I went to the cheongsam (in Cantonese), or qipao (in Mandarin), exhibit at the Hong Kong Museum of History yesterday. It was a small exhibit, but I quite enjoyed it. To get there by MTR, you go to East Tsim Sha Tsui then walk along the footpath until you see the Museum of History and the Science Museum side by side.
They are currently doing an exhibit on dinosaurs at the science museum. In keeping with that theme, they have cleverly dotted various animated dinosaurs all over the plaza.
The qipao evolved from the late Qing dynasty style when women wore very loose gowns and two pieces.
Cheongsams are considered quite traditional today. I do not know of any woman under the age of 40 who would wear one except at her wedding, or if she was a celebrity (and then it would be a "fusion" style). However, back in the day, it was a very daring and fashion forward dress that actually caused quite a scandal with its figure hugging lines and leg slits. Apparently it was the demand for the qipao that caused the huge rise in professional tailors in Shanghai in the 1920s and 30s.
The earlier ones were very loose and wide, like this one below which my friends and I thought looked a bit like a hospital gown. This one is unique with the buttons running all the way up and down the side.
Below are some of the dresses in the exhibit. There were some that were flashy, some that were staid, some that were more like house dresses and some that were clearly for special occasions.
We saw a bunch of correspondence by a very fashionable woman who lived in Hong Kong before emigrating to the US. She missed her shapely dresses so much that she wrote detailed letters and included very precise sketches so that her tailor in Hong Kong could continue to make her dresses.
Apparently Hong Kong University has a cheongsam made with their logo all over it! This immediately reminded me of Princeton reunions.
After viewing this exhibit, I felt the strongest compulsion to summon a rickshaw for my tailor and order a few cheongsams made out of the finest fabrics that I had just brought back from my recent trip to Shanghai…. apparently lots of black and white pictures and a cheongsam exhibit will do that to you.
This neat little interactive exhibit showed Hong Kong past versus in the present side by side. What a change this waterfront has undergone!
They are currently doing an exhibit on dinosaurs at the science museum. In keeping with that theme, they have cleverly dotted various animated dinosaurs all over the plaza.
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| This one was actually a little bit frightening when he opened his huge mouth! |
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| The history museum in the distance |
Cheongsams are considered quite traditional today. I do not know of any woman under the age of 40 who would wear one except at her wedding, or if she was a celebrity (and then it would be a "fusion" style). However, back in the day, it was a very daring and fashion forward dress that actually caused quite a scandal with its figure hugging lines and leg slits. Apparently it was the demand for the qipao that caused the huge rise in professional tailors in Shanghai in the 1920s and 30s.
The earlier ones were very loose and wide, like this one below which my friends and I thought looked a bit like a hospital gown. This one is unique with the buttons running all the way up and down the side.
Below are some of the dresses in the exhibit. There were some that were flashy, some that were staid, some that were more like house dresses and some that were clearly for special occasions.
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| The beautiful, colorful, buttons made painstakingly by hand |
Apparently Hong Kong University has a cheongsam made with their logo all over it! This immediately reminded me of Princeton reunions.
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| One of the primary schools in Hong Kong still uses cheongsams as a school outfit for the girls |
After viewing this exhibit, I felt the strongest compulsion to summon a rickshaw for my tailor and order a few cheongsams made out of the finest fabrics that I had just brought back from my recent trip to Shanghai…. apparently lots of black and white pictures and a cheongsam exhibit will do that to you.
This neat little interactive exhibit showed Hong Kong past versus in the present side by side. What a change this waterfront has undergone!
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