Chinese Dress

[maisie]

I have seen a couple of chinese dress on ebay that are advertised as being from the 40's. So I was wondering, as they are so pretty :rolleyes:, whether anyone knows if they were worn in the 40's or not?[huh] Or whether they were a later fashion item? i just think they would go great with a pair of high platforms!!!:)

Thanks! :D

[LittleArquette]

Hmm. I've also seen a lot of Chinese dresses claiming to be 40's and 50's. I'd search on google and see!

[mysterygal]

Without looking at the dress I can't say for sure, but the other day I was looking through an old Sears catalog and there were a few chinese 'inspired' dresses. Personally, I think the look is adorable....so..get those platforms and be stylin' . :D

[decodoll]

I have one that my uncle brought back from Hong Kong for my mother in the mid-1960's. I'm sure they existed in the 40's and 50's. I'm just not sure when they became popular as anything more than traditional chinese costume.

[Rosie]

Looking at sewing patterns, I think it was a more '50s thing. I bought one from e bay about 4 years ago and I LOVE it. I always get complments when I wear it.

[swankysister]

Apparently, there was a strong art deco/oriental influence (that I'm just starting to investigate) which included the incorporation of cheong-sam-style dress into those times. (It seems to be a little like the Egyptian influence on 1920-1940 dress in correspondence with excavations of certain pyramids).

[Fu Manchu]

Hi Ladies,

Sorry to have "peeked" - this topic turned up in my search of recent posts and I couldn't help but click on the link.

I'm pretty sure that you are talking about a Chinese dress called a Qi Pao. The style originated in "swingin'" Shanghai just after the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1919. While there are many styles of Qi Pao, they are all designed to be form fitting yet loose enough to do some dancing. Hey, it was called swingin' Shanghai for a reason!

Examples of this style of dress are best preserved in cigarette advertisements of the time:

http://www.onlineoriental.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1&Product_Code=ga370&Category_Code=pos

In the mainland, the style died out when the communists took over. It was seen as too bourgeoise. In Taiwan and Hong Kong, it is still worn on fancy occasions like weddings or fancy balls. "Shanghai-trained" Tailors in Hong Kong still make them to order.

Oh, and Kirsten Dunst wears one in the movie Spiderman.

Fu Manchu

[BellyTank]

... but my Wife wears these styles... she's an Exotic Beauty and prefers exotic dress. She's all about silk, sarees and salwars.

This type of dress is also known as the Cheongsam, I believe- very popular up until the Chinese Revolution of '49.

You can readily find them new- from cheap to big bucks.
Chinatown and Asian Boutique fare...

They can be cap-sleeve, no sleeve, halter neck, etc. and the details, fabrics and embroidery are absolutely endless.
Great for that Vintage Exotic and Hula look, flowers in the hair and all.

I love 'em.


http://www.eaststore.com/catalog/category_2_Women_Dresses.html
http://www.orienttouch.com/index.php?cPath=23_25&sort=4a
http://asianideas.com/qipao.html
http://www.chinavista.com/experience/qipao/qipao.html

Happy shopping- and please excuse my gate-crashing.

B
T

[LaMedicine]

The Chinese dresses are also called "Mandarin dress" and I think you can often find them under that name in online vintage shops and in eBay.

[Kathleen Klein]

Pajamas in the chinese style are great too.
Made in very soft cotton. They are so comfy
and you can sleep or lounge in them.
Mostly they are made for children.
Has anyone found them for adults?
Chinatown shops always have great finds.
Little slippers and such.

