Qipao
Qipao (旗袍) is a long body-hugging one-piece Chinese dress for women. The long gown was weared by Qiren, which is the title that the Han people in the Central Plains called the Manchu People.
In 1921, it was in vogue when it was a loose-fitting, straight-bottom, broad sleeved blue-cloth Qipao with no decorative patterns on the collar, fronts and lower hem, the hem of which reached the ankles. It looked cold and upright. Influenced by the trend of times, Qipao underwent many changes in the length, waist measurement, collar and sleeves.
After the 1930s, the Qipao changed with each passing day. At the beginning, the high collar was very much in vogue, being as high as to reach the cheek. Later, the low collar began to be fashionable. The original sleeves were long enough to cover the wrist, but then became shorter, reaching the mid-forearms, the exposing the elbows, then reaching to the middle part of the upper arm; finally, the Qipao was made with no sleeves at all. Its hem was long enough to reach the feet and then became knee-length.
Apart from the two sides of the hem, the slits were also made on the front with the hem in the shape of arc. Apart from the traditional jacquard brocade, light and thin cotton cloth, hemp cloth and silk with printed pattern were also used as materials. The collar, sleeves and front had decorative but not complicated patterns.
China’s traditional garments did not give prominence to the waist, but as the women in the 20th century increasingly pursued the curvy figure, the Qipao became the ideal garment to display a sexy female body.
