with the changes of the times.