[mysterygal]

I LOVE the look of silk chinese dresses...I've been kicking myself in the rear for not buying this one dress, now, it's impossible finding a cute cinese dress:(

[BettyValentine]

You can find new qi bao/cheongsam/"mandarin dresses" in any Chinatown for like $40. I find that qi bao that fit well are *extremely* flattering on curvy figures. Hard to find them to fit like that, though. Off the rack they are typically very roomy in the waist if they fit around the bust & hips. Someday I'll have one made at Shanghai Tang... they're excessively beautiful, but they start around 1000.
You can get them *very* cheaply in China if you know someone who is going. My fiance had one made for me in Shanghai when he was there on a dig this summer.
I'm totally obsessed with Chinese ads from the mid-20s to 30s...Also with Chinese costume dramas. (Gong Li is in like all of them, and she is probably the most beautiful woman in the world.)

Now I very badly want to dress like the Dragon Lady from Terry and the Pirates!

BV

[magneto]

To sort of touch back on the original post, I would not be surprised if the influence of "Chinoiserie" started seeping in Western women's fashions in the 1930s; there was a great deal of popular awareness of China at the time. The huge popularity of "The Good Earth"; in the US there was a lot of popular sympathy for China (as it was being invaded by the "evil" Japanese); and the drives for "China relief" and such, and cultural awareness arguably manifests itself most visibly through clothes. I am sure I have seen 30s Chinese-style lounging pajamas, Mandarin collars on blouses, etc. Whether that means it was still fashionable in the 40s, I don't know. (Well, Madame Chiang Kai-Shek was held up as a fashion icon when she and her husband were visiting the US...) Perhaps someone else knows more than me.

[Brooksie]

I read a book one time about a girl whose great grandma was a young lady in the 1920's and wore this Chinese style of dress during that time and then passed the dress on down the generations and the main character in the story ended up with the dress but the book was fiction. There seemed to be some previous posts where others offer more reliable advice but what the book said seems to confirm the general era.

:offtopic:
Plus I have a very funny story to share about this style of dress...I have always called them Suzy Wong dresses and I do not know how I came up with that but I think I heard it called that before. I have wanted one for like... ever and I was shopping at Buffalo Exchange (a chain of vintage & retro stores here in Oregon and other places in the US) several years ago and I found one of these dresses and I tried it on and I absolutly could not get the thing off!!!! It was so tight it was stuck on my body....keep in mind that I am not a big gal by any means (5 foot 2 and 106 lbs then and now) I had to leave the dressing room with the dress on and get a sales girl and we went back to the dressing room and she had to grab a pair of sissors and literally cut it off of me! She knew I was quite mortified because I could not ever beleive some one would ever have to cut clothing off of my body!!! She did not even make me pay for the dress because I think she figured I had been through enough humiliation for one day.

I did eventually end up buying one a few years later that does actually fit (that I found in China town in Portland Oregon and I love it!) and I do have a pair of the chinese pajamas too that I bought at a store in Portland called Naked City. Several years ago I found a fabulous chinese silk jacket that is vintage at a yard sale for .50 cents and it is in surprisingly great shape for the price and where I found it and also for the age of the garment. I have a lot of chinese inspired pieces... it was almost like after that goofy incident it almost became like a trademark of sorts for me.

Brooksie

[DancingSweetie]

I read a book one time about a girl whose great grandma was a young lady in the 1920's and wore this Chinese style of dress during that time and then passed the dress on down the generations and the main character in the story ended up with the dress but the book was fiction. There seemed to be some previous posts where others offer more reliable advice but what the book said seems to confirm the general era.

:offtopic:
Plus I have a very funny story to share about this style of dress...I have always called them Suzy Wong dresses and I do not know how I came up with that but I think I heard it called that before. I have wanted one for like... ever and I was shopping at Buffalo Exchange (a chain of vintage & retro stores here in Oregon and other places in the US) several years ago and I found one of these dresses and I tried it on and I absolutly could not get the thing off!!!! It was so tight it was stuck on my body....keep in mind that I am not a big gal by any means (5 foot 2 and 106 lbs then and now) I had to leave the dressing room with the dress on and get a sales girl and we went back to the dressing room and she had to grab a pair of sissors and literally cut it off of me! She knew I was quite mortified because I could not ever beleive some one would ever have to cut clothing off of my body!!! She did not even make me pay for the dress because I think she figured I had been through enough humiliation for one day.

