The History of Cheongsam Dress

Girl's traditional Chinese dresses are called QiPaos or qi pao and is the traditional Chinese clothing. It was started to be worn during the Ching Dynasty (1644-1911 AD), which was established by the Manchu people who were from Northern China. It is now worn for formal occasions such as weddings, engagements, and on the Chinese New Year. The Ching Dynasty in also spelled Qing Dynasty. Traditionally elements include brocaded cloth, frog knots, and mandarin collars. Cheongsam is the Cantonese word, that is often used in English for QiPao. After the communist took over, wearing of the QiPao in China was seen as capitalistic during Mao's era.

The cheongsam is a traditional chinese dress that has a long history since its inception. Cheongsam as they are known today means 'long dress', but they were originally known as qipao. They first appeared in the 17th century China during the Qing Dynasty in its basic form. It was basically a one-piece suit dress that covered the wearer from neck to foot and were long-sleeved. There were some variants that consisted of a two-piece dress set, a pair of trousers with long overdress. QiPaos are made out of many materials, with the high end ones made out of beads (like the one I wore for my wedding) and are often custom made. In weddings, the bride will often have multiple QiPaos. The traditional color for weddings is Red (a good luck color in Chinese).  In the movie, In The Mood For Love, the female protagonist wears beautiful QiPaos.

Over the years the qipao dress had evolved from a single long wide fitting dress to its body hugging fit today. In its original form, the qipao was more of a functional piece of clothing and did protect the modesty of the wearer. Depending on the social class of the individual, they were often decorated with beautiful embroidery. This type of chinese dress is typical of 17th Century and 18th Century China. Over the years, as the qipao evolved, it became more stylized and in the 1920s it was modernized to become more fitted to the wearer. With the more flattering and sexier look, the qipao was increasingly worn by high-class courtesans and celebrities, this popularized this style of oriental dress. As the style of the dress evolved, it started to become known more as cheongsam (or long dress).

The modern Cheongsam Dress is a piece of chinese clothing that is considered quite sexy and extremely feminine. As such they are ideally worn at certain social functions where the lady wants to stand out from the crowd and wear something a little different. There are so many styles today that some could be worn day to day but more often than not, these chinese dresses are saved for very special occasions. Most cheongsam dresses are bought online from Internet retailers and are usually made in China but shipped worldwide. A cheongsam chinese dress made anywhere but China just wouldn't be the same!