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Chinese Dress Qipao / Cheongsam
The History:
Qipao / Cheongsam is an elegant type of Chinese dress. This close－fitting dress with a high neck and the slits on the sides, comes from China's Manchu Nationality.
General:
Qipao, the classic dress for Chinese women, combines the elaborate elegance of Chinese tradition with unique elements of style. The high-necked, closed-collar Qipao / Cheongsam, with a loose chest, fitting waist, and the attractive slits, is one of the most versatile costumes in the world. It can be long or short, some with full, medium, short or even no sleeves at all - to suit different occasions, weather and individual tastes. : Cheongsam Chinese Dress Fashion
The Qipao / Cheongsam can display all women's modesty, softness and beauty. Like Chinese women's temperament, the Qipao / Cheongsam is elegant and gentle, its long-standing elegance and serenity makes wearers fascinating. Mature women in Qipao / Cheongsam can display their graceful refined manner. A Qipao / Cheongsam almost varies with a woman's figure. : Cheongsam Chinese Dress Fashion
What serves as a worthy testament to the beauty of the Qipao / Cheongsam is, however, it does not require the wearer to pep up the look with accessories like scarves and belts. Designed to show off the natural softness of the female form, this kind of Chinese fashion also creates the illusion of slender legs. The overall picture: practical, yet sexy.Cheongsam Dress
Because of its particular charm Qipao / Cheongsam is like a wonderful flower in the colorful fashion scene. Another beauty of the Qipao / Cheongsam is that it is made of different materials and can be worn either on casual or formal occasions. Chinese Fashion
In either case, Chinese dresses Qipao / Cheongsam create an impression of simple and quiet charm, elegance and attraction. With distinctive Chinese features Qipao / Cheongsam enjoys a growing popularity in the international world of high fashion. Chinese Fashion 2017
The name
In Northern China, e.g. Beijing, the term "Qipao" is popular - for the term's origin please have a look at the history of Qipao. In Southern regions the Qipao is also known as "Cheongsam". Cheongsam means "long dress", entered the English vocabulary from the dialect of China's Guangdong Province (Cantonese)
Legend: Cheongsam Chinese Dress Fashion
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. Cheongsam Chinese Dress Fashion 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.Chinese Qipao Dress
We do not know whether the story is true or not. But one thing is certain. The Cheongsam came from the Manchus who grew out of ancient Nuzhen tribes. In the early 17th century, Nurhachi, a great political and military strategist, unified the various Nuzhen tribes and set up the Eight Banners System. Over the years, a collarless, tube-shaped gown was developed, which was worn by both men and women. That is the embryo of the Qipao. The dress is called Qipao in Chinese or translated as "banner gown", for it came from the people who lived under the Banner System. Cheongsam Chinese Dress Fashion