I did eventually end up buying one a few years later that does actually fit (that I found in China town in Portland Oregon and I love it!) and I do have a pair of the chinese pajamas too that I bought at a store in Portland called Naked City. Several years ago I found a fabulous chinese silk jacket that is vintage at a yard sale for .50 cents and it is in surprisingly great shape for the price and where I found it and also for the age of the garment. I have a lot of chinese inspired pieces... it was almost like after that goofy incident it almost became like a trademark of sorts for me.

Brooksie

You must have heard them called Suzie Wong from the William Holden movie, The World of Suzie Wong.

[DancingSweetie]

I have seen a couple of chinese dress on ebay that are advertised as being from the 40's. So I was wondering, as they are so pretty :rolleyes:, whether anyone knows if they were worn in the 40's or not?[huh] Or whether they were a later fashion item? i just think they would go great with a pair of high platforms!!!:)

Thanks! :D

Be careful if you buy it on Ebay from companies in China, the sizes run VERY small. My preteen daughter ordered one in an extra large, since she wears about a 12 to 14 in misses sizes. When it arrived it was so small it fit my 8 year old, and she is not a big girl.

[Marc Chevalier]

Ladies, prepare to have your socks knocked off:


http://www.eaststore.com/cart.php?target=category&category_id=35

http://www.eaststore.com/cart.php?target=category&category_id=35&pageID=1

http://www.eaststore.com/cart.php?target=category&category_id=35&pageID=2

http://www.eaststore.com/cart.php?target=category&category_id=35&pageID=3



.

[LaMedicine]

Be careful if you buy it on Ebay from companies in China, the sizes run VERY small. My preteen daughter ordered one in an extra large, since she wears about a 12 to 14 in misses sizes. When it arrived it was so small it fit my 8 year old, and she is not a big girl.
You have to keep in mind Asian women are petite compared to American women, so their sizes would probably be locally oriented, rather than with Ameircan stature in mind, even if they say for Americans. I am tall for a Japanese female, 5'5", BMI 22, and wear size 11 or L in Japanese sizes, but when I look for clothes in American stores I fit into size 4 or 6, and depending on the cut, even S turns out a bit loose on me.
It would be best to confirm the actual measurements before ordering, both in the three sizes, and in length as well.

[Katydid]

Ladies, prepare to have your socks knocked off:


http://www.eaststore.com/cart.php?target=category&category_id=35

http://www.eaststore.com/cart.php?target=category&category_id=35&pageID=1

http://www.eaststore.com/cart.php?target=category&category_id=35&pageID=2

http://www.eaststore.com/cart.php?target=category&category_id=35&pageID=3



.
Very beautiful Marc! I've always wanted a dress like this but don't have a formal enough occasion to wear one! Sad.

[Brooksie]

You must have heard them called Suzie Wong from the William Holden movie, The World of Suzie Wong.

Funny... I have never even heard of this movie before?

Brooksie

[Honey Doll]

Whirling Turban makes a cool 40s styled Suzy Wong dress. Check here...


http://www.whirlingturban.com/40s%20suzy%20wong.htm


I don't own this one, but have another dress and the girls do fabulous work!

Honey Doll

[BegintheBeguine]

The loanword cheongsam appeared around 1952. The style is older than that and still around today. www.mccallspatterns.com styles M4369 and M3826.. I own at least 3 cheongsam, two from the early 60s which I got on separate occasions at the thrift store, and one modern. There are some beautiful ones to be seen in the VHS or DVD of In the Mood for Love which takes place in the early 60s. We children were not allowed to watch "Suzie Wong" when it came on TV because she was a prostitute :eek: . Or maybe beacuse it was such an idealized view of the life? lol

[mysterygal]

Bellytank, those are great websites! My favorite by far is the orient touch one...not too bad price wise and I absolutely love some of the elegant dresses on that site.

