Your first qipao
Also called the cheongsam. A fitted dress with a standing collar, born in 1920s Shanghai and still worn to weddings and New Year dinners.
A hundred years in four pictures
Loose Manchu robes. Qipao means banner robe.
Shanghai slims it down. Film stars wear it.
The golden age. Higher slits, shorter sleeves.
Weddings, New Year, red carpets.
Choose in three steps
1. Know the parts
1
Mandarin collarStands up, closes at the throat.
2
Frog buttonsKnotted cord, not plastic.
3
Side openingCurves from collar to armpit.
4
Side slitLets you walk.
2. Choose your style
Good for Dinners, everyday · Luck, weddings, New Year
At a Chinese wedding, leave red to the bride.
3. Find your size
–
A qipao barely stretches. Between two sizes, take the larger one.
One dress. Made to fit.
Silk for evenings, brocade for weddings, linen and hemp for every day. Each dress lists its real measurements.