[Darhling]

reviving this fab thread! I have been thinking about getting a 40's chinese dress for quite a while and was wondering if any of you have had luck with finding great chinese dresses online? I worry about too cheap material, small sizes etc.

[TessTrueheart]

reviving this fab thread! I have been thinking about getting a 40's chinese dress for quite a while and was wondering if any of you have had luck with finding great chinese dresses online? I worry about too cheap material, small sizes etc.
You can have one tailor made for you, in your choice of material at this site: www.efushop.com

[Darhling]

You can have one tailor made for you, in your choice of material at this site: www.efushop.com

wow thanks!!! I feel like a kid in a candystore!

[Miss 1929]

for the ones on Ebay, though. There are tons of them popping up in the 20s-40s areas of vintage on Ebay, and seldom are they anything but new polyester ones. Read the descriptions carefully.
It's gotten to the point where I have had to put "-chinese" on all my searches because of the vast amounts of crap they are always putting in the wrong category. Reporting it to Ebay doesn't do a thing.

[TessTrueheart]

wow thanks!!! I feel like a kid in a candystore!

Great! I look forward to seeing what you choose. I bought a dress from them last year. If I remember to, I'll take a picture of it tomorrow!

[Inky]

okay, that settles it. i had a cheongsam made for me (ebay seller over 8 years ago) and never ever wore it. i'm digging it out this weekend and taking it in to fit!

darhling, show us what you pick out!

[ShoreRoadLady]

I love cheongsams! I tried making one for myself some years back, but it didn't work out. Now, I'd like to try it again, and do it right this time. They're just too yummy!

[Darhling]

I can't seem to find THE fabric for the dress. I know I want it to be calf lenght, with short/capped sleeves and the high collar. i don't want the print to be too small, but I am thinking big flowers of some kind, maybe cherry blossoms.

Would royal blue look good to me you think? or perhaps a deep purple? eeh, need suggestions.

INKY! get that dress out!

[texasgirl]

I agree with you Miss 1929. Drives me crazy. Why don't they make them put them in the reproduction category!!! It's not like it's one or two that get mixed in with all the vintage, it's hundreds!

[Vix Vixen]

Here's a picture of me with some family and friends 6 years ago before homecoming. I got the dress from china town. My cousin (very left in blue) altered it to fit me because it was too loose in the waist area (oh I'd kill to have that figure back). I'm right smack-dab in the middle with the lavendar dress. This is just one of 2 poses I have a pic of. I don't like that I'm slouching in this one (you can tell I'm slouching as the fabric is loose in the chest area in this picture:eusa_doh: ) [sorry for the scratches and blurryness. this is an old picture that been kept out in the open. its been sitting on my husband's desk for the last 4 years as its his "favorite" picture of me]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v725/chubchubb/pic-2.jpg

These dresses are FUN FUN FUN! I tell you, especially when in a group, all eyes were on us that homecoming night. Whenever I look at this photo, it reminds me of those asian girls from the heaven on earth massage parlor in Rush Hour 2lol.
But yea, you ladies should definitely get one.

[Darhling]

^ that is an amazing picture! You look very beautiful and I can see why it would be a favorite :)

I might need help in determining what type of silk is good for these dresses? I am thinking it can crease easily, so perhaps a blend?

[Josephine]

I wish I looked better in a high necked dress. :(

Oh, and don't forget, there's a Trashy Diva Asia dress similar to these for sale in the Classifieds. (not mine :))

[MissS]

Darhling, yes these dresses can crease around the hips very easily and both silk brocade and pure silk have no stretch, so make sure you don't order it skin tight.

If buying vintage, ensure you check the neck measurement, as many of the vintage qi pao were tailor made and yes, the asian ladies can be quite tiny.

I have a number of qi pao and wear them often, not just on special occasions, so ladies, don't feel shy to pull them out of your closet!